High Birstwith artist Clare Granger has become the first High Sheriff of North Yorkshire to be appointed by King Charles III.

Ms Granger succeeded James Lambert at a ceremony at York Crown Court this week in the presence of the deputy lieutenant, Philip Ingham, Lady Justice King and Sean Morris, the Recorder of York.

High sheriffs represent the monarch in matters relating to law and order whereas lord-lieutenants are the sovereign’s personal and military representatives.

Ms Granger will seek to raise awareness of the value of the arts in the areas of mental health and the criminal justice system.

In her declaration speech, she said:

“We are all aware how many people are suffering with their mental health particularly following the pandemic. The arts have a huge role to play in helping people to find a way of coping.”

Clare Granger (left) and Lady Justice King

Ms Granger qualified as a solicitor and worked in York before changing career to become a professional artist. She trained in Florence and has been represented by a London gallery for 20 years.

She is also a school governor, a champion of IDAS, the domestic violence charity and a patron of Henshaws, a charity which supports people with disabilities.

She said:

“I am deeply honoured to have been appointed to this role and I look forward enormously to meeting, thanking and supporting, where I can, the judiciary, those who work in the emergency services and the wonderful volunteers who are working so hard in our county.”

Main photo shows (left to right), Simon Hickey, Edward Granger, Mark Granger, Clare Granger, Lady Justice King, Philip Ingham,  James Lambert, Peter Worth and Sean Morris, Recorder of York

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• Three months of roadworks on A61 from Harrogate to Ripon set to begin

The MP for Ripon has backed a campaign to raise £250,000 for villagers to buy a Skelton-on-Ure pub.

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.

After the pub was put up for sale, residents called on people to pledge to buy a share in the pub in order to raise funds to buy it and revitalise it.

Now, Julian Smith, Ripon and Skipon MP, has backed the campaign after meeting with villagers aiming to buy the pub.

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

“Potential is fantastic for this venue. The village is shared with Newby Hall and is in an ideal position between the Dales, York and North Yorkshire Moors. The pub is on an ideal cycling route and so the opportunities are endless.

“The target is within sight and so the group are wanting to attract new pledgees and also ask existing pledgees to think about increasing their pledge amount.”

Great to visit Skelton-on-Ure and meet the Community Benefit Team trying to save the @blacklionpubhub– an Asset of Community Value. The group is collecting pledges to be able to re-open the pub, more info here, https://t.co/ECPKsoFeae pic.twitter.com/Z3iouStHq6

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) April 3, 2023

The group has currently raised £160,000 towards its £250,000 target.

The group, which has received support from rural community charity the Plunkett Foundation, aims to reach the goal 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.

Read more:

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

The pub was recently listed as an asset of community value by Harrogate Borough Council, which gives the group a six-month window to raise cash.

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

Councillors have criticised North Yorkshire Council after it confirmed not all meetings will be live streamed online.

North Yorkshire Council replaced the seven district and borough councils, including Harrogate, as well as North Yorkshire County Council on Saturday.

It is the largest council area in England, spanning over 3,000 square miles with most of its meeting taking place at County Hall in Northallerton.

During the covid pandemic, the government passed legislation to allow council business to continue online. Meetings took place on apps such as Microsoft Teams and were live streamed for residents to watch on YouTube.

Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, Harrogate Borough Council continued to live stream all of its meetings whereas North Yorkshire County Council only routinely live streamed executive and full council meetings.

Following a question by a councillor, a senior officer at the new council confirmed in an email that the previous North Yorkshire County Council live streaming arrangement will continue.

County Hall in Northallerton

This means that at the moment, the only chance residents will get to see what is happening in a host of other meetings, including those concerning public health, education and transport, is if they travel to Northallerton.

However, meetings in Harrogate, such as planning committee, licensing committee and area constituency committee, will be streamed using equipment bought by Harrogate Borough Council.

But they will no longer include developments affecting Ripon, Masham and Pateley Bridge as meetings in Harrogate will cover the Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency.

The email concludes by saying the new council is reviewing “what is possible and practicable” regarding live streaming meetings in the future.

