Business Breakfast: Harrogate Town agrees new scoreboard sponsor

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is an after work drinks event on Thursday, August 31 at The West Park Hotel in Harrogate between 5-7pm. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Harrogate Town FC has announced a new matchday sponsor.

Concrete 4 U will sponsor the club’s LED scoreboard, which displays the score and match information during games at the Enivrovent Stadium.

The company, which is based at Portgate Quarry in Ripon, becomes the latest local business to sponsor the football club after Harrogate-based Kitching Plant hire and GH Brooks agreed sponsorship deals.

Neil Harper, group commercial director at Concrete 4 U says 

“At Concrete 4 U, we believe in building strong foundations, not only in construction but also in community partnerships.

“Sponsoring Harrogate Town AFC’s LED scoreboard is a natural fit for us, we’re proud to be a part of the captivating moments that the scoreboard will showcase and look forward to leaving a lasting positive impact on matchday.”

Harrogate digital marketing agency shortlisted for four awards

A Harrogate digital marketing agency has been shortlisted for an award at a national ceremony.

Extreme, which is based at Windsor House, has been included in the shortlist for four categories at the UK Social Media Awards 2023.

Extreme's social team.

Extreme’s social team.

The nominations include the company’s work with clients such as Numatic International and cocktail bar Alcotraz.

Extreme’s social media work has been shortlisted for Best Use of Paid Social for Numatic, Best Integrated Campaign, as well as Best Use of TikTok and Best Use of Paid Social for Alcotraz.

Donna Herron, head of social at Extreme said: 

“To be recognised in any category or award ceremony is an honour, so to have four submissions shortlisted in a prestigious national scheme is so exciting for our team.

“Even being shortlisted is a great boost, and we’re excited to celebrate with other nominees at the event in September.”

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‘Miracle’ cat Charlie returns to Harrogate home after four-week search

An overjoyed Harrogate family is today celebrating the return of a cat who went missing for four agonising weeks.

Erika Hartness spent hours a day searching for seven-year-old Charlie after the Tonkinese disappeared on July 22.

She plastered the area with posters, flooded social media with appeals and put up a £500 reward.

But when Charlie, who had never been away for more than two nights, did not return after a few days she began to fear the worst.

Nevertheless, she and 17-year-old son Jack continued to search under hedges and explore every possible lead and then last night the family received the best surprise ever.

Erika recalls:

“Me and my husband Paul were in separate rooms at home when we heard this almighty miaow. We both thought ‘that’s Charlie’ and ran to the back door.”

It was indeed a bedraggled, emaciated but very much alive Charlie. He had lost half his weight, but otherwise seemed fine.

This image taken today shows how emaciated Charlie is.

A trip to the vet today confirmed Charlie requires nothing but food and tender loving care.

The family is still unsure what happened but Erika believes the wandering moggy got trapped, perhaps in a shed, and was eventually let out — possibly by someone who had just returned from holiday. She said:

“We don’t know how he survived for four weeks without food or how he got water. It’s an absolute miracle he’s alive.

“Even the vet said he should be dead.”

Charlie is now recovering at home, miaowing profusely for food and cuddles. He hasn’t ventured outdoors.

One of the posters.

He used to sleep alongside Raffles, the family Labrador, who died five weeks before Charlie’s disappearance.

Erika wonders whether Charlie went looking for Raffles on the day he went missing.

The family, which even enlisted the support of a company that helps to find missing pets, was overwhelmed by support. Erika said:

“We want to say a really big thank you to everybody. The help we’ve had has been amazing.”

She remains curious about Charlie’s missing month and said if anyone had any information to get in touch.

“There’s probably an entirely innocent person out there who saw a cat shoot out of a shed and didn’t think much of it.”

If you have any information, email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will pass on the message to Erika.

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits Harrogate nursery

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited a nursery in Harrogate today.

Mr Sunak visited Busy Bees on Hornbeam Park along with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to meet parents and early years childcare providers.

The Prime Minister and Ms Keegan were shown around the nursery on Hookstone Road by centre director Sarah Saynor, alongside Busy Bees’ group chief quality officer Gill Jones.

The visit comes as the government is planning to increase funded childcare hours.

Mr Sunak joined children in painting and outdoor play activities. He also spoke with local parents about their views on the changes the government is making to early years education funding.

Mr Sunak said:

“I was delighted to visit Busy Bees Nursery at Hornbeam Park today.

