The Harrogate district is responding to war in Ukraine by setting up various schemes to help those affected.

If you know of an initiative to provide help or support run by a person, charity, church, community group or business, let us know by calling the newsroom on 01423276197 or by emailing us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

6.36pm: Ex-Ripon student’s video shows huge queues leaving Ukraine

Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has sent this video showing the huge queue of traffic at the Ukraine border waiting to get into Slovakia.

He and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska have managed to escape Ukraine and plan to set up a refugee shelter in Slovakia.

You can read more about their situation here and contribute to their gofundme page, which has now raised more than £4,000, here.

6pm: Ripon MP Julian Smith praises Shell decision

Skipton and Ripon Conservative MP has tweeted his support of a decision by Shell to abandon its joint ventures with Russian energy giant Gazprom.

Good decision by @Shell – hopefully they will be able to get further UKG support for their various projects focused on UK energy security and net zero https://t.co/E7k90qagyP

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) February 28, 2022

5.39pm: Hampsthwaite Church taking donations

St Thomas a Becket Church in Hampsthwaite is open for donations from 10am until 4pm until noon on Thursday when anything collected will be shipped to Poland.

Church member Jud Charlesworth offered to take in donations for those who can’t get to Harrogate’s Sowa Polish Shop after seeing their campaign on Facebook.

Since posting just yesterday the church has been inundated with donations; but the drive now has access to a storage unit so can continue to take items.

The church has asked that items be left in the baptistry area just by the main entrance.

4.58pm: Andrew Jones MP signs letter calling for ‘fullest possible support’ for refugees

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has issued a statement calling for as much support as possible for Ukrainian refugees.

Mr Jones said in a statement, which can be read in full here:

“The international community has come together to support Ukraine. Significant and growing sanctions have been imposed. I strongly agree with this. Sanctions are not consequence-free for the nations imposing them. Prices will rise here; our markets will suffer; there will be other consequences. But it is the right thing to do and we must hold fast to our resolve.

“And now, most importantly, we have to protect and support those fleeing this violence. Help has been provided to Ukraine directly, and to neighbouring countries to help with the influx of refugees they are facing and more Ukrainians with family members now able to bring them here. But we can and should go further.

“Today I have co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for the fullest possible support for Ukrainian refugees. The letter says:

‘We urge the UK government to provide as much support as possible to our European partners who are currently the first safe havens for Ukrainian refugees, namely Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. We also hope our Ministers will seek a flexible and pragmatic approach to those Ukrainians wishing to seek temporary refuge in the UK until it is safe to return to their lives in their home country.‘

‘The United Kingdom cannot flag or fail, our message must be clear: Ukrainian victims of war seeking refuge are welcome.‘”

2.46pm: Harrogate to host 24-hour vigil tomorrow

A 24-hour vigil will begin at the war memorial in Harrogate tomorrow to show support with Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The vigil, which has been organised by Christopher and Lindis Percy, will start at 10am.

Further details are available here.

12.49pm: Ex-Ripon student’s gofundme page raises £3,400 so far

Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards, 33, and Tanya Bogdanovska, 30, (pictured) hope to cross the border from Ukraine to Slovakia today and set up a shelter to help fellow refugees.

A gofundme page set up by Mr Edwards’ family has generated £3,400 so far.

You can read more here.

12.00pm: Two houses full of donations in Boroughbridge 

Some of the donated items.

A Boroughbridge activist has teamed up with a local homeless shelter to collect donations for victims of the Ukraine invasion.

Laura Hutton, who runs the Facebook page Boroughbridge Chatter, has encouraged people to contact her on the page to arrange to send items. She said the emphasis was on essential items, such as baby items and pet food.

She said the response so far had been overwhelming, with two houses full of donations.

Ms Hutton said:

“Social media can bring a lot of hatred at times but people really rally around when help is needed. I want to thank everyone as I’m amazed by their generosity.”

