Model boating to continue in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

A 99-year-old tradition of model boating looks set to continue in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Members of Claro Marine Modellers and a representative from North Yorkshire Council held talks at the boating lake today about a new fountain.

The model boating club was concerned the fountain would damage boats and bring an end to their hobby in Harrogate.

But Adrian Selway, the new club secretary who has been sailing model boats for 30 years in Valley Gardens, said the talks had reached a solution.

model boats boating fountain

Mr Selway said the council had agreed the fountain will not operate when club members sail their boats on Sunday mornings all year round and on Wednesday evenings during summer.

He added:

“It was a very amicable meeting and the outcome was favourable. The council was anxious to support the club.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to spend £6,000 installing the fountain prompted concerns of boats running aground on the structure.

There were also fears spray from the fountain could ruin boats.

Harrogate Borough Council was abolished at the end of last month. North Yorkshire Council has inherited its assets, including Valley Gardens.

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Blubberhouses crash: lorry driver banned for being three times over limit

A lorry driver who lost control on the A59 at Blubberhouses on Tuesday was three times over the drink-drive limit.

Jacek Borowski, 51, from Poland lost control of his HGV heading down the hill.

His vehicle blocked the road completely for most of the day, causing significant disruption on the main route between Harrogate and Skipton.

Nobody else was involved or injured.

Blubberhouses collision driver banned April 2023

The lorry blocked the road for most of the day.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today Borowski had been banned within 24 hours of the incident. It added:

“Officers breathalysed the driver who blew 92 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milligrams of breath – almost three times the legal limit.

“He was remanded into custody immediately and put before York Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 19 April where he pleaded guilty to driving over the prescribed limit and was disqualified from driving for 23 months.”

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Liberal Democrats back creation of Harrogate town council

Liberal Democrats have come out in favour of the creation of a Harrogate town council.

A second consultation on whether to set-up a town council runs until May 5.

North Yorkshire County Council said in March the move would require 35,000 households to pay an additional council tax charge of between £40 and £60.

But local Liberal Democrats said today a town council would enable locally-elected councillors to take control of assets such as off-street car parks, the Stray, Royal Hall, Sun Pavilion and Valley Gardens.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of the county not to have a parish or town council.

Eight Liberal Democrats, including former Harrogate borough councillors and current North Yorkshire councillors, signed in support of a town council.

Cllr Pat Marsh, chair of North Yorkshire Council‘s area constituency committee for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said her party supported devolving power. She added:

“Without a new town council, Harrogate would be at a real disadvantage when bidding for services to remain local.

“Harrogate residents need to have a voice when it comes to the future of local assets, just as those in Knaresborough, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge and many other villages in North Yorkshire have.”

Pat Marsh

Cllr Marsh said “unique decisions relating to Harrogate should be being made in Harrogate by people who have received the endorsement of Harrogate residents” rather than councillors in places such as Catterick, Ryedale and Scarborough.

She added:

“Assets that could be considered for control by the town council include off-street car parks, the Stray, Royal Hall, Sun Pavilion, Valley Gardens and the other green and floral spaces within the town.

“Without local protection, these assets are always in danger of being cut by North Yorkshire councillors not from Harrogate.

“A Harrogate town council would also provide a formal representative voice for local residents on planning applications and other consultations.

“Harrogate is a very special place and decisions about our town need to be made by local people who know, love and understand this town.”

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A total of 75% favoured setting up a Harrogate town council in last year’s first consultation but only 1,250 homes — 3.5% of those affected — responded. The low response rate triggered concerns about the validity of the response.

The statement urges residents and businesses to respond to the second consultation before the May 5 deadline.

The Lib Dem councillors who signed today’s statement are:

Pat Marsh — Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone.

Philip Broadbank — Fairfax and Starbeck.

Chris Aldred — High Harrogate and Kingsley

Peter Lacey — Coppice Valley and Duchy

Mike Schofield — Harlow and St Georges

Monika Slater — Bilton Grange and New Park

Honorary alderman Trevor Chapman

Honorary alderman Matthew Webber

 

Plan approved to convert 150-year-old Harrogate church into house

A plan to convert a 150-year-old church in Harrogate into a house has been approved.

All Saints Church on Otley Road was formerly opened in 1871 as a cemetery chapel.

