Business Breakfast: Harrogate law firm partners with Alzheimer’s Society

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

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 law firm has announced it has extended a partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society for another year.

LCF Law, which is based on Station Parade, will work with the charity to help create wills for people who wish to donate to the society in their will.

The firm has worked with the Alzheimer’s Society for several years and works with dozens of people every year to draw up their will for free, in exchange for a donation to the charity.

Neil Shaw, head of personal law at LCF Law, said: 

“After promoting this partnership to many organisations and community groups throughout Wharfedale, we have had plenty of interest from local people keen to donate or leave a bigger legacy in their will to the charity.

“We also have a similar partnership with Cancer Research and it’s a great way of supporting two charities that make a real difference to so many people.”

Harrogate Town awarded family excellence status

Harrogate Town has been awarded English Football League Family Excellence status for the first time.

The scheme recognises the continuous improvement and best practice that emerges across the league and rewards clubs for their efforts in attracting and retaining young supporters.

It will see the club receive two visit assessments each season, in order to determine the quality of the family matchday experiences they provide.

On the award, Hamilton Mattock, fan engagement manager, said:

“We are really pleased to receive the Family Excellence status; this is a testament to all the hard work everyone within the club has put into making Harrogate Town a family friendly experience on a matchday.

“This is only the beginning of the journey as we strive to continue to improve our supporters match day experience while continuing to improve on our facilities and touchpoints.”

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Plan approved for 32 solar panels on Coppice Valley school

Thirty-two solar panels will be installed on Harrogate’s Coppice Valley Primary School after the council gave the go-ahead to the proposal.

Red Kite Learning Trust, which runs the school, tabled the plan with North Yorkshire Council last month.

It will see the panels installed on the school’s roof to generate 13.6 kwp of renewable energy. 

The council has since approved the proposal.

In documents submitted to the council, the trust said it felt the panels would help to enhance the character of the building.

It said:

“It is considered that the proposed solar panels would be complementary to the character of the building.

“The visual appearance of the solar panels on the roofed area is considered appropriate for the school building, thereby enhancing the visionary appearance of the site as an up-to-date centre for learning, creating responsible citizens for tomorrow’s world with an appreciation for their surroundings and a duty of care for the environment.

“It is considered that the panels could have a positive impact on the character of the building and no overall detrimental impact on the surrounding area.”

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Inquest opens into death of Harrogate woman in car crash

An inquest has opened after a Harrogate woman died in a car crash in Scotland.

Alison Pearson-Segal, 64, of Rudding Lane, Follifoot, died as a result of a crash with a coach on the A82 northbound between Luss and Inverbeg on April 17 this year.

Opening the hearing this morning, Catherine Cundy, coroner for North Yorkshire, ordered that a full inquest into the matter be carried out.

The hearing heard that the provisional cause of death was chest and abdominal injuries as a result of a road traffic collision.

An investigation into the crash, which happened at around 1.50pm, is being carried out by Police Scotland.

Ms Pearson-Segal was chair of the Harrogate suicide prevention charity the Ostrich Foundation.

Ms Cundy adjourned the inquest until a later date.

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Indoor cricket school plans revealed for Harrogate

Harrogate Cricket Club has revealed plans to open an indoor cricket school.

The school would be built on the concrete terraced area at the club’s St George’s Road ground and cost up to £3.5 million.

Architects have drawn up plans for the project, which is likely to take five to seven years to come to fruition.

The school, which would include four lanes of nets as well as other factilities, is in addition to the club’s plans to raise £75,000 on new outdoor nets.

Co-chair Steve Clark said there was a shortage of sports hall space in Harrogate, especially in winter.

He added the cricket school would ensure junior and senior players had a large enough facility for high quality training sessions all year round.

Harrogate Cricket Club

A sub-committee will be set-up to oversee the cricket school project, which will require extensive fundraising, including applications to trusts and foundations for grants.

Mr Clark added:

“The facility will provides a practice facility which can be used when the weather is damp as well as when the sun is shining.

“The nets will be made to a professional standard ensuring the correct bounce and carry for the ball; replicating playing on real grass.”

Outdoor nets

The Stray Ferret revealed in March the club had launched a £75,000 crowdfunding campaign to replace the ageing outdoor nets with new ones.

Fundraising has gone well and the club hopes the outdoor nets will be installed at the end of the cricket season, ready for use by next spring.

Local schools will be able to make arrangements to use them.

