LIVE: A day of mourning and respect for the Queen in the Harrogate district

Churches have opened their doors and put out books of condolence; flags across the Harrogate district were lowered to half mast and flowers laid as the district begins to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The 96-year-old Queen, who was the country’s longest-serving monarch, died yesterday at Balmoral.

This blog has followed the days events as they unfolded across the district:

4.00pm: Mourners lay flowers by Harrogate’s War Memorial

Around ten bouquets have been laid by mourners by the War Memorial in Harrogate.

3.15pm: Historic Harrogate hotel remembers Queen’s visit

DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa has posted a photo from the time Princess Elizabeth visited the hotel, four years before she became Queen.

Elizabeth and her husband Philip visited The Majestic for a banquet in 1949 on the same day they visited the Great Yorkshire Show.

They couple was greeted at the hotel by Mayor Mary Fisher. Following the event, the Princess and Duke made a balcony appearance, waving to the crowds on the Majestic grounds

Credit: DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa

2.30pm: Stonefall Cemetery tours cancelled

Commonwealth War Graves Commission has cancelled free Stonefall Cemetery tours that were set to take place tomorrow as well as on September 15, 17 and 18.

Around 200 people were booked on tours to learn about the men and women of the Commonwealth forces who are buried there.

However, as a mark of respect for Her Majesty, the events have been cancelled.

1.45pm: Businesses pay unique tributes to Queen

Harrogate district businesses are paying their unique tributes to Elizabeth II.

Everyman cinema on Station Parade has replaced its usual notices that tell cinemagoers what films it is showing with a single somber quote. It says:

“Every thank you will never be enough 1926 – 2022”

The Harrogate Tea Rooms in Westminster Arcade has baked some special cupcakes inspired by the former monarch.

https://twitter.com/HarrogateTeaRms/status/1568218656818987010?s=20&t=noSrMM1VvqgwIEwubizUIQ

1.00pm: Boroughbridge

St James church in Boroughbridge has joined other Anglican churches in the district in setting up a book of condolence for mourners to sign.

12.30pm: Church bells ring out for the Queen

The Stray Ferret had reporters at St Peter’s Church in Harrogate, St John’s Church in Knaresborough and Ripon Cathedral from 12pm.

Most of the country’s 16,000 churches haven’t rang bells muffled since the death of the Queen’s father in 1952.

Watch videos below of the bells ringing below:

Leather mufflers were attached to the bells at St John’s Church in Knaresborough so they can make the muffled sound

12.10pm: Earl of Harewood issues personal tribute

The Earl of Harewood David Lascelles has issued a personal statement that remembers his relative Elizabeth II.

His father, the late George Lascelles, was the Queen’s first cousin.

David Lascelles

The Earl’s tribute includes an anecdote of when the Queen visited Harewood in 2002 and watched Emmerdale being filmed.

The statement also highlight’s the Queen’s appreciation of Yorkshire’s different faiths and communities.

Mr Lascelles said:

“Queen Elizabeth was my first cousin once removed, Cousin Lilibet, the name she was called by all her family. Though we were related, I only really met her on formal occasions during my adult life, so have less personal memories of this remarkable woman. But I do remember the last time she was at Harewood, in July 2002 for her Golden Jubilee. 

“It was a gloriously sunny day and the first stop was at the long-running TV soap opera Emmerdale, the village set for which is on the southern edge of Harewood Estate, where my wife Diane and I greeted her. The Queen met and shook hands with the cast and crew and watched the Post Office being set on fire, a stunt staged in her honour and not part of their regular storyline.

“The main event of the day was in front of Harewood House, where, accompanied by my father and step-mother, an hour long pageant was staged for her and for Prince Philip and an enthusiastic crowd. This was Yorkshire at it most culturally diverse: on a smaller scale, but not unlike the parades along the Mall for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, still fresh in everyone’s memory. 