It was designated as a grade-II listed building in 1975, but was forced to shut in November 2006 due to wet and dry rot.

Three-years later the church closed for good as it was considered unsafe.

Now, North Yorkshire Council has given the go-ahead for the church to be converted into a three-bedroom house.

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The application, submitted by ELG Planning on behalf of Mr and Mrs Hunter, said the church could be salvaged and brought back into use.

In a planning statement, the developers said:

“The former Church of All Saints is a building in much need of attention. 

“The applicant has belief that the existing building can be resurrected with restoration and modification to form a long term home for themselves and enjoyed by family members. 

“Without foresight the building can, with the right approach be salvaged, and put to continued use as a sanctuary and place of continued life.”

Business Breakfast: Harrogate branding agency acquires East Anglian company

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The fourth in our series of networking events, with Banyan Bar & Kitchen, is a breakfast event on April 27 from 8am.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate-based branding agency has acquired an East Anglian company for an undisclosed sum.

Impression Studio, which is based on Albert Street, has made the acquisition of Norwich-based digital marketing firm FLOCC.

The addition of FLOCC will see another two members of staff join the business and add a base in East Anglia.

The company now has 15 staff across two brands, Impression and Next Chapter.

Charlie Hartley, founder and managing director of Impression Studio, said:

“I’m delighted to have added FLOCC to our business. It was clear from initial discussions that the values, expertise, client base and culture of FLOCC aligned so closely with our own, and the skills and capabilities of the existing FLOCC team will add significant value to our offering, and vice versa.

“As a growing and ambitious agency, this acquisition enables us to operate more cohesively in East Anglia, expand the group’s overall service offering, continue to recruit outstanding talent, and inject new life into our service delivery and client services.”

Daniel Swepson, head of marketing at Next Chapter, added: 

“We’re really excited to welcome FLOCC’s team and clients to the business and have already identified a wide range of opportunities following the expansion of our service offering and capabilities, which will no doubt be of benefit to Impression, Next Chapter and FLOCC clients alike.”

Harrogate estate agents appoints new head of lettings

A Harrogate estate agency has hired a new head of lettings.

Myrings Estate Agents, which is based on Princes Square, has appointed Georgie Spence to the position.

Ms Spence joins the firm with 10 years experience in the field.

In a Facebook post, Myrings added:

“Georgie joins the team with 10 years of lettings experience, bringing a wealth of knowledge to support and drive the team.

“She is passionate about delivering outstanding customer service and happy to assist Landlords and Tenants throughout their journey with us.”

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New crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road ‘on track’ to be installed this year

A new crossing on Wetherby Road in Harrogate is “still on track” to be installed this financial year, say council officials.

North Yorkshire Council has proposed the crossing to encourage walking and cycling at the junction with Slingsby Walk.

The plan was first revealed in December and officials now say the scheme is in “the design stage”.

It will be the fourth set of lights in less than a mile between the Empress roundabout and the Woodlands junction, which is already one of the most congested stretches of road around Harrogate.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the authority, who approved the crossing last December, said the scheme was still on course to be installed this year.

He said:

“We remain on track to install a toucan crossing on Wetherby Road at the junction with Slingsby Walk during this financial year in a bid to encourage walking and cycling.

“A feasibility study has been carried out and we are now in the design stage of the scheme.

“This is a key and popular route, and the crossing will make journeys on foot and by bike safer and more convenient.”

Council officials have estimated the crossing could double the number of cyclists using the Slingsby Walk route, which runs alongside the Stray.

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However, officers at the authority also admitted the crossing is likely to cause further delays for drivers.

In a report outlining the proposal, Barrie Mason, assistant director for highways and transportation at the council, accepted the move would likely increase pressure on the road network.

He added there were also officer concerns over “existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road”.

However, he said these concerns had to be balanced against the benefit that it would offer to pedestrians and cyclists.

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing was secured from the former Harrogate Borough Council sustainable transport budget last year.

Drug dealer jailed for second time for supplying cocaine in Harrogate

A drug dealer has been jailed for supplying cocaine in Harrogate for the second time in the space of a year.

Robert Luke Varela, 27, was caught “bang at it” after police spotted him lurking suspiciously on Franklin Road, Harrogate.

Prosecutor Camille Morland told York Crown Court that Varela – who once bragged he would “need a counting machine” due to the vast profits he was making from his illicit trade – took his hands out of his pockets as police drove past and threw a bag of crack cocaine to the ground.