“Providing high-quality, affordable childcare for families is a priority for the government, so it was fantastic to see how dedicated the Busy Bees staff are to creating a safe and nurturing environment for the children in their care.”

Gill Jones said it was a pleasure to introduce Mr Sunak and Ms Keegan to children and show them what the nursery provider does. She added:

“We are committed to giving every child the best start in life and were pleased to be able to offer further insight into the importance of helping more parents and children to access affordable quality early years education, whilst ensuring nurseries receive the support needed.”

Pictured above: (left to right) Alex Norford, Freya Skelton, Jessica Lofthouse, Toni-Joy Lavisher, Louise Ingham, Rosie James and Baby Aubrey, Rishi Sunak, Sarah Saynor, Gillian Keegan, Helen Burton, Gill Jones and Karen MacKay.

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Site cleared ahead new road being built at A59 Kex Gill

Contractors have completed clearing an area alongside the A59 near Harrogate ahead of building a new three-mile stretch of road.

The A59 is a key link between Harrogate and Skipton.

But the section that includes Kex Gill has had a history of landslips, which has caused lengthy diversions for motorists and extra costs for the council.

Work on the £68.8 million project began in February and will see a new road built from Blubberhouses to just after Kex Gill.

The Department for Transport is providing £56.1m and the remaining funds are coming from North Yorkshire Council.

In an update, the council said the site has now been cleared, which has involved removing trees, and an access road is being built to allow builders to start work on the new road.

A stone wall has also been dismantled but will be reused as part of the scheme.
The council added the project will be finished in autumn 2025 after previously saying it would be in May of that year.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment,  said:

“The £69 million Kex Gill realignment project is progressing in line with our programme. The site has been carefully cleared, and a construction access road is being built as part of the first phase of construction.

“The stone boundary wall has been carefully de- constructed and labelled to enable future re-instatement.

“The new road is scheduled to open in autumn 2025 and once complete will reduce road closures, congestion and delays on the A59, reducing the impact on the environment.”

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The majority of the new road will be constructed without access to traffic, which means the existing road will remain open during construction.

Once open, the re-routed A59 is not likely to make journey times between Harrogate and Skipton any quicker but it will remove the risk of landslips.

The Kex Gill section runs through important habitats including a Site of Special
Scientific Interest.

The council said plans are in place to mitigate the impact on wildlife in the area that includes barn owls, bats, nightjars, wild game, toads and badgers.

Man jailed for dealing cocaine and ecstasy in Harrogate

A man caught dealing cocaine and ecstasy in Harrogate has been jailed for 22 months.

Christopher David Corrigan, also known as Purser, 38, of Lingfield Drive, Moortown, Leeds, was sentenced at York Crown Court on Thursday.

Corrigan was intercepted by police on Yew Tree Lane where his then girlfriend was found to have 72 wraps of cocaine in her bra.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and ecstasy at a previous hearing.

His girlfriend at the time, Jordan Wood, 27, from Northallerton, stood trial for the same offences and was found not guilty.

Stopped on Yew Tree Lane

Officers from Harrogate’s specialist drugs unit Operation Expedite stopped a grey Peugeot 208 on Yew Tree Lane on April 30, 2021.

According to police, they had “concerns that the driver was involved in the supply of cocaine in the area”.

They detained Corrigan and Ms Wood, who was the front seat passenger.

A search of the couple and the vehicle found 72 wraps of drugs in Ms Wood’s bra.

Both were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

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During police interview, Ms Wood answered “no comment” to all questions and Corrigan said he was £8,000 in debt.

Tests showed 60 cocaine wraps were 89% pure and 10 wraps were 29% pure.

Two further bags were found to be 95% pure ecstasy, which is also a Class A drug.

The total amount of cocaine was just over 30 grams and the total amount of ecstasy was 1.23 grams.

The total street value of all the drugs seized was £3,480.

‘He can reflect on his behaviour in prison’

Police discovered Corrigan’s mobile phone contained numerous messages in which a ‘line holder’ arranged drug deals and Corrigan was sent to conduct the deals.

Corrigan pleaded guilty to the offence in April this year and was remanded in custody awaiting the outcome of Ms Wood’s trial.

PC Michael Haydock, of Operation Expedite, said:

“Corrigan was the main protagonist which was clear to see from the evidence presented by the officer in the case. Corrigan was left with no option but to admit his guilt.

