Boroughbridge Archives - Page 26 of 47

Ex-Timble Inn chef moves to Wild Swan at Minskip

The owners of the Wild Swan, the 19th century inn at Minskip, near Boroughbridge, have hired Paul Murphy as chef.

Alex Bond and Stephen Lennox, who bought the Wild Swan last year, heralded Mr Murphy’s arrival as the start of a new era for the inn.

Mr Murphy previously built up the Timble Inn near Otley into a five-star hotel and worked with chef Frances Atkins at the Michelin-starred Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge.

Chef Paul Murphy (left) and co-owner Stephen Lennox. Photo: Laura Hargreaves.

Mr Bond said:

“Paul’s appointment is crucially important for the future of the Wild Swan.

“He has a superb reputation and we are in no doubt that he will take the Wild Swan to a completely new level in terms of the quality and the presentation of our food.

“We are looking to establish the Wild Swan’s reputation for excellent food and drink in relaxed and informal surroundings, making it a destination location for food lovers across the county.”

Mr Murphy said he was “determined to give Minskip and the surrounding district an inn to be proud of”, adding:

“I have completely revamped the menu and am determined to create enjoyable and imaginative food at competitive prices. I haven’t been here long, but the reaction so far has been brilliant.

“I am aiming to replicate the success I had at the Timble Inn, which my wife and I ran from 2009 to 2014. Like the Timble, the Wild Swan has immense potential.

“This is a fabulous opportunity. Alex and Stephen have given us a blank canvas. They simply wants the Wild Swan to be at the heart of the Minskip community and to be loved and treasured by villagers.”

The owners said this year they intended to create a microbrewery at the inn but a spokesman for the venue said those plans were currently on hold.

Stray Views: Knox Lane housing scheme ‘lacks detail’

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.

‘Inconceivable’ Knox Lane housing scheme can go ahead

Regarding the proposed full planning application for 53 residential dwellings at Knox Lane, it is inconceivable that Harrogate Borough Council are prepared to push forward with this without addressing any of the 313 objections that have been submitted.

I would further add that there are no supporting comments added. Fulcrum to this is the historical use of the proposed site.

Damian Bowen, Harrogate

Knox Lane housing scheme ‘lacks detail’

In reference to the proposed 52 homes on Knox Lane in Harrogate.

I am writing to express my dismay at the decision by the Harrogate Borough Council’s planning officer to recommend the application be deferred for approval at the next planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

How can the Harrogate Borough Council planning committee have any confidence in the quality of this application given the current documentation submitted contradicts itself and contains a total lack of required detailed information regarding retaining walls, limited traffic, ecology and contaminated ground surveys and no electric charging point locations?

Given this lack of assessment of public and professional comments, surely the planning department could be leaving themselves open to a judicial review?

Stephen Readman, Harrogate

Voters ‘have to be realistic’

We have to be realistic. Anyone who is appalled at Liz Truss’s approach to sorting out the economy. i.e giving vast amounts to the rich in the hope that it will trickle down to the poor, has to realise that the only way to get the Tories out and restore fairness and our public services is to vote for candidates most likely to defeat them.

In Harrogate, the only way is to vote for the Lib Dems. If the other parties don’t realise it’s in their interests to stand down, then we the electorate have to take the only way open to us to get rid of the Tories, which in Harrogate means voting for the Lib Dems.

Barbara Penny, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Business breakfast: Ripon firm invests £250,000 in robot laser welder

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

Econ Engineering has invested £250,000 in a new robot laser MIG welder for its Ripon manufacturing base.

The company, which makes more than eight out of 10 winter maintenance vehicles on UK roads, is using the innovative machine to turn out cut and welded ‘din plates’ — the mounting used to attach plough blades to the front of gritters.

Creating din plates is a labour-intensive process and by automating this method, Econ says its team of welders can now concentrate on more intricate but less time-consuming jobs.

Econ Engineering managing director Jonathan Lupton said:

“Our new robot, which has already become a valued addition to the welding section, is now undertaking the more mundane but time-consuming jobs, which is allowing the welders to perform more interesting tasks.