Ms Hutton usually works alongside Sally Umpleby and Nik Noble in Boroughbridge’s shelter for vulnerable citizens. They collect food bank donations and make gift packages for those in need at Christmas.

11.36am: Sowa Polish shop overwhelmed by donations

Some of the donations.

A Polish shop in Harrogate has been overwhelmed with donations after encouraging people to give items for Ukrainian refugees.

Joanna Papros, from Sowa Polish shop, posted online on Saturday asking for people to drop off donations and has since received a huge response.

She has asked people to temporarily halt donations until it finds somewhere to store items, which will be sent to Poland for refugees arriving in the country.

Ms Papros told the Stray Ferret;

“I only expected a small response but people have been dropping off items from all over the county.”

While they have no storage to collect further items right now, the shop owners hope to get storage in the wider area and open donations back up.

New signs in the windows of the Coach & Horses pub in Harrogate have indicated it will be reopening in the near future.

On Friday, Harrogate Borough Council approved the new owner’s plans to refurbish the premises.

Provenance Inns, which owns West Park Hotel on the same street, took over the pub in October last year.

It has been closed since May 2020 after the previous landlord John Nelson had his licence revoked for breaching covid rules.

Provenance will revamp the bar and kitchen area and reinstate the corner entrance.

New branding for the Coach & Horses

It will also convert the first floor into a restaurant area along with staff accommodation and office space.

Anthony Blundell, commercial manager at Provenance Inns, told the Stray Ferret that the company wanted to maintain the Coach and Horses as a “traditional pub”.

He said:

“The idea is to refurbish what is already there.

“We see it as the last traditional pub in Harrogate. We know from our guests how well it was respected.”

Read more:

• Plan submitted to refurbish Harrogate’s Coach and Horses pub
• Coach and Horses set to reopen under new ownership

The Stray Ferret was refused entry to Ripon’s new leisure centre today by staff from Harrogate Borough Council.

Our Ripon reporter Tim Flanagan, who lives in the city, was turned away by a council press officer when he arrived shortly before 2pm.

Tim was told today’s event at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre was for councillors only and separate arrangements would be made for the press at a later date.

It later transpired that several other media outlets were allowed to look around the new complex today to provide coverage ahead of Wednesday’s opening date.

Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who witnessed the incident, said it appeared Harrogate Borough Council was censoring media organisations that asked “legitimate questions” about the way public money is spent and this was “totally unacceptable”.

The Stray Ferret has led on coverage of delays to the construction of the pool and mounting costs, as well as concerns about sinkholes. The pool was due to be ready nine months ago and the leisure centre project is £4m over budget.

Part of the site remains closed for further work after a void — a gap below the surface — was discovered last year.

‘Totally unacceptable’

Cllr Williams, said:

“I can confirm that Harrogate Borough Council’s PR officer told the Stray Ferret journalist that he was not able to look around the new swimming pool and that today’s event was for councillors only and a separate event for the press is yet to be organised and the Stray Ferret will be invited to this.

“I now understand that other media was invited around today and if it’s a case that Harrogate Borough Council has adopted a censorship policy that bars media who ask legitimate questions on the way that public money is spent, this is totally unacceptable in a democracy and is more like the way that Vladimir Putin handles affairs in Russia.”

Read more:

• Ripon pool opening delayed again
• Ripon pool and leisure centre to open next week
• Sinkhole experts urge councillors to consider new site for Ripon pool

The Stray Ferret has reported concerns by Ripon-based chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh about the wisdom of the council building a swimming pool on land with a history of ground instability issues.

Dr Alan Thompson, a geologist and director of director of Cuesta Consulting in Somerset, has also raised safety concerns — as covered by the Stray Ferret.

We have also reported concerns about the proposed price hike for Ripon City Swimming Club to use the pool to teach swimming.

‘No lifeguards on duty’

A council spokesman said:

“Tim wasn’t banned from entering the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre today.