She said that when officers went to speak to him, they found the bag, containing 11 wraps of high-purity crack cocaine, dumped on the pavement.   

They seized an iPhone from Varela on which WhatsApp messages showed he had been dealing crack cocaine in the three months preceding his arrest in February 2021.

Varela, formerly of Harrogate, was charged with possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and ultimately admitted the offence. He appeared for sentence via video link today.

Ms Morland said that in February 2022, Varela was jailed for two years and three months for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply in 2019. 

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That sentence was imposed without Varela or the prosecuting authorities informing the then sentencing judge that he had been quizzed about the new matter a year earlier. 

He was arrested for the 2019 offences after security staff and Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV operators spotted Varela and his notorious sidekick Sirus Alexander, then aged 21 and from Idle, Bradford, engaged in a transaction in a red Audi with two “unknown men” behind an Early Learning Centre in Harrogate.

Alexander and Varela scuttled off to a nearby Travelodge where they stashed over 60 wraps of heroin and cocaine in their room.

Police turned up at the hotel, but the two men had vanished. A search of the room revealed a major cocaine and heroin stash worth about £2,575 – as well as a machete and digital weighing scales.

In the early hours of the following morning, police received another call from CCTV operators who spotted the pair going into Asda in the town centre. 

Officers swooped on the supermarket and arrested the two men. Varela was found with a large hunting knife in his jacket and about £300 cash.

17 previous offences

Varela, who was living in Elland before being jailed, had 17 previous offences on his record including assault, possessing cocaine and carrying a blade. He was jailed for the latter offence in August 2021.

Defence barrister Lydia Pearce said Varela should have been sentenced for all the dealing offences in February last year.

She said that Varela was twice interviewed about the previous dealing matters in 2019 but carried on offending until his arrest in Harrogate in February 2021.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Varela: 

“This case has come back to bite you, but that’s your fault, as well as the prosecution’s fault.”

He said that if Varela had been facing this new offence alone, he would have been looking at a jail sentence measured in years, but that he should have been sentenced for all matters over a year ago, which meant he would receive a reduced sentence.

The judge said that the new offence was part and parcel of Varela’s overall offending and “showed you were a determined drug dealer bang at it”.

Varela, who was due to be released from his existing prison sentence in December this year, was handed a new 12-month jail sentence which will run consecutively and extend his period behind bars by a further six months. 

Concern Harrogate charities will lose out with new ‘mayor-lite’ position

The final mayor of the Harrogate borough Victoria Oldham says the new charter mayor position will see charities lose out on profile-boosting visits.

Cllr Michael Harrison was appointed on Monday (April 17) as the charter mayor of Harrogate for the next 12 months.

But his role will be much-reduced from the former Harrogate Borough Council mayor who attended hundreds of events and functions across the district every year.

By contrast, the charter mayor is only expected to attend around a dozen events over the next year. Cllr Harrison described the role as ‘mayor-lite’.

Former councillor and mayor Victoria Oldham attended the meeting at the Civic Centre where she congratulated Cllr Harrison and wished him well.

But after the meeting she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that organisations in Harrogate will suffer due to the charter mayor’s leaner schedule.

Ms Oldham said:

“I do have my concerns that a lot of organisations in the Harrogate area will miss out on mayoral visits.

“Most mayors have done hundreds of visits and engagements, the charities, the churches and the elderly care homes will obviously not have those visits. They are a stimulus and they do help, let’s just hope it’s only for 12 months.”

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North Yorkshire Council has allocated an annual budget of £12,100 for Harrogate charter trustee business.

However, if a Harrogate Town Council is created, it will assume responsibility for the mayoral position from North Yorkshire Council should it want it.

It could then decide to allocated more money to a mayoral position that would see its role expanded, which Ms Oldham said she would be in favour of. 

She added:

“Going forward the citizens of Harrogate will need mayoral representation and I will be fully supportive of a town council being set up.”

Ms Oldham, who was the Conservative councillor for the Washburn ward on Harrogate Borough Council until it was abolished on March 31, also said some people don’t always appreciate the volume of work that went into the mayoral position. 

She said:

“It’s not just smiling for the photographs and shaking hands. It’s the time, commitment, the caring and being prepared to drop everything and make it work. 