“It is a superb piece of kit, and watching it work is just incredible. Several of our staff are currently being trained in how to programme and operate it, and in time it will be able to perform different welding tasks.”

Estate agent Tim Waring joins GSC Grays

GSC Grays in Boroughbridge has welcomed housing expert Tim Waring to its team.

Mr Waring is a chartered surveyor and RICS registered valuer who has 30 years of experience working in the Yorkshire property market.

He will be based at the recently opened GSC Grays office in Boroughbridge and said he is relishing the challenge of a new role.

“I am delighted to be joining GSC Grays at an exciting time for the company as they continue to expand and grow and I am looking forward to being part of their journey.

“There is always going be, in a tough economic climate, a flight to quality and the prime residential property market in Yorkshire will continue to thrive. It remains a fact that quality always sells.”

Guy Coggrave, managing director at GSC Grays, added:

“We are thrilled to be adding Tim’s extensive skills and unrivalled experience to our new office at Boroughbridge. At GSC Grays, our mission is to bring extraordinary people together to deliver an outstanding service and the quality of our staff is the key to our success.”

Harrogate Porsche driver who killed cyclist was ‘scrolling’ through social media

A Porsche driver from Harrogate knocked down and killed a cyclist while scrolling through social media posts on his phone, it’s alleged.

James Bryan, 37, was rushing to get some shopping for his parents during the covid lockdown when his Porsche Carrera 911 ploughed into the back of a bicycle ridden by married father-of-two Andrew Jackson, 36, on the A168 between Wetherby and Boroughbridge, a jury at York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said that at the time of the collision, Mr Bryan’s Instagram and Facebook accounts were open.

She said Mr Bryan must have been looking at, scrolling through, or reading posts on social media in the moments before the crash at Allerton Park.

She said that Bryan had been taking cocaine and drinking at his friend’s house in Cheshire the night before the fatal collision at Rabbit Hill Park.

Although he wasn’t over the limit for either drink or drugs, there were traces of cocaine in his system.

Ms Richardson said that Bryan, who celebrated his 35^th birthday just two days before the fatal crash, would have been impaired by the drugs in his system and from being hungover and tired from the alcohol and festivities the night before.

‘Incredibly sad case’

Ms Richardson said that forensic analysis of Mr Bryan’s phone showed that at the time of the collision he had his Facebook and Instagram apps open.

He was on the way to drop some groceries off at his parents’ house. They were isolating during the covid lockdown when the accident occurred at about 1.40pm on May 10, 2020.

Mr Jackson was wearing a helmet on a straight stretch of road where visibility was good. Ms Richardson said:

“The front of the Porsche collided with the rear of Mr Jackson’s bike and Andrew Jackson came off his bike, went up in the air and hit his head on the windscreen and roof of the car, and landed on the road behind the car.”

“He was pronounced dead at the scene by an off-duty intensive-care consultant.

“This is an incredibly sad case. A young mother has lost her husband and father to two (very young) children. Her in-laws have lost their only son.”

Mr Bryan, of St Mary’s Avenue, Harrogate, has already admitted that he caused the death of Mr Jackson by careless driving in that he didn’t leave enough room to drive around the bicycle, but he denies causing death by dangerous driving on the grounds that he wasn’t using his phone at the time.

Head injuries

The prosecution insists that Mr Bryan’s driving was dangerous because he “wasn’t looking at the road ahead of him” as his car approached Mr Jackson. Ms Richardson said:

“If he had been (looking ahead of him) he would have had an uninterrupted view of the road (for) over 500 metres.”

Mr Bryan, who had been at a barbecue the night before to celebrate his birthday and set off for home early the following morning, called 999 moments after the accident and told a call operator he thought the cyclist was dead.

Other motorists, including the off-duty doctor and his medically trained wife, were on the scene in minutes and called police and an ambulance, but Mr Jackson had already died from head injuries.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested Mr Bryan, who was “very distressed” and appeared to be in shock.

A roadside drug-impairment test showed that Mr Bryan was positive for cocaine but not over the specified legal limit.

Subsequent forensic examination of his phone showed that it was unlocked in the moments before the crash and the Instagram and Facebook apps were open.

