A Harrogate business owner has decided not to exhibit at the first major event at the town’s convention centre for over a year because of health concerns.

Alex Vere, who co-founded a business selling gifts, has exhibited regularly at the Home and Gift Buyer’s Festival in previous years.

But she won’t be at next month’s event, from July 18 to 21, because it is part of the government events research programme, which assesses the impact of holding large events without social distance measures.

This means thousands of people from across the country will be at Harrogate Convention Centre for four days with no cap on capacity, social distancing or mask wearing.

Ms Vere has two children with medical conditions and does not want to risk passing on any infections.

She said she has been cautious for 18 months to protect her children’s health and attending the event would just be “too much” for her at this stage, particularly as infection levels are soaring.

However, she added she accepted the need to stage such events.

She said:

“I understand these events have to happen but it’s a massive concern for me with my kids. The idea of an event with no measures fills me with horror.

“It’s just too big a risk for us, my children’s health will always come first.”

The event organisers have agreed to roll over her £5,500 exhibitor’s fee to next year.

Ms Vere hopes to exhibit again next year. She added:

“As soon as my kids are vaccinated I’ll be there with bells on!”

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A government spokesperson said:

“Each event is designed and signed off by local health authorities and public health experts, and follows rigorous safety protocols, including a requirement to produce a negative lateral flow test or evidence of being double vaccinated as a condition of entry.

“These events will prove crucial in helping people get back to doing what they love safely.”

District businesses could be at risk of fraudulent activity after Harrogate Borough Council warned of a possible data breach.

The Stray Ferret has seen an email sent by the council’s Revenues Welfare and Customer Services department encouraging businesses to to monitor any suspicious financial transactions.

The extent of the breach is unknown, but the email said an online form had been used to try to apply for a restart grant against local business rates accounts.

One business owner, who wishes to stay anonymous, said the email did not give full details of exactly what information had been stolen, or how.

The source said they had already received two phishing emails before the council contacted them about the issue this afternoon:

“I’m shocked and it’s disturbing at what they could know. I’m concerned my banking details may have been seen because why else would [the council] tell us to monitor our banks?

“I’ve read it that someone has tried to take out a grant in my [business name]. They have to have got this information from somewhere.

“I don’t think the council is telling us everything, I think they are trying to water it down.”

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In hopes of protecting firms, the council said it had closed the affected business rates accounts and updated the online form, which is usually automatically filled with elements of a company’s details.

The business owner said they have been told not to call the council but instead send any complaints via email. They have already reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

They said they had been told 440 businesses had been affected, but The Stray Ferret was unable to substantiate that number.

A council spokesman said:

“We have been made aware that an online form, used in relation to restart grants, has been used fraudulently.

“When attempts were made, information – including some that could be available via the Valuation Office Agency or Companies House – may have been auto-populated.

“As soon as this was discovered, we updated the online form to stop it from happening and ensured all information was secure.

“As a further precautionary step we have closed all affected existing business rates accounts and created new ones.

“Affected businesses do not need to take any further action – but should remain vigilant – and will receive confirmation of their new business rate account number in the post shortly.

“We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and would like to reassure businesses that no bank details have been shared.

“When processing restart grants we have a number of additional checks in place that prevent people from receiving any government grants that they have tried to claim fraudulently.”

The operations manager at a local charity has said cement is the new toilet paper as he struggles with a building materials shortage.

With low supply due to problems importing goods into the UK and high demand due to lots of interest in home improvement projects, materials have jumped up in price.

Local suppliers have warned that if someone has priced up a job a few months ago then they should “rip it up.”

As building materials seem to be so difficult to find, it has made it more difficult for those who are in the middle of projects.

Local charity Horticap has just finished work on its Hopkins@Horticap cafe and is currently refurbishing an adjacent garden.

Phil Airey, operations manager at Horticap, told the Stray Ferret:

“For us it is like cement has taken over toilet paper as the hot ticket item of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have got the posts here ready to go into the ground but no cement to keep it in place.

“The cafe building is now complete but there’s still plenty of work to do at the garden, which we are trying to make more accessible.”

