Police appeal after ‘violent robbery’ in Harrogate

Police are appealing for information after a 17-year-old boy had his trainers stolen in a “violent robbery” in Harrogate.

The incident happened at Bilton Grange Close, near to the junction with Skipton Road, at about 11pm on Saturday, December 11.

According to North Yorkshire Police, two males thought to be aged between 16 and 18 years of age chased the victim from the Majestic Wine shop on Skipton Road to Bilton Grange Close.

They then assaulted and threatened him and stole his footwear – a distinctive pair of black and orange Nike Air Max 90, which are sold for about £125.

Police want help identifying the two suspects, who are described as slim, wearing face coverings and dressed all in black.

A police statement said:

“They were seen in the vicinity of the Texaco Petrol station on Skipton Road shortly before the robbery took place.

“One of them was riding a black mountain bike and the other on foot.

“Officers are particularly keen to identify a man who was in the area at the time of the assault, who was wearing a distinctive black EA7 baseball cap as they believe he may be able to assist their enquiries.

Read more:

Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 1484 Dave Foyston . You can also email david.foyston@northyorkshire.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12210260693.

Two boys in their late teens have been arrested in connection with the incident. Both have been released on conditional bail.

Air pollution risks from Harrogate’s wood-burning stoves ‘cannot be ignored’

A campaigner from Harrogate says more should be done to highlight how wood-burning stoves damage the environment.

A study published on Friday found the stoves contribute to almost half of the cancer-causing air pollution particles in towns and cities.

Government data found that wood-burning stoves are the single biggest source of PM2.5 particles in the UK, three times more than transport. Breathing in the particles is known to exacerbate lung conditions, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The stoves have seen a boom in popularity over the past decade, with many people seeing them as cosy and rustic additions to their homes.

Some Harrogate district residents in older houses also find stoves and open fires an important source of heat during winter, but Harrogate man Brian McHugh believes over 90% of them are not really needed.

He said air pollution from wood-burners “can no longer be a taboo subject”.

“People have not been responding to the fact that there is a real danger here.”

Mr McHugh, who has written articles on the subject, said some people get defensive when they are told that stoves contribute to air pollution and take it as a personal affront.

He said:

“They feel it is an attack on their identity.”

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Mr McHugh said wood-burning stoves should be seen as a public health risk, similar to smoking or excessive drinking. He’d like to see Harrogate Borough Council launch a public information campaign to inform people of the risks.

He added:

“We have also restricted all sorts of consumer products in the past.

“I think the winter months are an especially good time to talk about air pollution as a while, as both outdoor and indoor air pollution tend to be worse in winter in the UK.

“Harrogate Borough Council has a range of resources and tools at their disposal to disseminate information, whether that is through email, flyers or signage.

“There are local organisations that promote a reduction in local ambient air pollution through Walk to School days and people are being informed about pollution through this direct action. A campaign to start a No Burn Day as a starting point, could be a huge breakthrough.”

Omicron: Harrogate district covid rate up by a quarter in three days

Harrogate’s Covid infection rate has jumped by more than 25% in just three days amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

The weekly rate per 100,000 people currently stands at 476 – up sharply from 376.

This equates to around 110 new cases per day and comes as people are being urged to think carefully about social events this Christmas as a further rise in infections is expected.

Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said the area was now facing a “race against time” to prepare for a similar surge in cases seen in other areas of the country.

“If we follow previous patterns, and what’s happening in London, it won’t be long before we are seeing high numbers of Omicron cases here in North Yorkshire.

“Even the most optimistic Government modelling is now projecting many more cases in January and February and we face the possibility of many more hospital admissions and sadly many more deaths.

“Living with Covid means responding quickly to deal with a new variant. We need to act now to buy time”.

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Mr Webb also said people should take a lateral flow test before mixing socially and that getting a booster vaccine remained the best line of defence.

The vaccination programme has been rapidly accelerated in recent weeks with firefighters now being drafted in to deliver doses at sites across North Yorkshire.

James Manning, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue group manager, said:

“This is an urgent situation and the time involved is substantial in getting these vaccines where they need to be.

“For this reason the key agencies have come together to provide the best possible service to people”.

In Harrogate, vaccines are being made available by appointments and walk-ins at several pharmacy sites as well as Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground and Ripon Racecourse.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone and welcome to the start of a new week with the Stray Ferret’s traffic and travel service.

Make sure to keep an eye on this blog throughout the morning.

If you spot anything, let me know on 01423 276197. Let’s help everyone have a smooth journey today.

These blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

Roads

That is all from me this morning, I will be back from 6.30am tomorrow. The roads are getting more busy this morning as more people head out to work for the last week before Christmas. Here are the hot spots to look out for:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting more busy this morning as more people head out to work for the last week before Christmas. Here are the hot spots to look out for:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting more busy this morning as more people head out to work for the last week before Christmas.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are running smoothly so far this morning, but keep checking back as things will likely get busier as the morning goes on.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are running smoothly so far this morning, but keep checking back as things will likely get busier as the morning goes on.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are running smoothly so far this morning, but keep checking back as things will likely get busier as the morning goes on.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

Bettys and Taylors offers £5,000 grants to help charities

Groups across the Harrogate district are encouraged to apply for grants of up to £4,000 to support local charities and community groups.

Bettys and Taylors Coronavirus Community Fund aims to help organisations which are finding it hard to fund running costs due to the covid pandemic.

The grants are open to a range of groups, including voluntary groups, registered charities, co-operatives, social enterprises and community interest companies.

Examples of areas which the fund can help is rental, heating and lighting costs.

Read more:

The fund, which is operated by Two Ridings Community Foundation, is focused on supporting those organisations which support health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities and loneliness.

Bettys said on its website:

“It is recognised that one of the most difficult things for many small charities and community groups is finding funding for the ‘business as usual’ every day running costs from heating and lighting to staffing and rent.

“This has become especially difficult at a time when the fundraising activities that would usually support these costs has been dramatically reduced and with much uncertainty around when it might be able to resume.”

Those successful could receive grants of between £500 and £5,000. Grants are available to groups across Yorkshire.

Applications close on 14 March, 2022.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, visit the Two Ridings Community Foundation website here.

‘Bold and brave’ changes to prevent second homes in Dales

“Bold and brave” changes to planning rules that aim to prevent Yorkshire Dales houses becoming second homes and holiday lets have been approved.

Members of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority signalled their determination to get to grips with the high-profile housing crisis across much of the 2,179 square km area and gave the green light to several key changes to the body’s forthcoming Local Plan blueprint.

The decision follows years of debate over which of the park’s estimated 2,000 traditional stone barns should be conserved and how to create sufficient new housing for local people to remain living in the area, parts of which have seen property prices rise by some 20% this year.

Earlier this year it emerged some 3,100 of the national park’s 12,000 properties had become holiday lets and second homes, and the number was rising, as the pandemic had accelerated a trend for rural relocations among wealthy and retired people.

The meeting heard although some 150 potential sites for housing were currently being considered, continuing to permit barn conversions in settlements, building groups and roadside locations could make a significant difference to housing supply.

However, members said in future the conversions should only be allowed for holiday letting as part of farm diversification schemes.

Read more:

Officers told the meeting extending the area restricting occupancy of new homes to local people to the whole of the national park and making the criteria for occupancy more favourable to attracting new households would benefit the local economy.

Other key changes agreed include that local occupancy restrictions could form part of the housing mix on larger sites and that a principal residence restriction should be introduced on new housing, to stop properties becoming holiday lets or second homes.

Ring-fencing homes for local people

A meeting of the authority, held at Tennants in Leyburn, heard that despite concerns permitting traditional agricultural building conversions over the last six years had seen only a small proportion of new homes for locals, relaxing the planning rules had boosted the park’s heritage.

Neil Heseltine, the authority’s chairman, described some of the recommendations as being “bold and brave”, as the meeting heard further action was needed to help increase the housing stock ring-fenced for local people.

Recreation champion for the authority, Nick Cotton, said while almost 200 barns had been permitted for residential conversion since the policy was extended in 2015, only 42, or 20% of them had been completed over the six years.

He said: 

“We are giving plenty of permissions, they just aren’t being taken up.”

Nevertheless, Jim Munday, the authority’s member champion for development management, said the policy over barns needed to remain largely unchanged because it had proved to be successful in conserving derelict traditional buildings.

He said barn conversions had contributed 40 per cent of the homes to the authority’s housing targets over the past four years.

Mr Munday said: 

“Let’s not forget 94 per cent of planning applications for barns have been approved. It’s that six per cent that aren’t that hit the headlines. I don’t know why.”

Harrogate district covid rate jumps for first time since Omicron

The seven-day covid rate of infection in the Harrogate district has increased from 383 per 100,000 to 419 in the first significant increase since Omicron.

A further 158 cases were reported in today’s government figures.

Until today, the district had not appeared to have been affected by the rapid increase in infections that have hit other parts of the county.

Across the county, the average stands at 426 and the England rate has soared to 723.

Today’s figures also reveal more than 85,000 booster and third vaccines have been administered in the district.

UK Health Security Agency figures show that a total of 85,929 booster and third vaccines have been given so far.

