Starbeck Community Day will return this month after being cancelled last year due to covid.

The free bank holiday event on Monday August 30 will be held at Harrogate Railway’s Station View ground and will offer stalls, live music and a bouncy castle.

Chrissie Holmes, who organises the event as well as the Starbeck Christmas Lights appeal, said she has been inundated with messages from local residents excited about the family get-together taking place again.

She added she wanted the event, which is in its fifth year, to be about thanking people for their efforts during the last 18 months.

She said:

“It’s our way of paying people back for the pandemic.”

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There will be stalls selling craft and homemade goods as well as a bungee trampoline and bouncy castle for children. Barbecue food will be served and there will be a bar selling drinks.

There will also be performances from Harrogate Spa Town Ukes and Summerbell Dance Academy and a new Starbeck King and Queen as well as Prince and Princess will be crowned.

The event will take place from 12pm to 4pm.

World famous dancer Wayne Sleep stepped up to teach students a masterclass in Harrogate today.

Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, which offers three-week residential summer schools for dance students aged nine to 19, started 46 years ago in Ilkley and moved to York in 1999 but its new home is Harrogate’s Ashville College.

Wayne Sleep taught the very first seminar and went on to become a senior principal at the Royal Ballet and once famously danced with Princess Diana.

Today Mr Sleep returned to his roots to inspire the next generation of dancers. He not only passed on advice to students but also showed a few of his signature moves.

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The seminar is now under the directorship of Iain Mackay, who has guided the students through coronavirus and found them a new base in Harrogate. He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s been better than we could ever have dreamed of. The talent that comes is exceptional, there are some stars of the future in there.

“The year the students have had as well, they have had a lot of online training. So you can see that they are buzzing to be together, which is great.

“If Ashville College will have us we are going to be coming back for the foreseeable. This is a great venue for us and we love Harrogate.

“Wayne is a legend of the ballet world. The world has changed a lot, the art form has changed a lot but it’s really important that students get to work with the greats.”

The latest three-week course has ended now but it will be back in Harrogate next year. It costs £600 per week for a full residential and there are scholarships on offer as well.

Horticultural enthusiasts in Birstwith are opening their beautiful gardens for visitors tomorrow in support of two local charities.

The event will run from 10.30am to 4pm and will include directions to a new community garden that has been created at Birstwith Mill, where the Birstwith Show takes place.

Ruth Fisher, one of the organisers, says visitors can buy a map of the 10 gardens for £5, which doubles up as a ticket, from St James’ Church.

A community garden will be opened at Birstwith Mill, which hosts the Birstwith Show

Ms Fisher said participants were looking forward to welcoming visitors after being stuck inside during lockdown:

“We are really excited to be able to offer this event in the village, and everyone has worked really hard to make sure that their gardens are in the best state they can be!”

Plants grown by the residents themselves will be on sale at the church, alongside a cake stall. All stallholders will be accepting cash only.

All proceeds from the event will be shared between two organisations: Birstwith in Bloom, a voluntary organisation that “promotes responsible care of the environment and horticultural excellence in the town”, and Birstwith Horticultural Society, the charity behind community fundraising for the Birstwith Show.

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There will be refreshments at the church and in each of the gardens.

A previous open garden event at Birstwith Hall, in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme, raised £2,000 for Marie Curie.

Long Lands Common is preparing to welcome visitors for the first time next month shortly after the expected end to lockdown restrictions.

The group behind the community woodland project has said it will hold an official opening day and meeting on July 24, starting at 11am.

It will still be subject coronavirus regulations.

Around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.

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The committee has said that after the meeting it will ask volunteers to help with a “bio blitz” survey and bulb planting, finishing with a public picnic.

Anyone who would like to attend the opening day has been asked to register their attendance by filling out a small form here.

Secretary of Long Lands Common, Chris Kitson, told the Stray Ferret:

“It will be a great day. This will be the first opportunity for most of the members to see the land and contribute to the area.

“There are plenty of things we need to talk about at the meeting, we need to decide how much we change the land, how much access we have for dogs and more.

“Currently it is just going to be open for members. In order to open for the public we need to change the use of land through planning.”

The future of Long Lands Common, once earmarked for a relief road, finally looks secure for wildlife.

It is first and foremost a nature reserve but the goal is for the public to enjoy it too.

A Harrogate DJ who has turned to plumbing over the last year is anxiously waiting for the moment he can get behind the decks again.