“There was music from many different traditions and performers representing all Yorkshire’s different communities. There were spectacular costumes from Leeds’ West Indian Carnival, brass bands from the mining villages of South Yorkshire, Indian dancers from Bradford, operatic arias from Lesley Garrett and guest appearances from Mel B, Brian Close and Terry Venables (who had just been appointed as Leeds United’s new manager) on the steps of Harewood House.

“The Queen’s enjoyment was clear for all to see. These were the rich, mixed, varied, sometimes contradictory cultures of 21st century Britain, a Britain very different from the country she knew when she came to the throne in 1953 but one with which she continued to identify and one which she continued to represent with grace and with great dignity.

“The length of her reign and the many changes she witnessed during those years are unprecedented in our history. Her death is truly the end of an era, the end of the Second Elizabethan Age.”

11.45am: Harrogate’s Muslim community pays its respects

Whilst the district’s Anglican churches have led the tributes to Elizabeth II, Harrogate’s Muslim community has also paid its own respects.

Harrogate Islamic Association said:

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (“To God we belong and to Him we return”)

We are united in sorrow for, by all measures, a remarkable woman https://t.co/rfL8HrYXIa

— Harrogate Islamic Association (@HarrogateIA) September 9, 2022

11.30am: Harrogate Town game called off

Harrogate Town’s game against Carlisle United tomorrow has been called off. It was due to kick off at 3pm at the EnviroVent Stadium but the English Football League has decided to postpone all fixtures as a mark of respect to Elizabeth II.

Leeds United’s game against Nottingham Forest on Monday night has also been postponed by the Premier League.

Saturday 10th September's fixture against Carlisle has been postponed as a mark of respect by the National Sport to the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II https://t.co/KP3Cuyy5C8

— Harrogate Town AFC (@HarrogateTown) September 9, 2022

11.00am: Harry’s tours to focus on the Queen

Tour guide Harry Satloka will continue with his free Harrogate walking tours today with a special focus on Harrogate’s connection with Elizabeth II.

He said he will be wearing black as a mark of respect until after the funeral.

Harry Satloka this morning by the War Memorial

10.30am: St Peter’s Church plans special services

St Peter’s Church on Cambridge Road will be holding special services to remember the former Queen over the weekend.

The church’s bells will ring today from 12pm for one hour.

Vicar Alan Garrow said:

“The church will be open as a focal point for people to express their grief. For flowers we recommend people leave them at the garden of remembrance, which is on the Cambridge Street side of St Peter’s. 

“We have eight bell ringers and they are going to ring all of the bells for the full one hour from 12pm.”

Mourners signing the book of remembrance at St Peter’s

10.15am: Flags at half-mast in Knaresborough

Knaresborough House. Credit: Charlotte Gale

The Union Flag is flying at half-mast outside Knaresborough House.

The town has proud links to the Royal family dating back centuries.

Knaresborough Castle is still owned by the Duchy of Lancaster Estate (although currently leased to Harrogate Borough Council).

It’s a former Royal summer residence and was also the administrative centre for the  Forest of Knaresborough, an administrative area and royal hunting ground that covered 45 square miles.

The Mayor of Knaresborough Kathryn Davies said:

“For a lot of people in Knaresborough Queen Elizabeth II will be the only monarch they have known. The loss of her calm and constant presence in their lives will be felt keenly. They are not alone in their grief. As well as the rest of the United Kingdom, many across the world will also miss her greatly.

“When the news of her death was announced, I was with a party of Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians. Without exception they had been following her progress in the last few days and were immediate in their expressions of condolence and their own sense of loss.

“She was a great monarch who steered us through some exceptional times in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Good luck and best wishes to our new King Charles II. God save the King.”

10.00am: Betty’s closed until 11am

Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms on Parliament Street is closed until 11am. A notice has been posted on the window that includes its own tribute to the former Queen.

9.30am: Yorkshire Agricultural Society pays tribute

Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the organisation that runs the Great Yorkshire Show, has issued its own tribute to Elizabeth II. She had long standing links to the show and visited four times as Queen (1949, 1957, 1977 and 2008).

