Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

County council-owned technology firm NYnet has announced that Hornbeam Park is set to become the district’s biggest full fibre business park.

The expansion aims to support the local economy with reliable fibre broadband and guaranteed bandwidth.

The company already delivers full fibre to Saint Michael’s Hospice, which is located at the end of the business park.

The project is supported by the Digital Enterprise Grant which plans to match investments made by businesses at the park.

The CEO of Nynet, Alastair Taylor, said:

“The expansion of our network at Hornbeam Park will mean every business on the site can have access to fast and reliable fibre to the premises, at a price not dissimilar to current non-fibre services.

“The investment we are putting into Hornbeam Park and the service levels businesses will be able to access is excellent news for our region and will help to put Harrogate at the forefront of the UK’s digital economy.”

Nynet Limited was established by the North Yorkshire County Council in 2007. All profits from the company are returned to the council to fund frontline services.

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Free breakfast seminars to review agricultural prospects coming to Harrogate

Rural land surveying firm GSC Grays will be hosting a free breakfast seminar to aid farmers this December.

The seminar will take place on December 6 at Pavillions of Harrogate at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The company will be reviewing the prospects and options for farmers in the area, as well as advising them.

GSC Grays will give advice and support the agricultural industry in the free seminar 

The session comes at a time of need for farmers with basic payment scheme payments ending and inflation rising.

The Harrogate seminar is one of four scheduled across the North of England as part of GSC Grays’ farm business advice service.

The service has been funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the Future Farming Resilience Fund Scale Up Project. This gives organisations like GSC Grays grants allowing them to offer free business advice.

Farmers can register their interest by email or by calling 03333 059059.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Business workshop to take place in Harrogate

ActionCOACH Harrogate is hosting a free business workshop at Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen next week.

It’s been designed for business owners who want “a more manageable, more profitable business that can work without them.”

Andrew Joy will talk business people through the ActionCOACH “6 Steps” model that’s used by many successful companies around the world.

The free morning of business coaching will include marketing concepts, sales promotion and profit-building systems that can be put into practice straight away.

To register visit here.

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Nidderdale to host events on how farmers can improve their businesses

Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is hosting a series of events throughout August to help local farmers respond to current challenges.

This includes farmers who have taken on regenerative farming practices, or who have diversified into new enterprises, including artisan cheese production and the development of a Yorkshire barn wedding venue.

Speakers include a regenerative farming consultant, a Nuffield scholar veterinarian, and representatives from the Pasture Fed Livestock Association.

The events are hosted in locations across Nidderdale, including Middlesmoor, Grewelthorpe and Blubberhouses. For more information visit here.

Matthew Trevelyan, farming in protected landscapes officer at Nidderdale AONB, said:

“We want to help farmers respond to current challenges. It is likely that ‘business as usual’ won’t work for many of the AONB’s farmers in the future, especially as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is withdrawn.”

Around 140,000 visitors are set to descend on Harrogate next week for the Great Yorkshire Show.

The county’s showpiece agricultural event will take place over four days from Tuesday to Friday at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

There is always so much to see and do. So, as lifestyle editor, I’ve delved into what is on offer when it comes to family entertainment, food and drink and famous faces.

Family

There is plenty of free entertainment at the Discovery Zone.

When I visited the show last year with my three-year-old, we absolutely loved the Discovery Zone.

Slightly off the beaten track, it’s definitely worth adding to your itinerary if you’re taking the kids.

The area is described as “offering both fun and learning opportunities for all the family to find out more about food, farming and the countryside”.

This year the Discovery Zone will be showcasing regenerative agriculture, to tell the story of environmental practices that are shaping modern farming.

A wildflower meadow has been created for visitors to enjoy and picnic alongside, and interpretation boards will explain how farmers and landowners carefully manage the land to harness nature and wildlife.

Expect a full array of completely free and interactive activities, workshops and demonstrations for families and young people, from wand and felt making, to meeting reptiles and milking a demonstration dairy cow.

This year there will be a new careers hotdesk, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and supported by agricultural colleges and vets. There will be an opportunity to ask the hosts about routes into agricultural careers and free goodie bags.

Food and drink

Shaun Rankin, of Grantley Hall.

If you’re into your food and drink, our county undoubtedly has some of the best in the world.

This year foodies are in for treat when the winner of MasterChef 2022, Eddie Scott, and Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen line up with a host of well-known regional chefs to cook up some of the region’s finest produce.