“Today’s invite was for Ripon city councillors to have a first-look at the facility before it opens on Wednesday. As we explained to the councillors, there are still some finishing touches to complete and them to be mindful while walking around the new pool.

“There were also no lifeguards on duty so we needed to be cautious about the number of people poolside.”

The Stray Ferret replied by asking if it was a councillors-only event why other media outlets were allowed to attend.

Thank you to both @BBCLookNorth and @itvcalendar for coming down to the @JackLaugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in #Ripon this morning.

You can find out more about the new facility this evening or by visiting https://t.co/xAAVxhHReg pic.twitter.com/Os3ZLoJAlC

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) February 28, 2022

The spokesman said:

“Tim wasn’t refused entry and others allowed in; BBC Look North and ITV Calendar had a first-look this morning and we were limited on time.”

The statement did not mention that local media were also invited — but not the Stray Ferret.

We were subsequently invited to an invitation to view the centre tomorrow.

A 24-hour vigil will begin at the war memorial in Harrogate tomorrow to show support with Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The vigil, which has been organised by Christopher and Lindis Percy, will start at 10am and finish at 10am the following day.

Anyone is welcome to stay for as long as they want. Warm clothing is advised.

Ms Percy, who has been a well-known peace campaigner in the district for many years, said:

“The news is very dire and we thought we must do something. It is a very dangerous situation in Ukraine. We hope people will join us”.

Read more:

• LIVE: Harrogate Polish shop ‘overwhelmed’ by response to appeal for donations
• Former Ripon student fleeing Ukraine today to set up refugee shelter
• Ripon man with family in Ukraine speaks of ‘deeply troubling’ times

The Stray Ferret is running a live blog about people in the district who are helping people affected by the war in Ukraine.

If you know of an initiative to provide help or support run by a person, charity, church, community group or business, let us know by calling the newsroom on 01423276197 or by emailing us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In February, war broke out in Ukraine and all legal restrictions for covid were lifted after almost two years.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, Mr Jones:

• Writing on his local “news” website, Community News, on February 1, Mr Jones commented on the release of the Sue Gray Downing Street parties report. He said he was “disappointed” the full report would not be published until after the police investigation but called the alleged events at Downing Street a “sorry state of affairs.”
• On February 15, the MP posed for a photo with Copgrove-based Abacus Manufacturing owner Ian Pattison. The pair discussed how the business had coped during covid and its expansion plans.
• The MP is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure. On February 23 he posed for a photo with chancellor Rishi Sunak and leading figures from the civil engineering industry.
• At PMQs on the same day, Mr Jones asked the prime minister if the NHS would review the system for identifying people most vulnerable to covid, as he said some are at risk of being missed.
• The MP defended Harrogate District Hospital after the Local Democracy Service revealed 800 patients were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested for covid. Mr Jones said :“This must have been extremely difficult for them particularly in the early days of the pandemic when the world was fighting against something new.”

Read more:

• New gritter tracker shows which roads in Harrogate district are being treated

• Harrogate council ranks in lowest 15% of local authorities for tackling climate change

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• The MP was uncharacteristically outspoken on Twitter during February. On February 1 he criticised prime minister Boris Johnson for suggesting labour leader Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile while he was Director of Public Prosecutions. He wrote: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can’t just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.”
• After Keir Starmer was harassed outside Parliament a week later, Mr Smith again called for the PM to withdraw the “false slur” about Jimmy Savile.
• In a tweet on February 26, he urged the UK government to “make an immediate open, welcoming and warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine. Rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”
• On February 9, Children from Masham C of E Primary School visited Mr Smith in Parliament. He tweeted that he was envious of their Happy Meal at the end of the day.
• The MP criticised fellow Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg who suggested civil servants do not make British life better. Mr Smith replied “Have to disagree. Massive thanks to all local, devolved & central gov civil servants.”