The Queen at the Great Yorkshire Show in 1957. Credit: YAS

The statement said:

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty The Queen and send our sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.

“The Royal Family and Her Majesty The Queen have been an integral part of the Society’s heritage since it first formed in 1837.

“The Queen was the first female Patron of the Society and remained so for 45 years from 1952 to 1997. TRH Prince of Wales has been the Society’s Patron since 1998.

“Her Majesty first visited the Great Yorkshire Show in 1949, before becoming Queen, and went on to visit a number of times over the years before a final visit in 2008 with The Duke of Edinburgh. During the visit, The Queen unveiled a plaque to mark the start of the construction of Fodder and the adjoining Yorkshire Agricultural Society offices.

“The Society is honoured to have had the privilege of The Queen supporting the work it does for agriculture as both our Patron and as our guest.”

9am: RHS Harlow Carr remaining open today

The Royal Horticultural Society will be opening RHS Harlow Carr today but it will close on the day of the funeral, which has not yet been announced, as a mark of respect.

The RHS said in a statement:

“Her Majesty became Patron of the Society on accession to the throne in 1952. From an early age, The Queen regularly accompanied her parents to RHS Chelsea Flower Show, visiting the show more than 50 times during her reign, and always took great pleasure in touring the gardens and plant displays and speaking with exhibitors.

“We were extremely grateful and proud to have Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as our Patron and we are immensely saddened by yesterday’s news.”

8.45am: Bilton church opens book of condolence

St John’s Church on Bilton Lane is open until 5pm for people to pray and give thanks for the life of the former Queen. There will be candles to light and a book of condolence to sign.

8.25am: Pateley Bridge

We’ve been in Pateley Bridge this morning to see how the town has responded to the death of the Queen. Below is a picture of St Cuthbert Church with the St George’s flag flying at half-mast.

The police station and council offices:

8.10am: Ripon pays its respects

Reporter Tim Flanagan is in Ripon this morning where the Union Flag is flying at half mast over Ripon Town Hall.

The building is still decked in the banners put in place to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the historic building in May 2004 when the city celebrated the 400th anniversary of the granting by James I of its Royal Charter.

Some 19 years earlier in April 1985, The Queen was at Ripon Cathedral for the Royal Maundy Service.

8am: Harrogate district MPs issue statements

Our three Conservative MPs, Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams have all issued statements following the death of the Queen.

pic.twitter.com/fNmbbYhiuW

— Andrew Jones MP (@AJonesMP) September 8, 2022

pic.twitter.com/JjRwMrt3Tn

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) September 8, 2022

Such heartbreaking news.

HM Queen Elizabeth II served our nation and the Commonwealth selflessly for 70 years.

May she rest in peace.

God Save The King. https://t.co/rGHlhY8DZw

— Nigel Adams (@nadams) September 8, 2022

Church Bells will toll

Church bells across the district will toll at noon today to mark the Queen’s death. The bells will be muffled and toll for one hour.

The Church of England has sent out guidance to parish churches, chapels and cathedrals encouraging them to toll their bells or open for prayer or special services.

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has issued a statement:

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been the figurehead of our nation for over 70 years, a loyal servant who has provided stability and support to so many for so long. It is impossible to imagine life without her, and I know many will find the fact we now have to face that reality very difficult.

“Our emergency services will play a key role in the coming days in supporting our communities, and their commemorations and celebrations of Her Majesty’s life.

“My thoughts today are particularly with the Royal Family who have not just lost a leader but a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. No matter who you are or when it happens, the death of a loved one is incredibly hard, and my respects and condolences go to them.”

The Royal Hall this morning with the flag lowered at half mast

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Watch: Bells toll across district to mark the Queen’s death

 

At midday today, bells at several of the Harrogate district’s churches rung out to mourn the Queen.

Churches including Ripon Cathedral, St Peter’s in Harrogate and St John’s in Knaresborough rung throughout the hour.