The Great Yorkshire Food Theatre will feature more than 20 chefs, including Callum Bowmer of Horto at Rudding Park, Harrogate, Dragon’s Den contestant Will Chew of Mak Tok, in Sheffield, Michelin-starred Shaun Rankin of Grantley Hall, near Ripon, and Nathan Richardson-Kelly of Castle Howard, York.

Dishes being demonstrated range from steamed rhubarb muthiya to halibut and from chicken pancakes to slow roasted beef.

MasterChef winner Eddie appears on Tuesday at 2pm. While shepherdess Amanda shares some of her favourite family recipes from her bestselling book ‘Celebrating the Seasons’ on the Friday at 2.30pm.

Great Yorkshire Food Theatre host Sue Nelson said:

“We’re thrilled to be hosting some great names who between them exude incredible talent showcasing the best of Yorkshire’s culinary scene.

“It’s a great coup to have got Eddie to appear on his home turf so soon after his MasterChef win and he joins a brilliant gourmet line-up oozing passion and skill.”

The Game Cookery Theatre makes the most of Yorkshire game, including venison, pigeon, grouse and rabbit. The game theatre also features a number of chefs, with host Steph Moon joining forces with grouse expert John Cavana to create grouse nuggets and grouse with black pudding.

New for 2022 is an appearance by Year 8 students from Harrogate’s St Aidan’s High School. They have won the opportunity to cook at the show, with two different forms producing their own game pizzas.

Game Cookery Theatre host Steph Moon said:

“It is fantastic to have a full programme at the show again. We have some new chefs and some young chefs and as always we will be showcasing the very best Yorkshire produce in both theatres.”

Famous faces

Matt Baker.

For many years the Fashion Show brought a touch of glamour to the Great Yorkshire Show.

This year, organisers are trying something different, with a new celebrity chat show being held in its place.

TV presenter Christine Talbot will host the show on the new GYS Stage, which will be staged in the former fashion show building next to grey gate.

Farming celebrities will be interviewed and will then have a chat with fans afterwards in a meet and greet zone.

This will include Countryfile presenter Adam Henson on Tuesday, JLS popstar-turned farmer JB Gill on Wednesday, TV host Matt Baker MBE on Thursday and the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen on Friday.

The Yorkshire Vet Peter Wright will take to the stage each day of the show.

Mr Wright said:

“We always love coming to the Great Yorkshire Show and have been coming for years, with my family as well as filming. I’m delighted to be taking part in the brand new GYS Stage which will be an exciting new addition to the show.”

In 2021, organisers capped the number of visitors at 104,000 and made the show a four-day event to spread out the number of visitors due to covid.

This year, the show is back to full strength and the last few tickets are available for Friday. Tickets are available here and won’t be sold at the gates.

The Great Yorkshire Show could welcome 140,000 visitors next week, with tickets already sold out for Wednesday and Thursday.

The county’s showpiece agricultural event will take place over four days from Tuesday to Friday next week at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

In 2021, organisers capped the number of visitors at 104,000 and made the show a four-day event to spread out the number of visitors due to covid.

This year, the show is back to full strength and the last few tickets are available for Tuesday and Friday. Tickets are available here and won’t be sold at the gates.

As well as the usual animal shows, activities, stalls and competitions, Tuesday will see a royal visit from Princess Anne and a new GYS stage will welcome TV stars Matt Baker, Amanda Owen and Peter Wright.

Show director Charles Mills said:

“We have capacity for 140,000 visitors across the four days and there are no ticket sales on the gate so anyone who wants to come and enjoy the show needs to be buying their tickets as soon as possible.”

The Stray Ferret will be attending the show and will also be giving traffic updates from Wetherby Road and Harrogate town centre each morning.

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Rural property firm GSC Grays has opened a new office in Boroughbridge.

The High Street branch, which opened on Monday, is the company’s ninth office to open in the past 10 years.

It now employs over 100 people, mainly in the north of England. Twenty-three are based at the Boroughbridge branch, five of whom have been newly recruited. 

A number of the farm and land management consultants are from the local area, and some members of staff grew up or live on farms.  

Managing director Guy Coggrave said:  

“This gives us exceptional expertise at a time when the farming industry is dealing with the impact of the Agricultural Transition Plan, the biggest change in agricultural policy in half a century.”