Andy Broadwith, sales director at GH Brooks.

Andy Broadwith, sales director at GH Brooks, also told the Stray Ferret that his company is currently 50% down on building materials into the yard:

“As the UK relies on building materials from abroad, when there is a problem with shipping we will see a shortage.

“With low supply and high demand, it has been horrific for cost.

“Let’s say a couple wants to do a two-storey extension, the average price of all of those building materials has gone up by 32%.

“I do not think it will last though. When people reassess how much the job will cost and see such an increase some will have to cancel.”

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Timber is one of those essential materials that has more than doubled in cost over the last year.

David Gibbs, a manager at Harrogate Timber Ltd, said:

“It really is unprecedented. We have never seen such a rise in price like this before.

“We really just cannot get the stuff in we need right now, it has been really hard work. Everyone seems to be wanting to do work on their homes right now.

“Costs are rising but people are still spending. They still want to do the work they planned.”

Pubs, bars, and hotels in Harrogate have reacted with disappointment tonight to the prime minister’s announcement that the end of all lockdown restrictions will be delayed.

Alison Griffiths, landlady of the Prince of Wales pub in Starbeck, said she understood the “safety first” approach, especially as 10 of the pub’s regulars have lost their lives to covid.

But with a busy month of Euro 2020 fixtures ahead, she expects many customers will now prefer to watch the matches at home rather than in the stilted, socially distanced confines of the pub.

She added:

“People would rather be in their houses where they can stand up and shout”.

Andy Burrows, co-owner of District Bar on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate, said he understood the rationale behind the delay but said he’d grown weary of the restrictions.

“It just drags on, but it is what it is.

“Everyone has to be safe. We won’t complain and we’ll do what’s best”.

Mr Burrows said social distancing guidelines and masks dampened the bar experience and made it hard for staff to understand what customers were saying.

“But we’ve been lucky to have an outside area where people feel more comfortable.”

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Wayne Topley, managing director of Cedar Court Hotel, said the hotel faced a busy summer ahead with banquets, weddings and charity events booked in.

He said he awaited further details, adding:

Harrogate building equipment rental company Vp has reported a turnover of £308 million and profits of £23.3 million, down from £48.1 million in the previous year.

Vp, which has its headquarters at Central House on Otley Road, said following the pandemic it took steps to reduce costs and save cash including closing or merging 25 of its locations.

The company said trading in the current financial year has started strongly, with the infrastructure sector expected to grow and the housebuilding and construction sectors showing signs of sustained improvement.

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Jeremy Pilkington, chairman of Vp plc, said:

“I am pleased to be reporting a set of results that are ahead of our expectations in a year that has seen unprecedented challenges for the business and its customers. The past twelve months saw a focus on cash management which delivered a significant reduction in net debt.

“We have exited the year at nearly pre-Covid levels which is a better recovery than we anticipated at the beginning of the pandemic.”

Large bins being abandoned on Harrogate’s Princes Street are causing frustration for local business owners and the BID.

One business owner said the bins are often found huddled in a loading bay on Princes Street, just off James Street.

The bins are used by local businesses who are supposed to put them on the street on pick-up day and then return them behind the shops, but Bob Kennedy from Porters, says they’re always left out.

He says the bins are an “eyesore” and ruin the look of Harrogate’s high streets for shoppers.

He added:

“I just get fed up, the loading bay is full every week. Sometimes they’ll fall over and the rubbish will scatter it’s a right eyesore. It looks a right mess.

Tourists don’t need to see that as they’re walking by, we do a lot to help Harrogate look beautiful and this doesn’t help.”

Mr Kennedy says there can sometimes be as many as 30 various-coloured bins left on Princes Street.

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Harrogate BID has agreed the bins are “unsightly” and has pledged to work with North Yorkshire County Council which is responsible for commercial waste to find a solution.

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“We are in complete agreement that the almost constant stationing of these bins on Princes Street needs addressing.

“Not only are they unsightly, their presence also leads to the dumping of further litter, and if containing food waste, they could well attract vermin.”

He added a BID survey is set to be launched in the coming days giving businesses the chance to make the BID aware of issues like the bins.