They joined with churches across the country such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral to pay their respects to the Monarch.

Janet Hurst was one of the bellringers in Hampsthwaite. She explained the process of ‘muffling’ the bells as part of the tribute.

“The bells are fully muffled, which only happens for the Monarch, normally it’s half-muffled… so that people can pause and pay their respects to Her Majesty.”

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Ripon Cathedral to play a central role in mourning The Queen

Just 13 weeks ago, the bells at Ripon Cathedral rang out in joyous celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but today the bells were muffled as they rang out for an hour at midday to mark the passing of the UK’s most enduring monarch.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, led the jubilee civic service for North Yorkshire held at the cathedral on June 2, which was attended by the great and the good of the county.

From today and over the period of national mourning, the doors of the iconic church, founded 1,350 years ago by St Wilfrid, will be open to all, who wish to pay their respects to Her Majesty.

This can be done by signing the book of condolence in the north transept, through private prayer, by attending a service or leaving flowers.

Dean John, told the Stray Ferret:

“Back in June, we marked 70 years of The Queen’s magnificent service, now we come to celebrate her life and pray for her family.”

In a message on the cathedral’s website, he said The Queen was:

“One of the world’s greatest figures of our time, one who dedicated her life as monarch to the wellbeing of the people of this nation, the commonwealth and the wider world.

“She was a faithful Christian who drew on her faith to serve God and the common good in the role that God had given her.

“She wasn’t pious and didn’t let her exalted status unduly affect her. She reigned with great integrity, as seen in the images of her sitting alone at the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. She was a great servant of her people and an unequalled example of public service over the last century.”

The cathedral, which the Queen visited in 1985 for the Royal Maundy Service, has been the focus of celebration for its 1,350th anniversary since April, attracting visitors from across the region as well as overseas.

Over the coming days it is ready to welcome visitors, who wish to make their own tribute and reflect on Her Majesty’s remarkable reign.

Today, there will be an Evensong Service at 5.30 and a Vigil Service at 8.15.

The Cathedral will be open daily from 8am.

The Great North Art Show, which was due to begin at the cathedral tomorrow, is being postponed.

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Mayor leads Harrogate tributes to Queen’s ‘constant source of courage’

Harrogate’s mayor has led tributes to the Queen’s “constant source of courage and inspiration” following the announcement of her death today.

Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, this afternoon. She died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

Councillor Victoria Oldham, mayor of the Harrogate district, said in a statement:

“It is with great sadness to hear of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

 “Her Majesty The Queen has been a constant source of courage and inspiration throughout the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and across the world. 

“Throughout her 70-year reign, she has touched so many of our lives and led us through many dark but also many positive times.

“On behalf of everyone across the Harrogate district, I would like to offer our deepest condolences and sympathy to the Royal Family during this time.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.”

Other leading figures in the Harrogate district have also begun paying tribute to the Queen, including the leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

Councillor Carl Les said:

“The Queen’s reign has already been noted as the longest ever of any of the country’s monarchs, but she will be remembered for so much more than the length of her time as the Sovereign of our nation.

“Her tireless and unstinting commitment to the role has been an inspiration throughout the whole of her reign, and her legacy will leave an indelible impression for generations to come.

“I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to the Royal Family for not only their loss, but the nation’s loss too. God save the King.”

County council chairwoman and Masham councillor Margaret Atkinson also said:

“I have always had a great deal of admiration for the Queen, and she was such a beautiful, kind and remarkable lady who I was fortunate enough to meet at a Garden Party in 1997 due to my charity work for Yorkshire Cancer.

“She had such dignity and humanity and kept to her promise that she would dedicate her life to the people of the UK and the Commonwealth. Which given her age of 96 when she passed away, is an incredible achievement.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Liberal Democrat party added:

“We wish to pay our respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We thank her for her lifetime of dedicated service, our thoughts lie with the rest of the Royal Family today.”

The Royal Family gathered at the Queen’s Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier today.

Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will now lead the country in mourning as the new King.

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Lord Lieutenant pays tribute to the Queen from North Yorkshire

A tribute has been paid by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Jo Ropner, following the announcement of the death of Her Majesty the Queen.

She said:

“It is with the most profound sadness that I have learnt of the death of Her Majesty the Queen.

“Her unfailing commitment to our country and to the wider Commonwealth throughout the past 70 years has been an inspiration to us all.

“On Her Majesty’s 21st birthday in 1947, the then Princess Elizabeth vowed that her ‘whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service’ in an address broadcast to the Commonwealth, a commitment which was reaffirmed during her Coronation in 1953.

“That her life was so blessedly long, and that her youthful vow was kept so carefully, is an accomplishment for which we, as a county and as a nation, will be forever grateful.”

The Queen’s death was confirmed by Buckingham Palace just after 6.30pm this evening.

She died at Balmoral this afternoon, after it was announced earlier today that doctors were concerned about her health. Her immediate family gathered at the Scottish estate through the day.

Visits to North Yorkshire

Ms Ropner highlighted the Queen’s links to the county over her long reign. She said:

“Her Majesty visited North Yorkshire on numerous occasions, including the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate to mark its 150th anniversary in 2008 and the Maundy Thursday service at York Minster in 2012, and the county’s residents always welcomed the Queen with warm enthusiasm.

“I had the privilege of meeting Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace when I was appointed as Lord Lieutenant in 2018, and I know from personal experience that every engagement was conducted with grace and genuine interest, that every person felt the spark from meeting not only their monarch, but a truly remarkable woman whose commitment to her role will be remembered for generations to come.

“On behalf of the people of North Yorkshire, York and Teesside, I shall be expressing my heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty’s family.”

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Consultation launched to set priorities for new North Yorkshire council

A major consultation will ask people across North Yorkshire to give their views on public services this month.

North Yorkshire County Council is carrying out the project, titled Let’s Talk, to provide the foundations for decision-making and policy when the new unitary authority comes into effect in April next year.

It will see the existing NYCC and seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, abolished in favour of the single authority for the whole of North Yorkshire, excluding York.

NYCC’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said the results will deliver a vision for the new council, showing people’s priorities for spending on everything from social care and education to waste collection, recycling and highways maintenance.

He said:

“Having one new council will save millions of pounds by streamlining services and preventing duplication, creating the most efficient and cost-effective way of delivering them that we can.

“This money will help support services to ensure they are stronger and fit for the future and will fund decision-making on the most local level possible.

“It is vital we engage with the public to help shape exactly how the new council will operate, and this biggest ever conversation in North Yorkshire will be the way in which we can glean people’s views.

“I would urge everyone who lives and works in North Yorkshire to take time to put forward their opinions, and we will listen carefully to those views.”

The Let’s Talk campaign begins on Monday, September 19, running until Friday, December 23.

The first topic in the consultation will be on local communities, looking at education, job opportunities, parks and open spaces, and more.

Read more:

Future discussions will include public transport, roads and pavements, and access to libraries and museums. Housing provision, climate change and mobile phone and broadband coverage will also form part of the project.

The responses will help to shape policy for North Yorkshire Council over the first three years of its existence.

NYCC has pledged to ensure all communities have the opportunity to engage with the consultations through local events, which are yet to be announced, and online.

Cllr Les added:

“The new council will be the largest geographically in the country as it will cover England’s largest county, but it is being built with local at the heart of everything it will do.

“There will be local staff providing local services, based on local priorities and decision-making taking into account the views of the public.”

To take part in the consultation from September 19, click here. Details of events will also be posted on the same website.

Business Breakfast: Transport leader to meet Harrogate businesses

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Keane Duncan, the councillor responsible for major transport schemes such as the Harrogate Station Gateway and the Otley Road cycle route, is to meet business leaders in Harrogate on Monday.

Cllr Duncan succeeded Don Mackenzie as North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation this year.