GSC Grays specialises in land and farming, estate agency, planning and development, and environment and sustainability.  

HSBC and Harrogate BID install third contactless donation point for Street Aid

A third contactless donation point for Street Aid has been installed by HSBC and Harrogate Business Improvement District in Harrogate town centre.  

The ‘tap terminal’ encourages people to make donations to Street Aid, which supports people in Harrogate who have experienced homelessness.  

The most recent donation point is in the Cambridge Street branch of HSBC, where donations from £3 to £20 can be made via a contactless payment.  

The new donation point in HSBC

Linda Lewis, senior network manager at HSBC, said:  

“It’s our pleasure to be part of this scheme and house the third Street Aid terminal.  

“Since its installation, I’ve seen a number of customers tapping it with either a card or a phone to make a donation.” 

The scheme was launched in October 2019, after research was conducted by Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police, Harrogate Homeless Project and North Yorkshire Horizons.  

Since then, the charity has raised over £20,000 through online donations and the three donation points. 

The two other stations are in the Oxford Street M&S window and in Victoria shopping centre. 

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:  

“We are delighted to throw our weight behind the Street Aid scheme, which helps those who are genuinely in need get back on their feet. 

“We want Harrogate to be known as a friendly, caring, welcoming town.” 

Money raised has been administered by Two Ridings Community Foundation to fund items for 28 individuals, ranging from fishing equipment, furniture, a gym membership, bikes and clothing.  

Bettys and Taylors have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.

The business, based in Harrogate, is best known for its Yorkshire Tea and Bettys tearooms has a global tea and coffee supply chain which works in partnership with more than one million farmers and workers in 22 countries.

The award recognised the company’s work to integrate sustainability and collaboration with suppliers, partners, and the wider industry, to address social and environmental challenges within the industry.

Amongst these were projects in developing countries to install clean water systems; support tree planting partnerships; improve living and working conditions of workers, and to provide training to women in business management, entrepreneurial, literacy and financial skills.

Planting trees in Kenya Credit: Bettys and Taylors

Keith Writer, Supply Director at Taylors, said:

“Over the last five years, we’ve relentlessly focused on securing quality tea and coffee in partnership with our suppliers on the social and environmental issues they face, alongside addressing the systemic challenges across the tea and coffee supply chain through industry initiatives.

“We acknowledge there is always more to do, however we are honoured to be recognised for our ongoing efforts.”

The Queen’s Awards are presented in four categories and are decided each year by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and her panel of judges. The winners are announced on the Queen’s birthday, and are valid for five years.

B&T also received a Queen’s Award in 2001, 2007, and 2017 for its commitment to sustainability.

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You can find koalas, kangaroos and kookaburras in Harrogate — a small rural township in Australia that is named after our district’s original one. 

It’s located in the Adelaide Hills on the banks of the Bremer River and is around 55km away from the bustling city of Adelaide.

People who live there are called Harrogations and there are around 300 of them, happily living a more relaxed pace of life than we’re used to here in North Yorkshire.

Things don’t move in a hurry in the Aussie Harrogate and the post is delivered just three times a week. There is one street light and the nearest shop is 14km away, so locals call on ‘good neighbours’ if they run out of any necessities.

The Stray Ferret got in touch with some Harrogate residents Down Under who told us a bit about their town, which has a thriving community that has weathered the changes of time.

 Di Gray said:

“Harrogations can enjoy the isolation, relaxation and calm that our town and surround brings to families and households, animals and local wildlife alike.”

Changing times

Harrogate used to be well-known for its old-style dances, tennis and table tennis clubs.

There was a school, church and corner shop too, which are now long gone.

But the tennis and table-tennis club remain and Harrogations enjoy playing games of ping pong against nearby towns such as Woodside and Nairne.

Harrogate has an annual Christmas party as well as a bonfire night when the whole community comes together.

The town rallied in December 2019 when bushfires enveloped Harrogate, and locals have spent the last few years regenerating farmland and helping wildlife heal from the devastation.

People in Harrogate enjoy a game of tennis.

Pamela Dashwood said she especially enjoys all the wildlife on her doorstep.

“We have a lot of birdlife, sulphur crested cockatoos, corellas, magpies, rosellas and galahs. Plus kookaburras who have the most gorgeous laugh.