Mr Bryan was taken in for questioning and told police that after arriving back home from Cheshire he decided to do some shopping for his parents who were shielding because his father had cancer.

He said that Mr Jackson, who lived locally, “came out of nowhere” but then claimed the cyclist had veered into the middle of the road and that he had tried to overtake him, only for the cyclist to “swerve into my path”.

An accident investigator who carried out a reconstruction of the crash said that the bike was not in the middle of the road, but on the edge of the carriageway, near a grass verge, and that Mr Bryan had not tried to move around the bicycle.

Mr Bryan told police he had gone to Cheshire the day before to view a “potential development site” and that he wanted to become a property developer.

In one message found on his phone on the way back from Cheshire, Mr Bryan told a friend he was hungover from the night before and was “concerned about being late for his parents with their shopping”.

In another sent by Mr Bryan to a female friend while he was at the birthday party, he told her: “I’m so drunk I can’t see.”

‘Fit to drive’

Defence barrister Sophia Dower claimed that Mr Bryan was in a “fit and proper state” to drive and was not using his phone at the time of the crash.

She claimed that Mr Jackson’s bike had veered right from the edge of the road into the path of Mr Bryan’s black Porsche, and that her client “didn’t have enough time to react”.

Witnesses including the off-duty doctor and his wife said they saw the cyclist with torn clothes lying on his back in the road.

The doctor said that when he checked for a pulse there was none, and he certified him dead at the scene.

He said that when he told the Porsche driver the cyclist was dead, he “moved backwards, crouched down and put his hands on his head”.

He said Mr Jackson had suffered a serious head injury and his helmet was broken.

The trial continues.

Autumn Harrogate Flower Show starts tomorrow at Newby Hall

Floral designers have created a Cinderella-themed display for the Autumn Harrogate Flower Show, which starts tomorrow.

The three-day event takes place at Newby Hall, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

Harrogate Flower Shows are staged twice a year, in April and September, by the North of England Horticultural Society.

The society announced the relocation of its autumn event to Newby Hall at the end of 2019.

The spring flower, which remains at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, will next be staged on April 20-23.

The show at Newby will feature plant nurseries, a giant vegetable competition, live theatre and Britain’s biggest display of autumn blooms.

Visitors will also see arrangements from celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley and hear the story of Newby Hall’s rock garden.

Tickets cost £23.50 for adults and £8 for children aged five to 15. Under fives enter for free. Admission includes access to Newby’s gardens and children’s adventure park.

Show director Nick Smith said:

“Last year we held the autumn show at Newby Hall for the first time, we were delighted that it was such a huge success.

“This autumn, with so many fantastic exhibitors and an enticing programme of events lined up, we are incredibly excited to welcome our visitors and exhibitors back for what promises to be a bigger, brighter and even better autumn show.”

Boroughbridge man faces jail after man dies

Two men are facing jail following the death of a man in “terrible” scenes of violence.

Thomas Cressey, of Church Lane, Boroughbridge, and Benjamin Calvert, 22, from Sowerby, appeared at Leeds Crown Court this morning when judge Tom Bayliss KC told them both to expect jail.

Calvert, of Kings Gardens, pleaded guilty to manslaughter or unlawful killing of Alan Barefoot in Thirsk Market Place.

Cressey had already admitted affray, or threatening unlawful violence towards Mr Barefoot, when he appeared at York Magistrates’ Court in August.

The incident occurred in October last year.

Judge Bayliss adjourned the case for sentence in about five weeks’ time. He told the defendants:

“This is a terrible matter. You, Benjamin Calvert, pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing of Alan Barefoot.

“You must understand that inevitably there’s going to be a prison sentence and you must prepare yourself for that.”

He told Cressey that he too shouldn’t be “too optimistic” about his prospects because he was “part of this (violence)”, adding:

“This is a serious matter and you must prepare yourself for custody as well.”

Both men were granted bail until the sentence hearing on October 21.

For sale — the quirkiest home in the Harrogate district

It has to be the quirkiest home in the Harrogate district — yet it appears nobody is in a rush to buy it.