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Once the outdoor nets are finished, attention will turn fully on the cricket school project.

Harrogate Cricket Club hosted 98 first class matches between 1882 and 2000 and the two current major projects highlight the club’s ambitions to upgrade the club.

Harrogate Cricket Club

The ground hosted first class cricket for over 100 years.

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate marketing agency to oversee rail recruitment firm PR

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

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 marketing agency has been appointed to run a leading rail recruitment firm’s social media and PR.

Clemtech has hired The Big Bamboo Agency, which is based at Windsor House, to oversee its marketing activity, including social media management, strategic communications and PR.

The Hampshire-based recruitment company was founded 25 years ago and provides labour and professionals to the rail sector.

Rob Rose, general manager at Clemtech, which is responsible for the company’s business development and marketing functions, said: 

“Big Bamboo was recommended to us by one of our long-standing customers. They presented to us and we were impressed by what we heard and saw.”

Nicola Stamford, founding director at Big Bamboo, said: 

“We work in many sectors, rail being one of them, so we understand the industry well. It is fantastic to be appointed to work with a business that has so much history and heritage, and therefore a great story to tell.”

Harrogate bar to celebrate reopening of courtyard

A Harrogate bar is set to is set to reopen its courtyard this weekend.

Jesper’s Bar and Kitchen, which is based on Prince Albert Row, will celebrate the reopening of its yard with a beer festival.

The event will take place on Friday (May 19) and Saturday (May 20) between 12pm and 10pm. It will include seven real cask ales and draft beer by Harrogate Brewing Co.

The bar and kitchen will also have an all-day burger menu to choose from over the weekend.

Jesper’s said in a Facebook post:

“Our little gem out the back has been closed since October but with the weather warming up, it is time to enjoy our little slice of heaven once more.”

For more information on the event and to book a ticket, visit the Jesper’s Bar and Kitchen website here.

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A-ha’s sound man opens record shop and bar in Harrogate

A sound engineer who has worked for some of the biggest names in pop has opened a vinyl coffee house and bar in Harrogate. 

Dave Swallow’s CV includes stints with Amy Winehouse, Erasure and James, and he still routinely joins Norwegian mega-band A-ha on tour. But he’s launched a new venture that brings his love of music to the town he now calls home.  

AAA (pronounced triple-A) on Cold Bath Road is currently operating as a coffee house, open from 9 to 5pm, but a temporary licence over the spring bank holiday weekend will see it function as the bar it is meant to be, open till 11pm. 

Photo of the exterior of AAA on Cold Bath Road, showing a customer seated at one of the four outdoor tables, with neighbouring businesses Hopscotch and Travelstar also in view.

AAA on Cold Bath Road also has outdoor seating.

From early July, when it receives its full alcohol licence, AAA will be a coffee house and bar that also sells vinyl records and clothes from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel. 

Dave, who is originally from Southend-on-Sea but has lived in Harrogate for 16 years, said: 

“Last July, I was touring with A-ha, playing Rio de Janeiro and the Hollywood Bowl, and then just two days later I was back here, being handed the keys to this place.  

“Ultimately, I just want to create a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks.” 

Photo of sound engineer Dave Swallow, who has opened AAA (pronounced 'triple A'), a vinyl coffee house and bar on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate. This picture shows Dave leaning against the bar, with a lit-up sign above the door to the stairway that says 'Recording Studio In Use'.

Dave Swallow wants to create a cool place, with good music and drinks.

AAA currently serves hot drinks, cakes and traybakes, but as a bar it will offer wines, spirits, a range of bottled beers, and two brews on tap – a pilsner and an IPA, both made by music-inspired brewer Signature Brew. 

In addition, anyone who still has any old vinyl records but no means to play them can take their discs along to AAA and Dave will play them. He said: 

“Music is a language without words. It’s emotional. You can take a band from Liverpool and drop them in South America, and their sound travels. It crosses boundaries and brings people together. That’s what I’m doing here.” 

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MP calls for clarity over Scotton solar farm plan

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has called for clarity over a planned 88-hectare solar farm on farmland north of Scotton.

Sustainable energy company Gridserve is proposing to build the power plant and substation at Lawrence Moor Farm.

Its plans envisage thousands of solar panels generating up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.

However, Mr Jones has called for clarity over the plans after the proposals have yet to be finalised.

The Conservative MP was prompted to write to the company in March after residents in Scotton, Farnham and Brearton contacted him concerned about the lack of information about the proposals.