“We have lots of kangaroos at the moment and the occasional koala. We do have brown and red belly black snakes in summer but I rarely see them.  We do have lizards in the garden too sunning themselves on the lawn.”

Di Gray added:

“Families have grown and left and some have returned to raise the next generation here. 

“We have all arrived for different reasons and the diversity is part of the charm along with the knowledge that it will never grow too big.”

Who named Harrogate?

Pioneers moved to Australia from Britain in the 19th century looking to find their fortune. Harrogate, Australia historian Shylie McInnes, told the Stray Ferret that three men staked a claim to naming the town.

The first is Thomas Carling who was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in 1820. He arrived in Australia in 1850 and tried his luck as a gold miner before marrying a local woman.

Thomas Carling

He tended to horses in the UK and eventually took up the 700 acres of land that became the township of Harrogate.

Carling won prizes for bushels of wheat grown on his land and his house was said to be filled with gold and silver trophies, cups, medals, diplomas and certificates related to farming. 

An obituary published in the Adelaide Advertiser after his death in 1903 was called ‘Death of a Pioneer’.

It said “the ideal farmer” was “of a reserved nature was genial and hearty with associates, while uprightness and strict integrity were traits of his character.”

A man called Charles Young also claimed to have named Harrogate. He was employed to survey the land that is currently Harrogate by the Britannia Mining Company.

Gold mining greatly contributed to the development of Australia in the second half of the 19th century

Young was from Devon but claimed to have named Harrogate after its UK namesake.

Finally, the politician John Baker, who was born in Somerset, UK, bought the land in 1858 and authorised the township of Harrogate.

He was a major landowner around Adelaide and was the second Premier of the colony of South Australia.

John Baker

In 1869 he bred a thoroughbred racehorse named Don Juan that won the 1873 Melbourne Cup, which remains today one of Australia’s most famous horse races.

Ms McIness said all three men lived in the area around the same time and she has found documents that leads her to believe that they knew each other, but it’s a mystery which man named the town Harrogate as no official records remain.

Intertwined history

The most ambitious spending programme in a national park authority’s 68-year history has been proposed to “grasp the nettle” on pressing issues such as climate change, improving biodiversity and securing the future of farms.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s finance committee will on Tuesday consider spending £11.2 million in the coming financial year, supported by new external funding and the use of £670,000 of its dwindling reserves, to expand its priority programmes.

An officer’s report to the meeting warns the authority’s level of spending is unsustainable after the coming year and it was “nearing the crunch-point where action is needed” over “looming long-term deficits”.

It states: 

“It should be understood the scale of the necessary budget adjustment is likely to require a reduction in our services and work programmes from 2023/24 onwards.”

The report states while the authority’s income generation performance, particularly in relation to external funding bids, remains very strong, it is facing ongoing cuts to the value of its core government grant, inflation and the need to pay 143 full-time equivalent staff, compared to 127 in 2009, the year before the value of the government grant started falling.

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It states the proposed budget will enable the authority to fund and advise farmers and landowners to support high nature value farming, support farmers to take-up national agri-environment schemes and deliver Natural England’s ‘Catchment Sensitive Farming’ initiative.

Other key projects featured in the budget include launching a farm and estates open day programme in the coming months and pressing on with a multi-million pound programme supporting high nature value farming systems to deliver nature recovery on a grand scale across Swaledale and Upper Teesdale.

The extra spending will also be used to support the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of several commons in the park and implementing the government’s proposed Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to support upland farmers to improve the natural environment, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

The authority’s chairman, Neil Heseltine, said the time was right to be ambitious and grasp the nettle of urgent issues. 

He said: 

“We’ve prepared a one-year budget and made a calculated judgement that the timing is right in terms of climate, nature’s recovery and the time is right for farming which is going through a transition.

“The reserves are there for times like this. We’re saying let’s try and make it happen now, let’s be positive and show to government we are right behind them in their objectives, whether it be farming, climate or whatever, but we do need resources to deliver that in the long-term.”

Mr Heseltine said the authority would need more money going forward, and while national parks had played an important role for people’s health and wellbeing in the bounce back from lockdown, there needed to be recognition of that in funding terms.

He said: 

“We have to put measures in place which are good for our farming families, our farming businesses and our farming communities.

“There’s quite a lot of confusion going on in farming communities at the moment and we can use this ambition to help those communities as they are so important to us as a national park and so important to the climate and nature aspirations of both ourselves and government.”