Read more:

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England.

Latest available figures show eight covid patients are being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

The new sport taking the Harrogate district by storm

A relatively new sport that is a cross between tennis and squash is taking the Harrogate district by storm.

Padel is played between four players on reduced sized tennis courts. Competitors use paddle racquets and can bounce the ball off walls.

Nicky Horn, a Harrogate coach who has played the sport for 10 years, said she has seen a remarkable amount of interest in the sport in recent months.

She pointed to courts being built at Hornbeam Park in Harrogate, which is expected to see six new dedicated courts, and planned new courts at Ripon Tennis Club as an example of its booming demand.

Since the first covid lockdown, Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre has also seen high demand for its padel courts on Hookstone Wood Road.

A game of padel tennis in Harrogate.

A game of padel tennis in Harrogate.

Nicky said she expects to see padel’s popularity increase further over the next five years now that the Lawn Tennis Association oversees the sport.

She said:

“It’s really taking off.

“It’s a reasonably accessible sport because the players can hit the ball easier.”

‘Largest female padel tennis match’

Nicky played padel in Spain before returning to Harrogate to take up two teams. She currently coaches Harrogate and Rawdon on a Monday and Saturday.

Read more:

Last weekend, the two teams got together to play a game which Nicky believes was the largest female padel match in the UK.

Despite the cold conditions, 32 players, who ranged from eight-years-old to 80, turned up to take part as Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre.

Nicky said:

“Everyone had lots of fun.

“Some of our players were squash players and some were tennis players, but everybody loved it.”

6,000 players in the UK

The local boom has been reflected across the country.

With more than 6.000 padel players in the UK, according to the LTA, the sport is one of the fastest growing in the country.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Ballon D’or winning footballer, Lionel Messi, are also reported to be players of the sport.

Here are 10 facts you might not know about padel, from the LTA:

Harrogate district covid rate stable as UK reports record cases

The Harrogate district’s covid rate remains stable on a day that saw a record number of Omicron infections reported nationally.

A total of 119 positive cases were reported in the district in today’s government figures.

Across the UK, 93,045 infections were reported — the most since the pandemic began.

The district’s seven-day rate currently stands at 383 per 100,000 people. The rate is now lower than both the county and England rates of 390 and 651.

The figures suggest the Omicron variant has yet to take hold in the Harrogate district.

Read more:

UK Health Security Agency data shows that the percentage uptake for booster vaccines in the Harrogate district for those aged 12 and over currently stands at 55%.

A total of 85,929 booster and third vaccines have been administered in the Harrogate district as of today.

Across the district, 2,076 booster jabs were given yesterday, as the vaccination programme is accelerated.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England.

Latest available figures show eight covid patients are being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

Four Harrogate district parish councils join campaign for 20mph limit

A prominent environmental campaigner from Harrogate is urging more parish councils to support an initiative to reduce some speeds limits from 30mph to 20mph.

Malcolm Margolis has been lobbying parish councils since September to join the 20’s Plenty for Us movement.

The movement consists of 500 local groups campaigning for 20mph to be normal on residential streets and in town and village centres

So far, four parish councils in the Harrogate district have signed up for the initiative. They include Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill, Tockwith with Wilstrop, Goldborough and Flaxby and Haverah Park with Beckwithshaw which have pledged support to 20’s Plenty.

Malcolm Margolis

Mr Margolis said he does not believe every 30 mph limit should be reduced to 20mph but that the move would be welcome on roads where people live, work and go to school. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I am definitely hoping to get more parish councils signed up. There are a few councils which will be debating the matter at their next meetings.

“We are confident there is huge, overwhelming support across North Yorkshire. Not only would it save lives but it would also reduce air pollution.

“I do not understand the reasons North Yorkshire County Council has given as to why it could not do this. It would not cost very much and would be policed as much as 30mph roads.

“Unfortunately all that is stopping the movement is a few people, mainly politicians.”

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However, North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, said it has consulted with North Yorkshire Police and other interested parties and does not believe speed reductions would be appropriate.

Karl Battersby, corporate director of business and environmental services, said:

“We are committed to making the network as safe and accessible as possible for all road users and will continue to talk to communities to consider options to allay road safety concerns.

“A revised 20mph speed limit policy is currently going through its approval process following a review by a task group set up by the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

“This review, which reported its conclusions this year, heard from traffic engineers, road safety and public health officers, North Yorkshire Police and the 20’s Plenty campaign group.

“The task group resolved that it is not appropriate to apply a countywide default 20mph speed limit.”

Mr Battersby added that speed is not a major cause of collisions in North Yorkshire and that it would require significant investment, as well as future maintenance costs.