Three-hour round trip

In some parts of Craven such as Ingleton or Bentham it’s a three-hour round trip to County Hall.

Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for Aire Valley, said residents should not be expected to travel to Northallerton to “watch democracy in action.” He added:

“Working online can save hours of travelling and make the meeting more efficient. It is crazy that I am travelling for 90 minutes to attend meetings that could be done online.

“It is wrong that meetings which could be steamed into the homes of every interested member of the public are not conducted as openly as possible.”

Andy Solloway, Independent councillor for Skipton West and West Craven said:

“The outgoing Craven District Council have been recording meetings for years, and live streaming them, especially decision making ones, would be a good thing for local democracy and for public participation and engagement.”

Read more:

• The Harrogate district councillors saying goodbye
• Plan to demolish Harrogate tempietto approved

Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, also said he was in favour of the council live streaming all meetings:

“Someone should be able to open their laptop in their house and see what the council is up to. Sometimes it’s like watching paint dry but you can have it on in background. That is transparency and engagement.

“The meetings should all be streamed if we’re serious about carbon and the impact we make ourselves. There’s a lot of support for it.”

What the council says

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for democratic services, Cllr
David Chance, said:

“We are committed to ensuring that the new North Yorkshire Council has local
communities at its heart, despite serving such a vast area across the county.

“The online streaming of council meetings has been an important way of making sure that access is available as widely as possible to both councillors and members of the public.

“Meetings of full council and the executive will be routinely streamed online, and we will continue to record and broadcast planning and licensing meetings that were previously overseen by district and borough councils.

“We will consider broadcasting or recording other meetings when there is a strong public interest or where there are facilities in place that enable it to be readily done.

“The new council is the third largest in the country, and now oversees services that were previously delivered by eight authorities in North Yorkshire. There are therefore a significant number of meetings each year, which is in the region of 200.

“We are reviewing what is possible and practicable regarding the recording and broadcasting of meetings, taking into account the facilities which are available across the county, the IT and democratic support that is needed as well as investment in IT infrastructure.”

Harrogate Fire Station demonstrated the capabilities of its aerial ladder platform in an exercise at York Minster today.

The platform, which is the longest in North Yorkshire, was utilised on Saturday during a chimney fire at the Castle Inn in Knaresborough.

It was in action again today as part of a training exercise in which Harrogate firefighters were joined at the minster by crews from York, Huntington and Acomb.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Risk and Reward Model 2022-2025, which describes how fire resources will be deployed, the only other aerial ladder platforms in the county are based at Huntington, near York, and Scarborough.

However, the other two are only capable of extending 32 metres, whereas Harrogate’s can reach 45 metres.

The platform can extend to 45 metres.

Read more:

• Firefighters called to Knaresborough pub
• Three months of roadworks on A61 from Harrogate to Ripon set to begin

Almost half of the land allocated for the 4,000-home Matkiln scheme has been removed after a landowner pulled out, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.

Two sources familiar with the matter told the LDRS that fields that would have formed the development’s ‘village centre’ around Cattal train station have been removed.

They also estimate that up to 2,000 homes would have been built on the removed land.

Harrogate Borough Council said in January that one of the landowners had pulled out, without saying which parcels of land were affected. Wetherby-based developer Caddick Group called the decision by the landowner “regrettable” but said it was confident the scheme would continue.

Plans for Maltkiln have been in the works for several years and also include two primary schools. The homes would be built off the A59 towards York near the villages of Cattal, Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton and Whixley.

Cattal station is on the York to Harrogate railway line.

Map of Maltkiln, including the removed land.

Last month a meeting was held involving all of the affected parish councils to discuss the proposals. It was also attended by a representative of Caddick Group plus officers from Harrogate Borough Council.

At the meeting, officers confirmed the location of the large section of land that has now been removed from the scheme.

This means the developer will likely have to rethink its village centre because it was due to be located on the land. The Maltkiln website states:

“A new village centre is proposed for Maltkiln, located next to Cattal station with a range of spaces suitable for retail, leisure, health and hospitality uses.