“It’s not just about you as mayor, it’s about the citizens, Harrogate, our vibrant festival and hospitality industries, sports and more.”

Business Breakfast: Harrogate businesswoman wins lifetime achievement award

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The fourth in our series of networking events, with Banyan Bar & Kitchen, is a breakfast event on April 27 from 8am.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate businesswoman has won a lifetime achievement award.

Sue Cawthray, who is chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, was praised for her service to care catering at the Public Sector Catering Awards 2023.

The ceremony, which was held at the London Hilton Metropole on April 13, saw Ms Cawthray given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards celebrate the best catering operators working across schools, hospitals, care homes, universities, prisons, catering colleges and the military.

Ms Cawthray said:

“I am absolutely shocked and did not expect it. 

“I am just so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to do the job I do every day. I believe at Harrogate Neighbours we make a difference to people’s lives every day.”

She added:

“I have the most amazing team at Harrogate Neighbours who are dedicated and hardworking.

“I am just so grateful for the work they put in as well as their dedication and commitment because we do it together.”

Knaresborough not-for-profit exceeds numeracy scheme targets

A Knaresborough not-for-profit organisation has celebrated reaching its annual target for a numeracy scheme.

Better Connect launched its Multiply programme as part of a government initiative to improve maths skills for people from all backgrounds.

The scheme is scheduled to run for three years.

The organisation has gone on to exceed its targets for the first year of the scheme and have helped over 450 adults across eight districts in North Yorkshire, as well as engaging over 250 local employers to get involved.

Emma Lyons, Multiply programme manager at Better Connect, said:

“We’ve just completed year one, and we’ve absolutely smashed it. There’s been such great provision by such great partners, and we are really excited to move the programme forward on to year two.

“We’ve got even bigger and even better, so watch this space.”

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Follifoot primary school told to make improvements by inspectors

A primary school in Follifoot has been told to make changes by Ofsted after being rated as ‘requires improvement’ in its latest inspection.

Ofsted visited Follifoot Church of England Primary School on February 2 and 3 and published its report at the beginning of the Easter holiday. The school had previously been rated as “good”.

Four out of the five areas of inspection were rated as good. However, quality of education was graded as ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors noted in the report that the school was welcoming, fostered pupils’ aspirations well and had high expectations for children, saying:

“Leaders foster pupils’ aspirations well. They have high expectations for every pupil to be successful. Older pupils value the opportunity to contribute to the life of the school through a range of different leadership roles, such as worship and play leaders.”

The report praised the way the pupils were prepared for life in modern Britain, with their personal development prioritised by the school’s leaders. Ofsted also found that leaders had a “good understanding” of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

But its report that there was “too much variation” in the quality of education that pupils received.

The report said:

“Leaders have clearly identified the order in which pupils should learn important content. However, in some subjects, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding. 

“This means that in some subjects, pupils cannot build on their previous learning because it is not secure.”

It added that some staff “lack expertise” when working with pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It said:

“Some staff lack expertise in supporting pupils with SEND. This means that the support pupils with SEND receive is inconsistent.

“Leaders should ensure that they continue to ensure that all relevant staff access high-quality training to support pupils with SEND.”

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The school, which has 56 pupils, was given a ‘good’ rating at its last full Ofsted inspection in April 2016.

In response to the latest rating, Rebecca Holland, headteacher at the school, said:

“The report has recognised so many of the strengths at Follifoot CE Primary School. Leadership and management, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and EYFS were all graded as good. 

“The inspection report provides clarity as to the position of the school in terms of the quality of education in February and a firm foundation for everyone in our Follifoot (and Federation) team to build on. 

“As the new headteacher, I am pleased that the inspection team confirmed our priorities are the right ones and that improvements have been made in a short space of time’.”

Meanwhile, David Harrington, chair of governors at the school, said:

“The governing body is proud of the commitment shown by all our staff at Follifoot. We are pleased with the number of positive comments made in the Ofsted report which reflect both the hard work of our staff and the progress which the school has made since Mrs Holland became Headteacher in September 2022. 

“Ofsted’s revised inspection framework rightly sets high standards for our curriculum and for the quality of education that we provide to our children. 

“The governing body is confident that the improvements sought by Ofsted in these areas can be delivered quickly and that Mrs Holland will continue to raise standards across the school.”