“He can now reflect on his criminal behaviour whilst serving his custodial sentence. Anyone else who tries their hand at drug dealing can expect to end up where he is too.

“There is no place for drug dealers. They inflict misery and suffering on people, their families and communities, all for their own greed.”

 

Free cycling sessions to improve skills and confidence to be held in Harrogate

Harrogate residents will be able to attend free cycling workshops to improve their skills and confidence on the road in September.

Kate Auld, founder of The Personal Cyclist, has teamed up with the Harrogate branch of Sweaty Betty and bike recycling charity, Resurrection Bikes, to host sessions on basic bike maintenance and necessary skills to encourage a more active mode of travel.

Attendees will be able to borrow bikes on the day and can expect a Sweaty Betty gift voucher.

The sessions come as part of the Big Bike Revival 2023 – a nationwide programme to make cycling more accessible.

It is backed by Cycling UK, which aims to engage with 45% of those defined as non-regular cyclists and hopes to create 50,000 new cycling trips this year.

Ms Auld told the Stray Ferret:

“September’s a great time to get back in the saddle.

“We want to help as many people as possible and give them a boost to their confidence and health, understand their bikes better and enable them to ride more safely.”

Sessions will run at Sweaty Betty on Saturday, September 23, and Saturday, September 30 from 10am -11.30am, as well as Sunday, September 24 from 2.30 – 4pm and Sunday, October 1, from, 11am – 12.30pm.

There will also be a skills session at 6pm on Monday, September 25, at So! Bar on Cold Bath Road.

Sunday sessions will feature mechanic Nicola Doody, from Liv York, a bike store dedicated to women, to provide further insight.

Those interested can email thepersonalcyclist@gmail.com to register, or contact @thepersonalcyclist on Facebook or Instagram.

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Business Breakfast: Mama Doreen’s Emporium to open York branch

Harrogate cupcake company Mama Doreen’s Emporium is due to open a new branch in York.

The restaurant, which serves afternoon tea, brunch dishes and cakes, opened in 2009 on Cold Bath Road, but moved to its current James Street site in 2019.

Now the company is on the hunt for a new general manager to run the York site.

In a social media post advertising the job role, a member of staff at Mama Doreen’s said:

“We are now ready to bring our amazing service, afternoon teas and of course cupcakes to York.”

The opening date and location of the new store have not yet been announced.

Harrogate tea company takes home Great Taste award

A Harrogate-based tea company has been recognised at the Great Taste Awards for its immunity tea.

Thankfully Healthy was one of 4,088 winners of the award, which had been narrowed down from over 14,000 entries.

The tea is made from a blend of herbs including turmeric, cardamom and rose to strengthen the immune system.

The accolade is given to ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’ and the product was dubbed “a bracing and spicy ayurvedic tea, full of interesting and complementary spices, most familiar from the spice box of India” by the judges.

Dipti Arora, founder, said:

“If you had told me when I first started thinking about my herbal tea business that I would receive a Great Taste award someday, I probably would have said, “only if such a wish could ever come true!”

“But here I am, a one-person team, nurturing my start-up, and this achievement feels like more than just a dream come true.

The judging took place over 89 days, with a panel of over 500 judges, and saw entries from 109 different countries.

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Harrogate residents consider vehicle protest against developers

Residents in part of Harrogate flooded by new homes may refuse to move their vehicles off the street tomorrow in protest.

A modular building that acted as a developer’s office and has stood derelict for years is due to be taken away by the company Portakabin.

A traffic management company has asked people on Kingsley Road to move any vehicles parked on the street so there is enough space for the building to be transported along the street from its location on Hawthorne Place.

But Kingsley Ward Action Group, which was set up to protect green spaces from development, said some residents are so angry about the number of new homes and the way developers have acted they are unwilling to comply.

A spokesman for the group said:

“I will park my car legally outside my own house but as that is opposite the post box there is no way this size vehicle will pass.

“As for the rest of the street I doubt the vehicle will even get to me there seems to be a fair bit of anger over this.

Will there be enough room for the modular building to be removed on Kingsley Road?

North Yorkshire Council has issued a traffic order preventing waiting and loading along one side of Kingsley Road from tomorrow until Friday.

But the spokesman said many residents were unclear exactly where they could park and what was legally permitted.

Some 600 homes are being built in the Kingsley Road area after a succession of planning applications were approved.