Ed Marshall has kept a keen eye on the coronavirus numbers recently, particularly in the run-up to the full lifting of lockdown on June 21.

Like many in the industry, the past year has been hard for Ed. He has been a DJ for 25 years but has lost thousands of pounds in cancelled events due to coronavirus.

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When coronavirus first hit he suffered more than 30 cancellations in one day. Soon his packed schedule had been reduced to nothing.

Instead he has thrown himself full-time into his brother’s plumbing business Andy Marshall Plumbing and Heating.

The government has not yet confirmed all restrictions will be lifted this month but many of Ed’s clients are confident and have booked him for events. He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s all I have known, going out and doing parties so the last year has been a nightmare.

“I think people are looking forward to it. I mean the first event I have got booked is a young farmer’s 21st birthday so it’s going to be absolutely mental.

“Well I thought maybe it’s nice to have a couple of months as a break but nobody was expecting more than a year.

“I have got a really good day job but for people out there who rely on the entertainment industry, they have been forgotten.”

Are you in an industry keen to get back to work on June 21? Tell us your story by sending an email to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate Borough Council has threatened a vicar with criminal charges in a planning row over a stone plaque at a church near Pateley Bridge.

Reverend Darryl Hall became embroiled in the dispute after parishioner and builder Carl Foxton made the plaque, along with several others for sites across the Harrogate district.

Mr Foxton, who is in his late 70s, made this latest plaque to welcome people to Bewerley Grange Chapel, which was built by Marmaduke Huby, the abbot of Fountains Abbey from 1495-1526

Mr Foxton’s work can be found attached to the wall outside the church, which is a listed building.

Revd Hall believes the wall is not part of the listed structure of the church and therefore the plaque should stay but the council disagrees.

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Andrew Lancashire, the council’s planning enforcement officer, has written to Revd Hall requesting the plaque’s removal. Mr Lancashire wrote:

“The Local Planning Authority consider that this work is a criminal offence under section 9 of the Planning Act 1990.

“I am requesting that the plaque is removed, including all stone work to construct it and that the wall is repaired and put back to how it was.

“I have consulted with the Council Heritage Officers and there is no support to retain the plaque.”

The letter goes on to give the vicar until May 31 to respond, otherwise the council has said it will be forced to take formal action.

Revd Hall, who is the Dales Vicar in Upper Nidderdale, told the Stray Ferret:

“I was blown away by the plaque, it is stunning. We would like to have something that welcomes people here.

“So it is frustrating. To think that I am going to have to go to Carl and tell him that it will have to come down.

“When I read the letter I was absolutely shocked. A criminal offence? It’s a beautiful piece of art, I have not heard anyone say anything bad about it. I have lost sleep over this row.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“The stone plaque has been installed in a wall that forms part of a listed building.

“This is an offence under the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Area) Act 1990 and must therefore be removed.”

Organisers of the Harrogate Christmas Market have said they are confident this year’s event in November will go ahead.

They have confirmed their plans to hold the market on the Montpellier Hill area from Thursday, November 18 to Sunday, November 21.

Many large public events this year have been cancelled due to ongoing covid uncertainty, especially over insurance but the Christmas market organisers said they expected to have adequate cover.

A one-way system to control the flow of people will be put in place.

However, the organisers said it wasn’t possible to control the number of visitors in an area as big as the Stray but this should not be a barrier with all social distancing rules set to go on June 21.

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Officials pulled the plug in August on last year’s Christmas market amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

It was the first time that the four-day event, which has been running annually since 2012, did not go ahead.

Brian Dunsby, who runs the Christmas market, told the Stray Ferret:

“We feel quite confident. We do not know what the government requirements will be but we will observe them.

“There’s already big demand. We have 140 traders booked in and 15 coach loads already.”

Artist Emma Garness hopes her ‘uplifting’ mural on the Iron Bridge in Bilton will become a beacon of positivity in the area.

The bridge, which is on the edge of Bilton and crosses over towards Claro Road, was previously covered with tags and offensive graffiti.

The Beverley-based artist was commissioned to paint the mural by the owner of the bridge, Network Rail, and she’s been putting the finishing touches to it today.

Emma asked local schools to contribute ideas, with children from Grove Road Community Primary School asking for a fox, and Woodfield Community Primary School an oak tree.