In 1982, Geoff Brown and four colleagues started a modest agricultural machinery business called Ripon Farm Services.

The firm, which took on John Deere and Land Rover franchises, began with 19 members of staff and budgeted to generate £1.1 million in its first year.

Now, as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary, it has 270 staff, 12 depots and recorded turnover of £117.2 million for the financial year ending January 31, 2021 — significantly up on the £106.4 million figure for the previous year.

Ripon Farm Services, which is based on Dallamires Lane in Ripon, has become one of the Harrogate district’s biggest and best known employers. It supplies a wide range of new and used equipment from franchises including John Deere, Kuhn, Bailey, Kramer and Stihl.

Mr Brown (left) and a colleague alongside a John Deere tractor.

Mr Brown, who was brought up on a farm and has lived in Burnt Yates all his life, has been at the helm throughout the company’s existence.

Now 76, he remains a director and is keen to drive the business forward for “a while yet”. He adds:

“While I’m OK I will carry on.”

Brexit and Prince Charles

The last 12 months have been hectic, dealing not only with covid but also the impact of Brexit, which has had major repercussions for agriculture.

He also met Prince Charles — not for the first time — at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show, where Ripon Farm Services always has a big presence.

The two men chatted amiably for some time. Mr Brown says:

“Somebody asked how did I make him laugh. I said I just talked to him. He knows a lot about farming and machinery. I met him previously at the Pateley show. He’s a very down to earth fella.”

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Mr Brown admits the company benefited from the backwind that British agriculture enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s but thriving over four decades is testimony to far more than luck. He says:

“It’s just been steady growth since we started.”

Ripon Farm Services at the Great Yorkshire Show

61-year career

Mr Brown’s working life spans a remarkable 61 years. He started in 1961 at Glovers of Ripon, a car and agricultural machinery dealer.

Glovers was taken over by Appleyards in 1965, which lost the Massey Ferguson franchise the following year and consequently took on one of the first John Deere dealerships in the UK.

In 1966 Mr Brown was promoted to John Deere demonstrator at Appleyards.

Geoff Brown at Ripon Farm Services’ New Year Show last month.

When Appleyards sold its agricultural business in 1982 — something Mr Brown heard about when he was setting up the stand at the Great Yorkshire Show — it paved the way for something new.

So by October than year Mr Brown, along with Maurice Hymas, Bill Houseman and two other directors, had set-up Ripon Farm Services.

Selling Land Rover

Regrets? Just a few. The company sold its Land Rover franchise in 2016. Mr Brown says:

“They wanted us to move to Harrogate or Knaresborough and sell Jaguars but I didn’t want to do either of those things and now, ironically, they have relented and dealers don’t have to sell Jaguars.”

Ripon Farm Services continues to be synonymous with the distinctive John Deere green. It’s a truly international set-up: a British firm, selling American machinery all around the world. Mr Brown says:

“We export a lot of tractors and combine harvesters. Our biggest overseas markets are Poland and Spain.”

He acknowledges Brexit has caused some bumps but “it hasn’t stopped us”.

British farmers still face uncertainty about what payments will replace the loss of EU subsidies but Mr Brown remains optimistic about the future for farmers:

“As long as the government looks after them and gets something in place of the grants I can’t see it being a problem. The good ones will still be around.”

Ripon Farm Services has received planning permission to build a 22,000 sq ft depot at  Eden Business Park near Malton.

It will be the 12th depot owned by Ripon Farm Services, which is one of the largest agricultural equipment dealers in the UK.

The company, which employs more than 250 staff, is a John Deere main dealer that supplies agricultural machinery brands such as, Kramer telehandlers, Kuhn cultivation equipment, Bailey Trailers and Sumo cultivators across Yorkshire, Teesside, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

Construction on the new building will begin immediately, with completion scheduled for August next year.

Richard Simpson, commercial director at Ripon Farm Services, said:

“This is a tremendously important move for us and a significant milestone in our 40-year-old history.

“Our new flagship building, will feature offices, training suites and meeting facilities for staff and customers and has been specially designed to accommodate our rapidly growing combine harvester business, including the John Deere X9.

“We are especially pleased to be moving to Malton, which has the enviable – and entirely justified – reputation as the food capital of the north. It is at the centre of North Yorkshire’s extensive agricultural community, which we are looking forward to serving.”

Funding for this new depot was by provided by HSBC.

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