He will talk about his vision for transport in and around Harrogate at Harrogate District Chamber of Trade‘s monthly meeting at the Cedar Court Hotel.

Doors open at 5.30pm for open networking with the main meeting commencing at 6.15pm.

The meeting will also hear presentations from three chamber businesses about carbon reduction.

Paul White, from Auditel, will talk about his firm’s journey to carbon neutrality.

Sarah Jones, from Full Circle Funerals, will explain how her business attained Corp B status – a certification which verifies a business is meeting high standards of social and environmental performance.

Danny Wild, Harrogate College principal and a member of Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, will speak about its work on retrofit to support businesses.

Chamber chief executive David Simister said:

“I’ll also be updating members on the letter I sent to the district’s MPs about the energy price crisis, as well as introducing our newest members and inviting members to share their latest news with us.

“And whilst this meeting is open to non-members attending for the first time, it is a first and foremost a business meeting and not a public meeting.”

You can register to attend here on the Chamber website here.

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Harrogate training provider acquired

FW Solutions acquired by Realise

The team at FW Solutions

Harrogate-based training provider FW Solutions, has been acquired by Sheffield firm Realise.

FW Solutions, based in Windsor House, delivers apprenticeships and training to more than 100 early years settings across Yorkshire and North-East England.

It was formed in 2008 by husband-and-wife partnership Rodney and Sandra Hardy, who are now retiring.

The entire FW Solutions team, including all trainers, will move to become part of Realise, which will extend its provision by offering training in residential childcare.

Mr Hardy said:

“It is with a heavy heart that we are leaving FW Solutions but it’s the right time for Sandra and I to retire.

“We will miss all members of our highly qualified team, who have shown such loyal support and dedication over the last 14 years, as well as the expanding number of settings we have been fortunate to partner with.

“When we were initially approached by Realise regarding an acquisition, we knew this was an exciting opportunity to expand on the initial concept of FW Solutions yet retain the family-based environment which has been such a key part of the success.”

Realise, which became a standalone business two years ago when private equity investor Enact provided funding to support a management buyout, delivers apprenticeships at level two, three and five to hundreds of settings across the UK.

Council explores move to protect Harrogate Convention Centre with limited company status

Harrogate Convention Centre could come under the control of a limited company as part of a potential bid by the borough council to protect its most prized asset.

With the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council fast approaching, the convention centre is set to be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council next April as the venue also pushes ahead with plans for a £49 million redevelopment in the face of growing competition.

But borough council bosses have this week revealed they are working with consultants on new models for how the venue could be run.

This includes the possibility of creating a limited company which would be run by a board of directors, including senior staff and councillors, although it would still be owned and funded by the new North Yorkshire Council.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, told a meeting on Monday that events venues in Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow operate in this way and that this “would be my recommendation”.

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Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the borough council, also said the convention centre could follow the “success” of the district’s leisure centres which were brought under the control of the council’s new leisure company Brimhams Active last year. He said:

“Clearly our view is that Brimhams has been a success in terms of creating a local authority controlled company – it has got a very clear focus and strategic vision.

“There is now a model in place which gives it a degree of freedom to operate, notwithstanding the fact that there is a board with representation from the borough council.”

Mr Sampson also stressed that the council was looking into a variety of different business models for the convention centre and that this work with consultants KPMG “hasn’t concluded yet”.

As well as Brimhams Active, the council’s tourism company Destination Harrogate is also set to be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council.

But what will happen to the companies after this major change for local government in seven months’ time remains unclear as council staff continue to plan how all services across North Yorkshire should be run in the future.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, said she was worried that decisions about the convention centre “won’t be in our hands” without a limited company and that she had seen the benefits that such a move could bring as a board member on Brimhams Active. She said:

“We need to have that business as most councillors think the convention centre underpins the economy of this town.

“Without it, I wouldn’t like to think how Harrogate would be.”