Skelton Windmill has seven floors and offers rooftop views of Ripon Cathedral, York Minster and the white horse at Kilburn.

Built in 1822, it was the windmill for Newby Hall until the First World War. It then remained derelict until it was converted to a home in the 1990s.

Wendy Wilby, a priest, and her husband Peter, a composer, have lived in it since 1998 but are now looking to sell. With their children grown up, the four-bedroom, grade two listed building and accompanying half acre of land is too big.

But after four months on the market it remains unsold, with the seven flights of stairs a drawback to some potential buyers. It’s now on the market for £850,000.

The windmill was built 200 years ago.

Ms Wilby said:

“It’s unique and quirky but you have got to love old buildings and feel the poetry of it.

“My husband is a composer and he finds it an extremely inspiring place to live.”

“We love it but we are getting older. I’m 73 and it’s all right now but in another 10 years it won’t be quite so easy.”

The windmill, which is between Boroughbridge and Ripon, has 70 steps leading to a trap door on to the roof.

Harrogate estate agents Strutt and Parker, which is marketing the property, describes the windmill as ‘one of the most complete windmills surviving in the country’ with ‘stunning views across the North Yorkshire countryside’.

Inside the windmill

The windmill comes with half an acre of land.

Community invited to ‘fill up a parking space’ with food amid cost of living crisis

The Harrogate district community is set to come together this weekend to help hungry families struggling with the cost of living crisis.

People are being encouraged to fill a parking space with food at Morrisons, Boroughbridge, which will then be donated to food banks in the area.

The event, which will take place from 10am – 4pm on Saturday, is being led by the supermarket’s community champions, Sue Robson and Karen Cooper.

Ms Cooper said:

“As you are aware, the current financial climate is beginning to affect many local families and further putting already vulnerable households at risk of going hungry. Now, more than ever, people are needing to utilise the services of food banks.

We are joining forces with local food banks to create an event which hopefully should create awareness, and ultimately, provide more food for families in need.

“We hope this event will help to inspire our community to begin, or continue, to donate to local food banks, should they be in the position to do so.”

Read more:

Customers, staff, and the wider community are encouraged to come and donate non-perishable food and place it in an empty parking space, which will be cordoned off on the day.

The idea is that the parking space, or spaces, will be filled and then distributed to food banks in the area. These include Resurrected Bites, in Harrogate and Knaresborough, Boroughbridge Community Care and other local causes.

Customers can purchase food from pre-made pick-up packs at the supermarket, or can bring their own from home. They can also buy items off the shelves.

Hot Seat: Leading Bettys in turbulent times

The board room at the top of Bettys on Harrogate’s Parliament Street provides panoramic views of the town centre.

Spectacular as they are, it’s impossible not to look down now without a sense of trepidation.

Recession, cost of living crisis, inflation, recruitment problems and energy bills are rarely out the news and you wonder how many of the shops and businesses will still be around in a few months time.

Simon Eyles, a member of the collaborative chief executive at Bettys since June 2016, says it feels like the most challenging time in his career.

“It is a tough time for the High Street and I do worry where things are going. Every retailer needs to be on top of their game in the next six months time.”

Even Bettys? The queue for the flagship tearoom in Harrogate still snakes around the corner but Harrogate’s best-known brand is not immune to the turbulence.

Its latest accounts, published in July, warned of ‘significant trading challenges’ ahead and revealed that although turnover grew by 8.8% in the year to October 31, 2021, operating profit fell by £1.6m to £15.5m.

Mr Eyles says recent accounts are difficult to read because there have been so many one-off costs due to things like covid but accepts these are tough times.

He quotes ex-boxer Mike Tyson’s famous line that ‘everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’, adding: “It feels like we have been punched in the mouth a lot recently.” But he remains upbeat.

“I’m an optimistic person because if you were a worrier you would get yourself into a pickle right now.

“There’s an insight we have that says ‘there’s nowhere quite like Bettys’. That’s something I want every single customer to feel when they leave.

“We need to ensure our menus keep changing by doing things like making sure we have the best service, more vegetarian options. We don’t need to reinvent ourselves or have a revolution — it’s about how we carefully and skilfully change.”