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• The MP said on February 1 he was “delighted’ that North Yorkshire would become an Education Investment Area. Ministers plan to offer retention payments in those areas to keep the best teachers and prioritise them for new specialist sixth form free schools.
• On Twitter, the MP praised his boss Boris Johnson for hiring the “fabulous” ex-BBC and GB News journalist Guto Harri as his new director of communications.
• On February 16, the MP visited Qatar for a trip to help drum up trade to the UK.
• Mr Adams’ constituency includes Tadcaster, just outside the Harrogate district, which was hit by floods in February. He told ITV the Environment Agency needs to ‘get their fingers out’ and invest in flood defences for the town.

“It’s really important that the United Kingdom makes an immediate open, welcoming and warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine.

“Rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”

A new nursery run by many former members of staff at Smarties in Ripley has opened.

Smartie Land in nearby Brearton is a joint venture between Lesley Kelsey, who was a director at Smarties, and Viscount Mountgarret, who lives in South Stainley.

The nursery, which also operates a holiday club, is situated in former kennels on Viscount Mountgarret’s estate.

Ms Kelsey said the business, which opened this month and can cater for 62 children, benefited from its rural setting and spacious facilities.

She said:

“The closure of Smarties left a gap. When it closed we had about 90 children on our books.

“Houses are going up left, right and centre around Harrogate and they tend to attract families and we are here for them.

“Smarties was a one-off. It wasn’t part of a chain and this will be the same. You can offer a different service when you’re not part of a chain.”

Read more:

• Plan approved to convert former Smarties nursery in Ripley into home
• Smarties nursery in Ripley to close next month
• Parking meters installed in Ripley car park

Smarties, which opened in 1987 and catered for 52 children, closed last year.

The building is part of the Ripley estate owned by Sir Thomas and Lady Emma Ingilby, who decided not to renew the lease.

This month Harrogate Borough Council approved plans by Sir Thomas to convert the former nursery into a house.

Ripon’s new leisure centre and pool will open on Wednesday, it was announced this afternoon.

Harrogate Borough Council has just published a series of tweets announcing the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lane will welcome its first visitors at 6.30am.

The facilities include a 25-metre six-lane pool and sauna and steam room.

The council said in a statement:

“The new six-lane 25m swimming pool has 70 per cent more water space compared to Ripon Spa Baths and has a wealth of improvements that come with modern swimming facilities.

“These include the AngelEye pool safety system that, with the use of underwater cameras, assists lifeguards to detect whether swimmers are in danger or drowning.

“The new pool will be open every day of the week and offers customers a variety of different activities, including general and family swim, swimming lessons and Aquafit, as well as a sauna suite.

“Outside, a new car park has been installed along with a sheltered cycle rack, electric car charging points and a new play area.”

The pool was due to be ready nine months ago and the project is currently £4m over budget.

https://twitter.com/Harrogatebc/status/1497259622234796036

✅ Sauna and steam room
✅ Changing village with level access
✅ Dedicated baby-changing facilities
✅ Family cubicles and group changing facilities
✅ Pool hoists and reserved parking for those with disabilities
✅ Swimming lessons and children's parties

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) February 25, 2022

https://twitter.com/Harrogatebc/status/1497259627209236481

Tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire has defended the impact of the 2014 Tour De France Grand Depart, which ended in Harrogate, after MPs were told this week that the event had no lasting impact on Yorkshire tourism.

At an MPs select committee on Tuesday, Caroline Cooper Charles, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire, which champions the film and TV industry in Yorkshire, gave evidence about promoting the UK as a tourist destination.

Asked by Labour MP Clive Efford if the Grand Depart had a lasting impact on tourism in the county, she replied:

“In all honesty, I don’t think it did.

“It certainly put the spotlight on Yorkshire and people came to see the race. Probably for a short amount of time hotels were booked up and restaurants were full. In terms of long term impact no, I wouldn’t say so.”

‘Immense international hit’

Welcome to Yorkshire played a major role in bringing the event to Yorkshire.