The proposed £49 million redevelopment of the convention centre recently moved to the next design stage – although a final decision on the major plans is still just under a year away.

It will be in July or August next year when that decision is made and because of local government reorganisation, it will be taken by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The proposals come after warnings that the venue “may fail to survive” and suffer losses of up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

Harrogate district remains the county’s cannabis farm hotspot

The Harrogate district is still the place in North Yorkshire with the highest number of cannabis farms, data from North Yorkshire Police has revealed.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed that between 2016 and 2021, nine major farms with more than 25 plants were discovered in the Harrogate district.

That was almost double the amount found in the Selby district, which was the next highest with five.

This marked a continuation of a trend highlighted two years when an FOI request from the Stray Ferret found that the Harrogate district also had the highest number of cannabis farms then.

Between 2017 and 2020, officers made 22 arrests of people involved with cannabis farms in North Yorkshire.

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Countywide issue

In total over the five-year period between 2016 and 2021, Police recorded 25 crimes relating to cannabis farms across North Yorkshire.

Only two crimes were recorded in 2016/17 and there were three each in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

However, there were nine in 2017/18 and eight in 2020/21.

On average, 323 plants were seized from farms. The largest number recorded was 2,797.

Since the available data ended in 2021, North Yorkshire Police has continued to deal with the issue of large-scale cannabis production in the Harrogate area.

Earlier this year, seven people were jailed for a combined 22 years after Police discovered £450,000-worth of cannabis spread across farms at three properties.

In February, two men were stopped on the A1(M) with 14 kilos of cannabis in their car. They were jailed for two years.

North Yorkshire Police was approached for comment about the latest statistics and why the Harrogate district is so popular with cannabis growers but did not respond.

North Yorkshire County Council hits back at ‘dilution of democracy’ criticisms

A council overseeing sweeping changes to local government in North Yorkshire has hit back at criticism of the proposed overhaul, saying it would represent the biggest strengthening of democracy in generations.

Leading members of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive dismissed claims that hundreds of elected community representatives on district and borough councils are set to be replaced by just two councillors on a mayoral combined authority, saying the two levels of local government were not comparable.

Concerns were initially raised by the county’s borough and district councils over residents’ representation ahead of proposals for a single unitary authority being agreed.

Recent weeks have seen opposition members repeatedly highlight how proposals to create a new tier of local government in a mayoral combined authority for North Yorkshire and York include plans to have two decision-making members from the county and two from the city, alongside an elected mayor.

The proposals being consulted on this autumn would make the county, with a population of more than 600,000, and York, which has more than 200,000 residents, equally represented on the mayoral combined authority.

Speaking ahead of a public consultation over the proposed devolution deal as part of the changes, a number of councillors have stated the overhaul would erode residents’ ability to shape key decisions.

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Earlier this month Independent councillor John McCartney, who represents Osgoldcross, said many residents engaged in local democracy felt “irked and discombobulated” as their local councils were being swapped for a remote one in what he described as “a power grab” by County Hall in Northallerton.

However, it is understood senior North Yorkshire figures are comfortable with the disparity in representation as they are keen to foster a partnership with their York counterparts, and believe a fair balance will be struck by the elected mayor.

The authority’s deputy leader, councillor Gareth Dadd, told a meeting of the executive yesterday claims that the devolution deal would lead to “a dilution of democracy and that the world as we know would cease to exist” were far from reality.

He said:

“In my view it is an absolute strengthening of democracy.

“I suspect a mayoral election will take place in 2024 and the 800,000 good folk of York and North Yorkshire will have the ability to make a choice about who is actually heading up the spending of that extra money that was decided its course in Westminster, County Hall and the Guildhall.

“It will be the biggest strengthening in democracy, in my view, that we have seen in generations for this part of the world.”

Executive member for climate change and customer engagement Councillor Greg White added while the extra funding and greater discretion over the spending of public money from devolution in North Yorkshire and York was to be welcomed, the real prize would be in having an elected mayor who could deal directly with government.