Northern roots

Born in Stockton-on Tees and now living near Boroughbridge, Mr Eyles has spent his entire student and working life in the north.

He did business studies at Sheffield Hallam University and subsequently held senior marketing and commercial roles with household brands in the food and retail industry, including Asda, McCain and Lurpak.

A Middlesbrough FC fan and former county tennis player who now plays for Boroughbridge Tennis Club, he joined the Bettys & Taylors Group as marketing director for Taylors of Harrogate in 2011.

In 2016 he transferred to his current role at Bettys, which employs about 1,450 staff at its Starbeck bakery and five tearooms. He says:

“This place grabs you. It has deeper connections, deeper history. It can be a weight to carry knowing how precious and valuable it is.”

Outside Bettys’ flagship tearoom in Harrogate.

Five chief executives

My Eyles is one of five chief executives under Bettys’ unusual collaborative structure. He says:

“I find it a supportive model as the five of us have different perspectives and areas of expertise, meaning that we can make better, rounded balanced decisions.

“We can move at pace when we need to but sometimes it’s better to discuss, listen to each other’s views, in order to make a more informed decision.

“We certainly are not a ‘command and control’ business, as we have all worked in organisations that have this power dynamic and believe that this is a more rounded, considered approach to leadership.”

The leadership isn’t planning any fundamental changes. Bettys will continue to operate five tearooms: Harrogate town centre, RHS Harlow Carr, York, Ilkley and Northallerton. Mr Eyles says:

“We are Yorkshire through and through. There are no plans to open in London or anywhere.”

Harrogate town centre and York are the busiest and attract more tourists for afternoon tea. Harlow Carr, he says, does well on the retail side from people popping in as part of a trip to the RHS gardens whereas Northallerton and Ilkley have loyal local followings seeking tea and cake.

There’s also Bettys’ bakery in Starbeck, which is significantly affected by rising energy costs. My Eyles says:

“We have to work really hard as to how we can absorb those costs.

“You can’t just keep putting prices up, you have to find the right balance and the queues are sign we have got that equation right.”

Christmas build-up begins

September marks the start of Bettys’ build up to Christmas, which is its busiest time of year.

The window displays and products are planned and the Christmas catalogue will soon be published.

Last year’s Christmas window display in Harrogate.

Last year the company reported its highest ever sales figures for a Christmas period. Online sales have doubled since the pandemic.

The premium market Bettys serves is to some extent insulated from the recession but equally many people are more cutting back on treats.

Recruitment remains a major headache, especially for kitchen staff. Brexit, he says, is having a delayed effect and making recruitment harder. It’s also prompted the company to stop trading in Europe:

“We ship a lot to the United States and Australia but the complexities that are involved with shipping to Europe means that we are not doing it because it’s not worth it for us. I don’t think Brexit has done us any favours.”

Bettys was founded in 1919 by Frederick Belmont, of Switzerland, whose family still owns the company. Mr Eyles, who has a 14-year-old daughter and two labradors, says the family is not involved in day-to-day business but are regularly updated and make strategic decisions.

“Bettys will be thriving for years to come. We will have evolved but at the heart of it we will always be a magical experience.

His advice for companies struggling to survive?

“If you freeze and wait for things to settle down, that is a big risk. You need to be proactive.”

New heritage map reveals Boroughbridge’s rich history

A new heritage map for the Boroughbridge district has been produced to illustrate the history of the Norman town.

Many iconic buildings of the past no longer exist but the map points to where the remnants are, as well as existing buildings.

They include the Manor House, which was the home of the Tancred family in the 1500s, Langthorpe brewery, the railway station, the old mill, the battle cross and the ancient church.

The map was designed by Mike Tasker and produced by Boroughbridge and District Historical Society with support from Boroughbridge Town Council and the tourist information centre, Langthorpe Parish Council and Boroughbridge and District Chamber of Trade.

It compliments the recently published book by the society called Boroughbridge, a Yorkshire Town.

Copies of the map are available from the Boroughbridge tourist information centre and the town’s library.

It will soon be available to download here.