An estimated 300,000 people lined the streets in places including Ripon, Masham and Harrogate to watch the race.

A WTY spokesperson told the Stray Ferret the Grand Depart was an “immense international hit” that helped to put Yorkshire on a global stage and “showcase its beauty to the world”.

Read more:

• New moves to improve cycling in North Yorkshire
• Scrapping Pannal cycle lane ‘ludicrous’, says cycling group

Legacy

The spokesperson claimed the Grand Depart attracted 4 million roadside spectators and the race was watched in 188 countries with £330m worth of media coverage.

They said tweets about the race reached 230 million people and the Tour de France Grand Départ in Yorkshire trended worldwide.

The spokesperson said key to the legacy of the Grand Depart was the annual Tour de Yorkshire races from 2015 to 2019.

They added:

“The Tour de Yorkshire has also been of huge economic benefit to the county and the tourism industry, further boosting the county’s economy and promoting spectacular Yorkshire across the globe.

“Benefits for the county during the Tour de Yorkshires have included record-breaking figures of 107.5m Twitter reach (2016), 2.6 million spectators along the route and a £98m economic impact (2018), plus a TV audience of 28 million in 190 countries (2019).

“This world-class cycling event is also so much more than a bike race – it’s about the crowds, the community engagement and that amazing Yorkshire welcome, plus it’s proved to be the perfect opportunity, year upon year, to let the world see Yorkshire’s spectacular countryside, stunning coastline, vibrant cities, pretty towns and villages, as well as its world-renowned history and heritage locations.”

Harrogate district residents are being urged to report empty homes as new figures show some progress has been made on the problem which is contributing to the housing crisis.

Harrogate Borough Council has faced calls to take greater action to bring empty homes back into use at a time when around 1,800 households remain stuck on the social housing waiting list due to a “desperate” lack of affordable properties.

Figures now show some progress has been made, with the number of homes empty for more than two years falling from 228 in 2019 to 205 this week.

There is still much ground to be made, but the council said the figures show it is taking positive action.

Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities, is now asking more property owners to bring their empty homes back into use as he also urged residents to report any cases to the council as part of a national week of action.

He said:

“We want to work with property owners who, for whatever reason, have an empty property that could be better used to provide a home for local people.

“There are options available, including the empty homes loan or rent bond scheme to carry out repairs or improvement works and bring them back into use.

“I’d urge anyone who is interested to get in touch.”

Read more:

• Boarded-up building in Harrogate town centre could become pharmacy
• Harrogate hospital currently ‘very full’, say health officials

Other figures show the number of Harrogate district homes empty for more than six months has also fallen from 838 in 2019 to 758 this week.

‘We can’t afford to waste properties’

This comes at a time when campaign group Action on Empty Homes says the nation has seen a “massive rise” in cases as it also calls for councils to be given greater powers “to act where owners and landlords won’t or can’t”.

The campaign group said:

“We believe that we cannot afford to waste such properties.

“In England 100,000 families are trapped in often poor quality, insecure temporary accommodation, which does not meet the standards that are required of the permanent, secure, social housing these families are entitled to.”

There are numerous reasons why properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.

Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them.

Loan scheme

Harrogate Borough Council last year launched a loan scheme to help property owners carry out repairs. The loan is for anyone who does not have the money to carry out repairs to a property which has been empty for more than six months.

In what is described as a “last resort”, the council also has powers to carry compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) where efforts to bring empty homes back into use have failed and legal action is taken against landlords.

Just two CPOs were carried out in 2020/21 and the local Liberal Democrats previously said a stricter approach should be taken.

But councillor Chambers said the Conservative-run council would rather work with property owners rather than take legal action against them.

He said:

“When we have exhausted all options, we will look to make a compulsory purchase order to bring empty homes back into use.

“But we would much prefer working with property owners and highlight the options available to them.”

Councillor Chambers also said there are often empty properties which the council is unaware of, and he urged residents to report cases to the council’s empty homes officer.