“These will evolve as the community grows and we will encourage local businesses to take up space in the village centre, as well as participating in farmers’ and seasonal markets held in the central village square.”

Read more:

• New settlement plans ‘paused’ after land withdrawn near Cattal
• Concern over lack of secondary school at new Harrogate district town
• Councillor ‘absolutely amazed’ Maltkiln landowner able to pull out

Since the landowner pulled out, Harrogate Borough Council paused work on a development document that was due to be submitted to the government for approval.

The LDRS understands council officers are now looking at whether a scheme can be delivered in the same broad location while still meeting the aims and objectives of the new settlement, which forms part of the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Kirk Hammerton parish councillor Alex Smith said the situation at Maltkiln was a “consequence of choosing the wrong location for a new town.”

Cllr Smith said:

“They’ve had to spend a long time chopping and changing preferred options, trying to fit a distinct new settlement into a very constrained area. It was time they didn’t have, given that a key land agreement – almost half the proposed area has expired.

“Local residents have endured years of uncertainty over this project even when Harrogate Borough Council claimed to be following due process. The last thing we need now is for them to start improvising at the eleventh hour.”

A Caddick Group spokesperson said:

“As promoters of the Maltkiln settlement, Caddick Group continues to have positive and constructive discussions with all parties. We are confident that we can deliver proposals, which not only meet the housing needs of the area, but also deliver the requirements set out in the adopted local plan and meet the policy objectives of the draft Development Plan Document.

“We are currently working closely with our consultant team to update our proposals, taking into account the revised boundaries. We remain committed to developing Maltkiln and look forward to being able to share our revised proposals in more detail.

“We continue to talk constructively with the current and successor local authority planning teams regarding how best to progress and deliver Maltkiln. Throughout this process, we have engaged with stakeholders and local communities, and as soon as we are in a position to publicise revised proposals, we will do so.”

A serious crash on the A1(M) near Dishforth left the occupants of a Fiat 500 requiring hospital treatment.

North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for further information today after the crash closed the stretch of road before junction 49 at 5.50am on Friday (March 31) for two hours.

The crash involved a white Fiat 500 and a heavy goods vehicle. The occupants of the Fiat suffered serious injuries and required hospital treatment.

A police statement said:

“Police are appealing for witnesses to the collision or anyone who recalls seeing the vehicle(s) prior to the collision, to get in touch as soon as possible to assist the investigation.

“They would be particularly keen to hear from anyone who captured dash cam footage of the collision or the vehicles.

“If you can help, please email gary.dukes@northyorkshire.police.uk, or contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Gary Dukes.”

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A walking festival is set to be held in Boroughbridge over the Easter weekend.

The Boroughbridge Easter Walking Festival will see a range of walks take place from Friday, April 7, to Monday, April 10.

They will include three, four, five, 11 and 16 mile walks around the town and surrounding area.

The festival, which has been held annually for 10 years and is free of charge, has seen 200 walkers turn up for the four-day event in the past.

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The guided walks start from a range of places, including the Crown Hotel, Rabbit Hill and Langthorpe Picnic Area.

The hikes are suitable for all abilities and all are welcome. Dogs are welcome on short leads.

For more information, visit the Boroughbridge Walks website here. 

A Green Party councillor has said North Yorkshire Council’s plan to curb climate climate change does not go far enough.

In January the council published a draft climate change strategy includes ambitions such as becoming carbon neutral by 2030, increasing walking and cycling as well as planting 37,000 hectares of new woodland by 2038.

Last month, it then launched a survey called Let’s Talk Climate that asked residents a series of questions about the strategy

However, Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn division, said the survey has garnered just over 1,000 responses, which he called disappointing.

He blamed the number of responses on a lack of promotion by the council and said it should be offering more, particularly around agriculture which is estimated to contribute one third of the county’s total emissions.

Cllr Warneken said:

“Air quality is often overlooked and as far as agriculture is concerned we’re taking no action. The council owns its own farms and there are things we can be doing. I don’t think we’re offering enough and the survey isn’t getting the responses it warrants.

