Ferret Unlocked: what you missed in news last week

The Olympics Games officially drew to a close on Sunday, and the last week was filled with plenty of highs and lows for Team GB – with local athletes Jack Laughter and George Mills sadly missing out on medals.

While sporting news across the Channel may have slowed down, it remained as busy as ever for updates across Harrogate and the district.

If post-Olympic blues has well and truly set in, last week we reported on the long-awaited details of the Long Course Weekend taking place in Masham between September 6 and 8, including proposed road closures.

We also provided updates in several long-running stories, which have found their way to the top of the news agenda once more.

The first is the much-debated Station Gateway saga, which the Stray Ferret has remained committed to covering closely since it was first announced.

Not only did we reveal the updated cost of consultancy fees on the £12.1million project, as well as reporting that members of the public will not be formally consulted on the final plans, but we also exclusively broke the news that the 'little temple' on Station Square in Harrogate is set to be demolished if the project goes ahead as currently planned.

Another topic that we have heavily pursued in the public’s interest is the environment, specifically the sewage levels in the River Nidd. Last week, we reported on the conclusion of Ofwat’s two-year investigation into Yorkshire Water which saw them slapped with a mammoth fine for ‘a catalogue of failures’, the impact of which we delved into further in our analysis piece, to assess what’s next for the company – and for the region’s rivers.

One of our promises is to shine a spotlight on the issues that matter most the residents of the region, and our coverage of the changes to Knaresborough and Ripon’s markets is a prime example of this.

After it was brought to our attention that that North Yorkshire Council had proposed drastic changes to the way the markets operated, we not only broke the news, but went to speak to traders, to hear about how this could affect their businesses.

Behind the scenes - and after several Stray Ferret readers reached out to ask us to investigate further – the news team has been working hard on a two-part series about Parkingeye, the private company operating Harrogate District Hospital’s car park.

Our first article highlighted the plight of some of the victims of ‘unfair parking charges’, and the second focused on our call to the new government to introduce legislation to properly regulate the private parking industry.

Finally, subscribers to the Stray Ferret can enjoy a range of fantastic exclusive offers and discounts for local businesses. This week, we're featuring our partnership with Claro Hill Vets, which is offering subscribers a free consultation for cats and dogs, worth £45.

Don’t miss out on quality local news in the district - by subscribing for just £4.99 a month or £49.99 annually, you will be able to access all daily news, in-depth features and lifestyle content as well as a whole range of fantastic exclusive discounts and offers.