Zoë Metcalfe confirms bid to become North Yorkshire’s first mayor

Zoë Metcalfe has confirmed she wants to stand as the Conservative candidate in next year’s York and North Yorkshire mayoral election.

Ms Metcalfe, who lives near Boroughbridge, is the current North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

The Stray Ferret reported on Saturday that she was believed to be planning a bid for election.

Ms Metcalfe is the first person to formally declare an intention to stand for the role of mayor, which is being created as part of the North Yorkshire devolution process. The election will be held in 14 months’ time.

The mayor will oversee a significant budget for York and North Yorkshire covering areas such as transport, education and housing.

He or she will also swallow up the commissioner’s role currently occupied by Ms Metcalfe, who was born in Ripon, educated in Harrogate and lives in Aldborough.

Zoe Metcalfe

Speaking to the media

In a statement issued last night, she said she was “uniquely qualified” for the role and had the “necessary business experience and close links to Westminster to promote economic growth”,

Ms Metcalfe is a former Harrogate borough councillor who was elected to the commissioner’s role in 2021 following the resignation of fellow Conservative Philip Allott.

Since taking up the role on a salary of £74,000, she has overseen the introduction of a Risk and Resource Model for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which sets out how resources will be deployed from 2022 to 2025.

The changes included reducing Harrogate Fire Station’s nighttime cover from two fire engines to one.

‘Close links to Westminster’

Ms Metcalfe’s statement in full said:

“This is a really exciting role that I am uniquely qualified to do.

“The mayor will have responsibility for economic growth, transport, housing and regeneration, but will also see the integration of the responsibilities and decision making of my current role as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner within it too.

“There is a rich synergy between creating safer streets and economic growth, two areas that I am passionate about.

“I have the necessary business experience and close links to Westminster to promote economic growth. I will also continue the great work I have started in turning around community safety in York and North Yorkshire and I will see through the transformation of both the police force and fire and rescue service.

“I have always been a supporter of devolution as it will bring many exciting opportunities for York and North Yorkshire, it will be a great platform to enable and enrich the lives of our residents and businesses bringing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment into our region”.

Read more:

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate bus company offers local firms ‘flagship’ sponsorship

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.

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

Bus operator Transdev is offering companies in the Harrogate district the chance to advertise on its flagship routes.

The company, which runs the 36 route from Harrogate to Leeds, trialed a sponsorship campaign with John Lewis to promote its new store on Victoria Gate in Leeds city centre.

The move saw messaging on two buses on its flagship route in north and west Yorkshire.

The company is now offering the same opportunity to lcal firms in the Harrogate district.

Matt Burley, commercial manager at Transdev, said: 

“John Lewis instantly saw the unique advantage in linking their brand with ours, and now their name can be seen across miles of town and country, inviting potential customers to hop on a bus and be chauffeur driven to the door of their store.

“We believe bus sponsorship is a formula for business success for firms throughout Yorkshire.”

Harrogate company hired to manage Bristol Airport advertising

Bristol Airport has hired a Harrogate company to manage and sell its advertising assets.

Eye Airports, which is based on East Parade, has been hired by the airport on a five-year contract.

The company will be tasked with managing all advertising and promotional opportunities, working closely with the airport’s commercial team to deliver innovative campaigns to customers.

Rachel Davies, managing director at Eye Airports, said:

“We enjoy an excellent working relationship with Bristol Airport, so we are naturally delighted to secure a new five-year contract. As the terminal developments take shape, we are looking forward to delivering some exciting new initiatives using the latest digital technology, both inside and outside the terminal.”

Rupert Lawrie, commercial director at Bristol Airport, said:

“We are delighted to appoint advertising specialist Eye Airports to manage and sell our advertising assets. The award of this new contract follows a competitive tender process and we look forward to working with Eye Airports over the coming five years and seeing the creative advertising campaigns across the airport.”

Read more:

 

New 5G mast at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground approved

A bid to improve 5G connectivity by installing a new telecommunications tower at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate has been approved.

A planning application was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by telecommunications company EE to erect a lattice tower that will host three antennae, two dishes and several cabinets.

The firm said in documents the proposal would not only boost WiFi at the showground but also provide “much improved and upgraded coverage to surrounding businesses and residents who currently see limited indoor coverage”. 

The council has now approved the proposal.

In planning documents, Harlequin Group, which lodged the plan on behalf of EE, said:

“It should be noted there is no 5G coverage within the immediate or surrounding area whatsoever.

“The area, in particular the Great Yorkshire Showground, has been subject to coverage supplied by way of a temporary emergency solution during events.

“The proposal will be tucked within a building corner, meaning that the equipment will be obscured on two of the four sides.”

Great Yorkshire Showground telecommunications tower

The proposed location for the 5G mast.

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Great Yorkshire Showground told the Stray Ferret previously:

“The Great Yorkshire Showground is an intrinsic part of the local community that hosts numerous events throughout the year and brings significant employment and money to the area.

“To ensure that we can continue to develop and evolve with the changing demands of customers and business, it is vital to ensure that the latest connectivity is present; the proposed lattice tower is centrally located and has been designed to allow multiple operators to host on the same infrastructure.

“The public benefit goes beyond the Great Yorkshire Showground, with the proposal able to provide upgraded coverage and capacity to the surrounding residential properties, commercial properties, visitors and businesses in the locale. It is therefore believed that this proposal enables the provision of future connectivity for numerous individuals and companies.”