These bins are collected by Yorwaste, a company owned by North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council, under a contract between the businesses and Yorwaste.

Karl Battersby, the county council’s corporate director for business and environmental services, said:

“We and Yorwaste expect businesses to act responsibly by ensuring that their bins are stored appropriately.

“Following a complaint, Yorwaste has recently contacted a business in this area of Harrogate to ask them to ensure that they take their bins back to their property after the weekly collection. Yorwaste remains in contact with the business in an effort to resolve this issue.”

Ripon traders have voted in favour of turning the city centre into a Business Improvement District.

BIDs have been set up across the country, including in Harrogate, as a way of creating safer, cleaner and better promoted city and town centres.

In Ripon, more than 280 businesses within a defined area will contribute to an annual budget of £160,000 for improvement projects.

Of the firms who voted during a ballot held over the last month, 80% were in favour.

The plans for a BID have been in the works since 2019 and will generate £800,000 over five years. This will come through an extra levy on top of business rates.

The BID has already won the support of Harrogate Borough Council which has agreed to lend £20,000 for start-up costs and will contribute around £30,000 over the five year period as a levy payer.

Councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development of the council, said the BID will allow businesses to “take control of their own destiny”.

“I am very supportive of BIDs – they allow small and medium sized businesses in tightly defined geographical areas to raise funds for specific things that impact them the most.

“Ripon is an area which relies on tourism and hospitality, so getting footfall in the city centre and surrounding areas will be crucial.

“BIDs are only successful when they have a clear plan… and Ripon BID have created a fantastic prospectus which clearly demonstrates what they are trying to achieve.”

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Now firms have voted in favour of the BID, a limited company will be set up with 10 directors drawn from the business community to manage the funds.

A number of local businesses have already expressed strong support for the plans include Abacus Smarter Accountants, G Craggs Ltd and Sterne Properties, as well as other organisations including Ripon Community House, Ripon Museums Trust and Ripon City Council.

A business plan, launched earlier this year, identified the BID’s priorities as street cleaning and maintenance, festivals and events, car parking, toilets, landscaping and tourism.

In a statement included in the plan, Richard Compton, BID chairman and owner of Newby Hall, said the city had the potential to become “one of Yorkshire’s great success stories”.

“I believe Ripon can emerge strongly from the huge challenges presented by the covid pandemic.

“We have so much to offer and as we perhaps see the light at the end of the tunnel, all of the city’s businesses need a plan to boost the place, for the benefit of all those who shop, live, work and visit our stunning city.”

A new wine shop has opened in Knaresborough with a pledge to showcase Yorkshire’s artisan suppliers.

Reuben & Grey is a new retail brand that plans to open a chain of wine shops and delicatessens in Yorkshire.

The shop, in Old Town Hall in Market Square, will sell hundred of wines from around the world as well as local beers and spirits.

Luke Morland, the Knaresborough-born co-founder of Reuben & Grey, was part of the front-of-house team at Goldsborough Hall and also ran the Bay House Inn gastropub in Goldsborough for five years.

The company plans to open a complementary delicatessen in the coming months, and is looking for premises in the Knaresborough and Harrogate area.

The wine shop opened in the refurbished Grade Two listed building on Saturday.

Mr Morland said:

“Over the last year, we’ve seen a real shift in the way people shop and eat. Consumers are shopping more intelligently and wisely – they want to know the story behind what they buy.

“They are now concerned with picking items correctly and ensuring that they have been locally sourced, and we want to be a vehicle to enable them to do this.

“Our plan is that the Reuben & Grey name will be synonymous with the best of local, ethically-produced food and drink. We believe that there is real public support for an initiative like this.”

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Mr Morland will manage the Knaresborough shop, which is expected to create two more jobs.

He added:

“We are fortunate that Yorkshire has become a centre of excellence for artisan food and gin producers and we want to celebrate this by offering well-sourced products.

“People seem to have re-discovered their love of fine food and wine over the last year, and we are looking forward to helping them to continue that journey.”

The wine store will be open Monday to Saturday from 10am-5pm, and on Sunday from 11am-4pm.