Mr Jones wrote to Gridserve, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, to ask for an update, but was told there had not been “any material update to the status of our potential development in Scotton”.

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At the end of July 2021, Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a detailed EIA would be required, but Gridserve has taken no action since.

Now, Mr Jones has called on the company to decide whether it wishes to continue with the proposal.

Andrew Jones

He said:

“People in the area need certainty on what is happening with this proposal. I want Gridserve to bring them that certainty sooner rather than later. 

“All that we really know about the proposal is that it covers a massive area and will dominate the landscape. 

“Surely after all this time Gridserve can decide whether it wishes to proceed and, if it does, get a formal planning application in so that its merits and otherwise can be properly debated.”

Critical report finds ‘significant shortfalls’ at Harrogate care home

A care home in Harrogate has been found to have “widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership” in a highly critical inspection report.

Avon Lodge on Harlow Moor Drive was rated ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission, while its leadership was found to be ‘inadequate’ in a report published this week.

In the report, which followed an unannounced two-day inspection in February, inspectors downgraded Avon Lodge from its previous ‘good’ rating and said:

“The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the quality of care being provided to people. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks… We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements…

“The provider acknowledged the shortfalls found during this inspection. They took some action following the first day of inspection to begin to address some of the shortfalls found regarding the environment and fire safety.

“The overall rating for the service has changed from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ based on the findings of this inspection.”

The inspection assessed three key areas, asking if the service was safe, effective, and well-led. The latter was rated ‘inadequate;, while the other two were ‘good’.

The areas of ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’ were not assessed during the inspection and are still rated ‘good’, having last been assessed in 2019.

In their latest visit, inspectors found there were multiple breaches of regulations relating to administering medicine, reporting concerns about safeguarding, and carrying out risk assessments. They concluded:

“Some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety. There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.”

Personal care needs

Avon Lodge cares for adults with personal care needs, including some with mental health issues, learning disabilities and autism. It has space for up to 12 people and 11 were resident when the inspection took place.

At that time, the home was being run by a temporary manager, after its registered manager had left the post. A permanent replacement was being recruited, the report said.

Looking at the leadership of the care home, the inspectors said:

“There were widespread and significant shortfalls in service leadership. Leaders and the culture they created did not assure the delivery of high-quality care.”

They added:

“There had been no recent engagement with people or their relatives to gather their views on the service. All the relatives we spoke with told us they had not received a questionnaire or been asked for their views. One relative told us, ‘Not for a long while, we got invited to a meeting once that was cancelled.’

“Professional visits to the home or people’s visit to healthcare professionals were not recorded effectively therefore there was no oversight of this contact.”

Inspectors also looked at the way the Mental Capacity Act was used. It is designed to ensure people are allowed to make their own decisions where possible, and when they are not able to do so that the decisions made are in their best interests.

They found there was inadequate record-keeping relating to its use and decisions made for people who were unable to consent.

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Inspectors also found the environment of the care home was not always supportive of its residents.

They reported it was often loud and led to them being woken up, while some communal areas were out of use, and some soft furnishings to make it more homely, such as curtains, were missing.

There was poor record-keeping relating to residents’ allergies and family members said the meals provided at the home were not varied enough.

Inspectors made several recommendations in the report of ways in which Avon Lodge should be improved. They also said:

“The provider agreed with the shortfalls found during inspection and took some immediate action.

“The provider took on board the inspection feedback and discussed plans of how they would communicate with people and relatives about the inspection findings and action they were going to take as a result.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Avon Lodge and its owner, Care Network Solutions Ltd, to ask for a response to the report. However, we had not received a reply by the time of publication.

Business Breakfast: Masham brewery hires new sales managers

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

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 Masham brewery has made two new appointments as part of growth at the company.

T&R Theakston has hired new recruits in its sales department.

Cameron Bell and Zak Spence have joined the brewery as sales development managers and will be tasked with focussing efforts on northern cities and North Yorkshire.

On joining Theakston, Mr Spence said:

“As a proud North Yorkshireman, I’m delighted to be working for such a well-known business which combines a strong heritage with exciting future focused plans.

“Taking over from Barry means I have some big shoes to fill but I am definitely looking forward to working with our customers to continue to deepen the strong relationships that he fostered.”

Mr Bell added:

“I’m looking forward to be working for Theakston and helping to drive forward its growth plans.

“There are plenty of exciting developments in the pipeline this year, which provide the perfect opportunity to increase awareness and availability of the brewery’s beer range across Northern cities and introduce our diverse range of products to new consumers.”