It also includes a cherry tree blossom and crocuses from the Stray.

She said:

“The mural includes elements from the community. I want it to be something they can be proud of. It was so dark and uninviting but the space has changed completely.”

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There have been problems with anti-social behaviour on the bridge but Emma said art has the power to change a space that has had negative connotations.

The bridge was previously covered with graffiti.

She said:

“This was a dark and grimy bridge but art can change the atmosphere of somewhere.”

Emma started working on the mural on Saturday and has been inundated with positive feedback from curious people crossing the bridge.

She added:

“People have said it’s so uplifting. To see how an overnight change can give people such positive vibrations. It can drop pebbles that ripple to people’s emotions.”

The flag will be flying half-mast at County Hall tomorrow when North Yorkshire takes part in tomorrow’s covid National Day of Reflection.

The end of life charity Marie Curie is organising the day, one year on from the start of the first lockdown.

North Yorkshire has suffered more than 1,100 covid-related deaths since the pandemic began.

Across the county, 23 community support organisations and an army of volunteers has worked with the council to support all those in need. Volunteers have given 110,000 hours of their time since last March to deliver shopping, cook meals and deliver medication.

They have also made more than 56,000 befriending calls and telephone check-ins.

Helen Flynn, executive director at Nidderdale Plus, one of the community support organisations, said:

“At the time when you heard about places in Europe going into lockdown it seemed odd, but very quickly we were in a lockdown as well. We had to act really quickly to wrap our arms round the community.

“I feel that we’ve responded to that need really well and through doing that we’ve all learned so much more about our communities.”

Syrian refugees in Northallerton played a key role in the pandemic response by taking on volunteer roles.

The work by staff at schools and early years centres has also been commended by the county council.

Since last March, library staff and volunteers have made sure the home library service has reached those struggling to get out and about. More than 270,000 e-books have been loaned.

County council leader Cllr Carl Les said:

“It is a time to remember the challenges we have faced in the past year and the commitment, innovation and kindness of our communities that has seen us rise to meet those challenges and to support those residents who have needed extra help.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, and I think that as well as bringing out the best in people the pandemic has been a catalyst for incredible innovation in the way vital services have continued to be delivered and revolutionised.”

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Council leaders urged residents not to let down their guard despite the lifting of restrictions in the coming months.

County council chief executive Richard Flinton said:

“As we use the day of reflection of look back on this turbulent twelve months, I thank people again for their tremendous effort and remind everyone to continue following the rules and remembering hands, face and space.

“We have come too far to allow a better tomorrow to slip away from us now so please keep going.”

Today, we reveal the name of the winner of the Ripon Community Diamond award.

Independent judges, the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt. Revd. Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, had a socially-distanced meeting over the weekend to consider the nominations.

They decided the award would go to Suzanne Bowyer, who works at Community House in Allhallowgate, Ripon.

Since the first lockdown in March, Suzanne and a colleague have been focusing on the crucial role of keeping families and individuals fed.

Caroline Bentham, who nominated her, said:

“Suzanne and a colleague took over the food banks in March, when those who were running them had to give up and shield.

“They have had to deal with calls from the public who are trying to access the services that normally use Community House.

“Suzanne has helped mums at the end of their tether, who can’t get hold of a health visitor. She and her colleague do their work quietly, with no ‘look at me, aren’t we great attitude.”

Cllr Parkin told the Stray Ferret:

“It was heart-warming to read all the nominations and see the way in which people have gone the extra mile to help others in these difficult times.

“We read about the kindness shown to children, the elderly and disabled, hungry families and people just needing a helping hand.”

Dr Hartley added:

“It was a difficult task because of the very high standard of nominee that we had to select from.

“We congratulate all nominees and thank those who nominated them.”

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Throughout January, readers of the Stray Ferret were able to nominate a person who lives or works in the Ripon area, saying why they thought their nominee deserved the title of community diamond.

As well as the honour of being named as the city’s community diamond, Suzanne will receive a fabulous prize worth up to £1,000, donated by Red Buttons Jewellers and Hedley Hall.

Red Buttons, which shares The Vintage Room premises in Queen Street, Ripon, with Mr Hall and his antiques, collectables and vintage models business, will create, for the winner, a customised piece of jewellery, featuring the diamond in a gold or white gold setting.

The presentation to Suzanne will be arranged when The Vintage Room is back open after the current Covid lockdown is lifted.