Ferret Unlocked: what you missed in news last week

Last week, the Stray Ferret met the man leading a business coalition against the Harrogate Station Gateway project.

A senior North Yorkshire councillor previously hailed the £12.1 million scheme as one of the biggest investments in the town in the last 30 years.

But Steven Baines, a businessman who is leading the Get Away group, does not see it that way. We caught up with him to find out why he is objecting to the project.

Meanwhile, this past week saw the government announce further sweeping reforms to the planning system.

It includes proposals to speed up the planning process by streamlining decisions on matters such as housing — which could see elected councillors bypassed.

What would these far-reaching reforms mean for elected representatives in Harrogate? Our chief reporter Calvin Robinson took a deep dive into the reforms here.

Also this past week, we spoke with a store owner who is shutting up shop and moving online.

Miriam Ruddy, who runs Chaos in the Victoria Shopping Centre in Harrogate, has opted to move back to selling her products online amid rising costs and rent.

She told us that she was only just breaking even and that it was hard getting footfall into the centre. Find out more in our interview with Miriam here.

Finally, have you ever wondered what it would be like to sell all your possessions and travel around the world?

If you follow the exploits of Ripon’s Smithson family, you would be able to find out. The family, which includes Joe, Emma and their 12-year-old daughter, will jet off to Latin America for the first leg of an epic journey in January that could take them two years or more.

The Smithsons invited the Stray Ferret to their house, which they’re in the process of selling, to tell their story which you can read in full here.

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