“They haven’t pushed the survey hard. I like the officers but I don’t think we’re in people’s faces enough with it.”

Read more:

• Concern over tree felling as part of Kex Gill reroute
• Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development

Cllr Warneken called on residents to fill in the survey before the deadline.

He added:

“We’ve got another two weeks where people can spend 10 minutes filling in a form that gives a real chance for county to lead the way on biodiversity and climate change and give our children and grandchildren a better quality of life.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Greg White, said:

“We remain committed to tackling the threat of climate change, and we recognise that this is the biggest challenge that we face both in North Yorkshire and as a country as a whole.

“We have launched a county-wide engagement with the public to seek their views on a draft climate strategy for the new North Yorkshire Council.

“This includes the first ever public engagement specifically targeting young people, seeking the views of people aged 16 to 25 on the draft climate strategy.

“There are a host of ways for everyone to take part in the latest Let’s Talk engagement campaign about climate, including online as well as face-to-face events and support from the 42 libraries across the county.

“The engagement has also been publicised to the media, and details have been sent to staff, councillors and partner organisations to ensure that the widest possible audience is reached.

“The new council has an ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030, and we have also endorsed an ambitious bid for York and North Yorkshire to become the first carbon negative region in the country, meaning more carbon dioxide emissions would be removed from the atmosphere than are emitted.

“Work which has already been undertaken in the county to tackle carbon emissions includes the installation of energy-saving LED street lighting, energy efficient improvements to buildings and trialling the use of electric vehicles.”

You can take part in the survey on the council’s website here.

In September, the Harrogate district will have a new secondary school — but it won’t be anything like the current ones.

Strive for Education‘s roll will have just 33 students who struggle in mainstream schools and require additional support. Many will have been referred for two or three days a week by other schools in the district.

Strive was set up three years ago by former Harrogate Grammar School assistant headteacher Andy Brown and his wife Sonja, who felt students requiring additional support were under-served locally.

Education inspector Ofsted paved the way for it to transition from an alternative education provider to an independent school, and potentially expand its provision, when inspectors published a report this year concluding it “is likely to meet all the independent school standards”.

Ofsted recognition means Strive will be able to provide a full-time curriculum from September and be eligible to take on students who receive education, health and care plans from local authorities full-time.

Based on North Park Road in Harrogate and with a workshop in Starbeck, Strive classes have no more than six pupils to ensure students get enough support.

The hairdressing area

There is a hairdressing studio and a calm room with bean bags where students can relax, as well as a kitchen and a pool table.

Mr Brown says:

“I identified a huge gap that wasn’t being met locally. A lot of kids were travelling out of the area for this kind of provision.

“Put kids in the right environment with the right support and they feel safe. The big difference is they know we care. Of course all schools care – but it’s different level here.”

Students, who stay for between 12 weeks and two years, have special educational needs, including social, emotional and mental health issues. Autism and ADHD are common.

Read more:

• Ofsted paves way for new Harrogate school offering additional support
• Headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough leaves after 15 years

Mr Brown admits it can be difficult to pitch the teaching given the wide range of needs and abilities. But he adds:

“If anyone asks me what the greatest challenge has been it’s not the kids — it’s getting the right staff in. They have to be able to relate and provide the right education.”

If the school expands, its main Harrogate site on a residential street might not be able to cope and the Browns are keeping an eye out for a new school – although they have ruled out Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton, which closed last year. But change isn’t imminent. Mr Brown says:

“The plan is that next year we will be open as an independent school and see how it goes for the first year and take stock.”

Andy Brown

For now though, the timetable and staffing are in place for September.

Mr Brown says his education background and his wife’s business and HR experience makes them a “perfect combination”.

But such specialist education isn’t cheap. Annual fees for full-time places start at £27,000 and vary depending on the needs of the young person, the extra support they require, and any additional professional services needed such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists.

Strive’s educational offer also depends on whether young people are placed as part of alternative provision or full-time on-roll places.

The school will be holding a drop-in open day on April 28 at which people can meet staff and look round.

As Harrogate Borough Council draws to a close, the move to scrap the authority also sees 24 councillors lose their roles.