Simon Theakston, joint managing director at Theakston, said:

“We started 2023 with the announcement of growth within our team and, following a busy first quarter, we’re pleased to be further expanding as we look to deliver on our growth ambitions for this year and beyond.

“It’s wonderful to welcome both Cameron and Zak to our T&R Theakston family at such an exciting time for the business, as we prepare to launch more seasonal beers, announce new partnerships and continue to look toward to our bicentennial celebrations in 2027.”

Mercedes-Benz car dealer wins retailer award

A car dealership with an outlet in Harrogate has won an award for retailer of the year.

JCT600, which has a Mercedes-Benz dealership on Leeds Road, won the prize from the car manufacturer for outstanding performance.

The team at JCT600

The award was based on performance in car sales, customer service, approved used car sales, workshop retail hours and customer retention.

Gary Savage, chief executive and managing director, Mercedes-Benz Cars UK, said: 

“JCT600 performed consistently strongly across all areas of the business and the team’s collaboration was nothing short of outstanding, with remarkable engagement and positivity.”

Pictured above: Gary Savage, chief executive and managing director, Mercedes-Benz Cars UK; James Knowles, JCT600 Mercedes-Benz head of sales; Michelle Caveney, JCT600 Mercedes-Benz brand director; James Jarman, JCT600 Mercedes-Benz head of business – York; Joe Tordoff, JCT600 Mercedes-Benz head of business – Harrogate; and host, broadcaster Dermot O’Leary.

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Ex-teacher jailed for raping girl at Harrogate district school

A former maths teacher has been jailed for 18 years for raping and sexually assaulting a young girl at a boarding school in the 1990s.

John William Renel, 68, pinned the girl down and raped and indecently assaulted her in a locker room at Cundall Manor School near Boroughbridge, prosecutor Rupert Doswell told a jury at York Crown Court.

The victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, didn’t report the matter to police until 2021, more than 20 years after the alleged sexual abuse.

She said that before the alleged rape at the fee-paying independent school, she and Renel were “joking about something” in the school kitchen when he picked her up and joked that he was going to “throw her in the bin”.

He then carried her out into the corridor and touched her on the thigh near an intimate part of her body, said Mr Doswell.

Mr Doswell added:

“He then took her into a side room – a changing room or locker room – where (pupils) hang their clothing.

“He put her down on the ground on her back. He was on top of her and she remembers him wearing a tweed jacket.”

She said she turned her head “to stare at the wall” as Renel allegedly raped her.

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A family member later noticed that the victim, who was very young at the time of the offences, had become withdrawn and in adult life she had developed post-traumatic stress disorder which led to counselling and therapy.

Mr Doswell said that about five months after the victim’s first police interview, she contacted them again about the incident in the school locker room.

She said she could remember that during the rape, she felt as if Renel’s “body (was) crushing her” and that she was struggling to breathe.

According to the victim, Renel “simply walked away” after the incident, “leaving her on the ground”.

Mr Doswell said:

“She (told police) she had one further memory of another incident (at the school) when she was older.”

She said that before this incident, Renel again picked her up and dropped her on a bed in a dormitory. 

He then laid down next to the victim, sexually assaulted her and then forced her hand onto an intimate part of his body. 

Mr Doswell said:

“Her next memory is of the defendant’s face close up to her.

“She remembers feeling terrified. He was staring at her and scowling. He told her not to tell anyone, before leaving the room.”

Guilty on all counts

Renel, of Main Street, Sessay, near Thirsk, was brought in for questioning in 2021 but denied even knowing the girl. 

He told police he had always taught in a tweed jacket but denied raping or sexually assaulting the girl. 

He was charged with one count of rape and four counts of sexual assault against the girl. He denied all offences but was today found guilty on all counts.

Recorder Anthony Hawks moved straight to sentence and jailed Renel for 18 years.

The former teacher was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order for the protection of children. That order will also run indefinitely.  

Following his sentence, Detective Constable Alison Morris, of North Yorkshire Police’s non-recent abuse investigation team, said:

“John William Renel is a predatory child abuser who has caused unimaginable trauma to the courageous victim in this case.

“I truly hope the outcome at court along with the significant custodial sentence handed to her perpetrator, provides comfort, strength and hope for the future.”

In 1997, a few years after Renel left Cundall Manor, he was convicted of three counts of indecently assaulting a girl at another school in Keighley.