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North Yorkshire Council’s highways area manager for Harrogate, Melisa Burnham, said:

“We have worked with the traffic management contractor and Portakabin to ensure that any disruption during the removal of the building is kept to a minimum in terms of the location and duration of the temporary parking restrictions.

“The traffic management contractor has informed residents and we have been in close contact with the community to allay concerns and ensure they understand the minimal nature of the restrictions.

“In general terms, where temporary traffic regulation orders prohibit parking, contravention of an order can be enforced by parking services and obstructions of the highway by the police.”

Tears and pride for Killinghall Nomads at big screen showing

It wasn’t the result they wanted but the sense of pride in Rachel Daly remained undimmed at Killinghall Nomads’ big screen showing of the Women’s World Cup final today.

Hundreds of people involved with the club were at the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel in Harrogate to watch the match.

So were several national news crews, including ITV, which requested the coverage be switched from BBC in case former Nomads player Daly scored and the national channel cut to the joyful scenes.

The Stray Ferret, which is supporting the club’s petition for North Yorkshire Council to recognise Daly, was also there to sample the carnival atmosphere.

A young fan shows mad love for Rachel Daly.

Spain’s first half goal subdued the crowd and when Daly was taken off at half-time the mood fell flat.

Her substitution appeared to be for tactical reasons but it denied England the country’s leading goal scorer in a half in which they needed a goal.

The afternoon’s biggest cheer came when England goalkeeper Mary Earps saved a penalty.

The atmosphere went flat when Daly was taken off.

Huge excitement greeted every England attack, but this wasn’t to be the Lionesses’ day and the many young fans in the room experienced the sinking feeling familiar with older followers of England football teams over the last 50 years.

Despite it all, the club’s bond and love with Daly remained unshakeable. Everyone spoke of her with pride.

European Championships winner, Golden Boot winner, World Cup finalist… it’s a spectacular resume.  She is also on the shortlist of six for PFA Player of the Year award.

Mary Beggs-Reid, the club’s media manager, organised the event.

People shook their heads in disbelief when asked what they thought of the fact she hadn’t received even the slightest recognition by Harrogate Borough Council or its successor North Yorkshire Council and said unprintable things.

One asked why there wasn’t a big screen on the Stray. Another said:

“It’s hardly surprising people lose faith with councils when they fail to do something so bleeding obvious.”

The club’s campaign continues. You can sign the petition here.

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Where to watch the World Cup final in the Harrogate district

Pubs, sports clubs and other venues across the Harrogate district are gearing up for a morning like no other tomorrow, as England’s Lionesses face Spain in the World Cup Final.

The match takes place at Stadium Australia in Sydney, kicking off at 11am UK time.

The early start has not deterred fans and businesses alike from making the most of the occasion.

No doubt the biggest cheers will be for Rachel Daly, the former Rossett School student and Killinghall Nomads junior player, who will be hoping to start once again for the Lionesses.

Here’s a round-up of some of the places putting on a special event for the match.

If you know anywhere else, email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will add it to the list.

Harrogate

The Empress on the Stray will be open from 10am to welcome fans.

The Tap on Tower Street is opening its doors at 11am for the match.

The Den, on Cambridge Road, will be showing the match.

The Balcony at Harrogate Cricket Club will be open from 10am, with bacon butties, hot drinks and the bar open. Book a seat via the website.

Husk Beer Emporium will be open for the match from 11am.

Harrogate Conservative Club on East Parade will be showing it from 10.45am.

Bilton Cricket Club on Bilton Lane is opening at 10am and offering a free pint to anyone who wears their England shirt. Check the club’s Facebook page for booking details.

Starbeck Working Men’s Club on Forest Avenue will be showing the match on a big screen, with doors open from 10.30am.

The Knox in Bilton will be serving breakfast butties from 10.30am ready for kick-off.

The Shepherd’s Dog on Otley Road will be open from 10.30am and serving sausage and bacon butties.

 

Knaresborough

Knaresborough Town Football Club on Manse Lane is hosting a watch party, with doors open from 10.30am.

The Cricketers on Thistle Hill will be open from 10am for the match.

 

Ripon

The Black Swan in Westgate is throwing a Women’s World Cup Final party from 10.30am, with a raffle and England merchandise.

So! Bar and Eats in Old Market Square will open its doors at 10.30am. There will be free bacon sandwiches until kick-off.

Ripon Bowling Club in Bondgate Green is opening from 9am for fans to gather and watch the build-up and match together.

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