The brand new North Yorkshire Council will have 16 elected representatives from the Harrogate district.

However, only 12 of those councillors will move on from seats on the borough council.

Some have successfully sought reelection to the new council.

Among those stepping down include council leader, Cllr Richard Cooper, and deputy leader of the authority, Cllr Graham Swift.

Members of the cabinet Cllr Phil Ireland and Cllr Stanley Lumley have also departed.

In this article, we take a look at the 24 councillors who will no longer represent the district.

Rebecca Burnett

The former chairman of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee.

She represented Harrogate St Georges since 2018. 

Trevor Chapman

Mayor Trevor Chapman and wife Janet

Cllr Chapman, who represented Harrogate Bilton Grange, was mayor of the Harrogate borough last year.

The Liberal Democrat was on the council since 2018.

Read more:

• Explained: What happens to bin collections in Harrogate after devolution?
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Richard Cooper

Leader of the council since 2014, Conservative Cllr Cooper represented Harrogate central on the authority.

He announced in October 2021 that he would not seek election to North Yorkshire Council.

Ed Darling

Conservative Cllr Darling was chair of the licensing committee on Harrogate Borough Council and represented Knaresborough Castle ward.

John Ennis

John Ennis, Conservative.

Cllr Ennis, a Conservative, represented the Harrogate Stray ward on the authority.

Sam Green

Sam Green, who was the youngest councillor on Harrogate Borough Council.

Cllr Green, who was only elected in May last year, was the youngest borough councillor at 26-years-old.

He was elected to the Wathvale ward on the council.

Sid Hawke

Cllr Hawke was one of two Ripon Independent councillors on the borough council.

Phil Ireland

Conservative Cllr Ireland was one the authority’s cabinet. He held the carbon reduction and sustainability portfolio.

He also represented Knaresborough Aspin and Calcutt ward.

Steven Jackson

Cllr Jackson was a Conservative councillor who represented the Harrogate Saltergate ward on the council.

Sue Lumby

Cllr Lumby was the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Coppice Valley. She also chaired the council’s human resource committee.

Stanley Lumley

Councillor Stanley Lumley (pictured left)

Conservative Cllr Lumley was the authority’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport and oversaw the creation of Brimhams Active, which now runs council leisure centres.

He unsuccessfully stood for election to the new North Yorkshire Council. He also represented Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale on the borough council.

Stuart Martin

Conservative Cllr Martin was mayor of Harrogate borough in 2020.

He represented Ripon Moorside on the authority.

Pauline McHardy

Cllr McHardy, who represented Ripon Minster, was a Ripon Independent on the borough council.

Nigel Middlemass

Cllr Middlemass was a Conservative councillor who represented Harrogate Kingsley ward.

Ann Myatt

Conservative Cllr Myatt represented Ouseburn ward on the borough council.

Tim Myatt

Cllr Myatt was part of the council’s cabinet and held the portfolio for planning.

He also represented Harrogate High ward.

Victoria Oldham

Conservative Cllr Oldham is the current mayor of the Harrogate borough. She chaired full council meetings this year.

She also represented Washburn ward.

Alex Raubitschek

Cllr Raubitschek was a Conservative councillor who represented Oatlands ward.

Matt Scott

Conservative Cllr Scott represented Harrogate Bilton Woodfield on the borough council and chaired the authority’s general purposes committee.

Nigel Simms

Cllr Simms, who represented Masham and Kirkby Malzeard, was vice-chair of the council’s planning committee.

Graham Swift

Conservative deputy leader of the council and portfolio holder for resources, enterprise and economic development, Cllr Swift was among the senior councillors on the authority.

He unsuccessfully stood for election to North Yorkshire Council. He also represented the Duchy ward on the borough council.

Tom Watson

Liberal Democrat Cllr Tom Watson represented Nidd Valley on the borough council.

Matthew Webber

Cllr Webber, who was a Liberal Democrat, represented New Park on the authority.

Christine Willoughby

Liberal Democrat Cllr Willoughby sat on the council for Knaresborough Eastfield.