How Stean Gorge has reported a bumper year for sales amid the UK’s boom in staycations as the owners continue to look for new buyers.

Like many attractions, coronavirus has been difficult for How Stean Gorge. But now winter is firmly out of the way the owners have said the phones have been off the hook.

That interest has also resulted in more bookings overall. There has been a two-fold increase in May 2021 when compared to the same time in 2019.

Ann and Stan Beer, who have owned How Stean Gorge since 2007, said:

“After a long and hard winter, negotiating lockdowns and Covid restrictions, we’re set to have our best year yet.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook, and bookings have increased two-fold.

“We’ve pro-actively moved facilities, built new ones, and employed new staff to meet the public’s demand for outdoor adventure.”

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The adventure facility offers abseiling, gorge scrambling, caving, canoeing and a high wire via a rare ferrata course as well as an upper pathway and caves.

How Stean Gorge’s unique geography also allows for rock sports and paddle sports.

Owners Stan and Ann have updated the site frequently over the years, expanding the camping, adventure and dining range.

Last year ahead of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, they also opened Vista Bistro with glass wall and floor panels over the gorge.

Stan added:

“We’ve made our biggest profit yet this year, with the largest pre-bookings for activities.

“All our outdoor activities have been in huge demand, particularly the gorge walking and water sports.

“There’s been an increase across the board, from the number of school trips we now support to hen and stag-dos due to the backlog of weddings.

“There’s just a massive appetite out there to embrace life, get into the great outdoors and experience adventure again.”

The ballot to decide the future of Ripon’s proposed £800,000 Business Improvement District is underway.

BIDs have been created across the country, including in Harrogate, as a way of increasing footfall to towns and cities. Businesses pay annual levies to fund projects.

More than 280 Ripon businesses have until next Thursday to vote on whether they wish to pay a levy to fund projects to create a safer, cleaner and better promoted city centre over the next five years.

A group of city leaders have been working on the plans since 2019 and will generate £800,000 in funding over five years if they win the backing of businesses through the ballot.

They have already won the support of Harrogate Borough Council, which has agreed to lend £20,000 for start-up costs and will contribute about £30,000 over the five-year period if the BID goes ahead.

Speaking at a meeting last night, councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at the council, said:

“This council strongly supports the creation of Business Improvement Districts – these have been extremely successful throughout the United Kingdom.

“As a Conservative, I’m pro-self-determination and this enables the people of Ripon to generate funds for themselves for the things they think are critical for their businesses.

“I’m confident that with the right plans and actions this will go a long way to playing an important part of the whole regeneration programme that is taking place in Ripon.”

Majority required

For the BID to succeed, a simple majority of those who vote, representing more than half the total rateable value of all the properties, must be in favour.

Abacus Smarter Accountants, Specsavers, Office Ally, G Craggs Ltd and Sterne Properties are among those to have already expressed support, as well as other organisations including Ripon Community House, Ripon Museums Trust and Ripon City Council.

The results will be announced shortly after the ballot closes.

If the BID goes ahead, a limited company will be set up with 10 directors drawn from the business community to manage the funds.

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A business plan was launched earlier this year and set out the BID’s top priorities, including street cleansing and maintenance, festivals and events, car parking, toilets, landscaping and tourism.

In a statement included in the plan, Richard Compton, chairman of Ripon BID and owner of Newby Hall, said:

“I believe Ripon can emerge strongly from the huge challenges presented by the covid pandemic. Our unique local retail and leisure businesses have weathered much of the storm finding new ways of working and collaborating.

“We have so much to offer and as we perhaps see the light at the end of the tunnel, all of the city’s businesses need a plan to boost the place, for the benefit of all those who shop, live, work and visit our stunning city.

“The BID will re-invest in the priorities that matter locally, appreciating that Ripon is the gateway to the Dales, with tourists an important element of the business mix.

“The business plan has been crafted to capture the essence of Ripon and address issues that businesses have told us need attention.

“We need to drive footfall into our shops, restaurants, bars, museums and attractions – both in the city centre and the outer areas.

“We are on the point of making Ripon one of Yorkshire’s great success stories”