Read more:

 

Boy, 17, electronically tagged after Harrogate crime spree

A teenager has been sentenced to an electronically monitored curfew for breaching a court order issued after committing a string of offences in Harrogate.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Harrogate Youth Court on March 3 after failing to comply with an order issued in August last year.

The court made the order after the teenager was charged with numerous offences in Harrogate.

These included carrying a knife and assault on Forest Lane, stealing £56 worth of watches from TK Maxx in Victoria Shopping Centre and stealing a bike from Swarcliffe Road in August 2022.

He also faced charges on theft of a Berghaus hoodie from Blacks on Station Parade, assault on Hookstone Drive and knowingly being carried on a stolen Piaggio Zip scooter in Harrogate on December 3, 2022.

The 17-year-old was also charged with stealing mountain bikes from St Aidan’s Church of England High School in October last year.

Read more:

As a result of the offences, the court imposed a new youth rehabilitation order on the teenager.

It requires him to abide by a curfew at his home address in Skipton for two months, which will be electronically monitored.

He was also ordered not to enter St Aidan’s for three months.

Break-in forces closure of One Stop in Bilton

The One Stop shop on Crab Lane in Bilton was forced to close this morning after a break-in.

Store manager Adam Crawford said would-be thieves smashed the front door at about 2am but left empty-handed after activating security fog designed to disorientate intruders.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret at 11.30am, Mr Crawford said crime scene detectives had just left and he expected the store to reopen in about an hour. The door has been boarded up.

The convenience store, which includes a post office, serves a wide range of customers in Bilton and Knox.

One Stop, which is part of Tesco, has over 1,000 stores in the UK.

Read more:

 

Man fined £872 for breaching covid lockdown rules in Harrogate

A man has been fined for breaching coronavirus regulations in Harrogate during the third national lockdown two years ago.

Thomas Boston, 33, initially denied a charge of having two or more people in a property on Coppice Drive, Harrogate, on the evening of February 27, 2021.

England was placed into a third lockdown on January 5, 2021.

Police charged Boston with having six people in his flat after responding to reports of breaches of the coronavirus regulations.

At a hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday, the court heard Boston, who gave his address as Ripley Road, Knaresborough, had changed his plea to guilty.

Magistrates fined him £872.

Read more:

 

‘We will carry him in our hearts forever’ — family’s tribute to Harrogate teen Seb Mitchell

The grieving family of 17-year-old Seb Mitchell, who died following an incident in Harrogate, have issued a photograph and a tribute to their ‘beautiful, funny, talented boy’.

Harrogate Grammar School student Seb died in hospital on February 21 following the incident on Claro Road two days earlier.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged in connection with the incident and is due to appear in court again in the near future, North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today.

The police statement included the family’s tribute, which said:

“Seb was our beautiful, funny, talented boy.

“There are no words to describe how we feel now that he has been so cruelly taken from us.

“We will carry him in our hearts forever.”

Police social media plea 

North Yorkshire Police also issued a plea urging people not to speculate on the incident.

“We are aware of social media posts naming the boy who has been charged and also speculating on the circumstances of Seb’s death.

“It is really important that nobody does this.

“This is because once someone has been charged with an offence, it is illegal to publish anything that could influence a jury and affect a person’s right to a fair trial. This includes claiming to know what happened or speculating about the circumstances of his death. Publishing includes uploading posts and comments to social media.

“Also, suspects who are under the age of 18 have anonymity in law. Therefore it is illegal to name them on social media as the suspect in a case.

“We would therefore strongly urge anyone who has posted comments or photos naming the suspect in the case or speculated about the circumstances, to remove them urgently.”

Read more:

 

Knaresborough’s Riverside Cafe owners bid farewell after 13 years

The owners of Knaresborough’s Riverside Cafe have sold the business after 13 years.

The independent cafe, situated under cliffs alongside the River Nidd on Waterside, is a favourite haunt for numerous tourists and cyclists, as well as local people.

Partners Phil Smith and Tim O’Hara will serve their last coffee and cake as owners tomorrow before Michael and Louise Bland, who own Vivido Bar and Restaurant on Cheltenham Crescent in Harrogate, take over.

The cafe is expected to close for a week before reopening, with the previous owners helping out for a short period.

Mr Smith said it felt like the right time to go, adding:

“We had no experience in catering when we took over but we have worked hard and learned by our mistakes to make it a successful business.

“It’s a beautiful place to work, overlooking the viaduct, and we have made lifelong friends.

“But it’s grown and grown and has become a bit of a monster.”

Mr Smith said regular customers from Wakefield, York and Lincoln were due to visit today to bid farewell and he expected tomorrow to be emotional.

But he said Mr and Mrs Bland would “breathe new life” into the business and he and Mr O’Hara would support them before taking life easier. The six staff will stay on under the new owners.

Read more:

Ms Bland, who lives in Leeds, said she and her husband had been friends with Mr Smith and Mr O’Hara for years and they “fell in love with the place” when they visited and later jokingly said they would like first refusal if the cafe ever came up for sale.

Vivido celebrated its fourth anniversary last week and Ms Bland, who lives in Leeds, said the Italian and Mediterranean venue was now running well and she and her husband were excited by the prospect of operating daytime and nighttime businesses.

She said she hoped to reopen the cafe next week but no date has yet been finalised. Ms Bland said:

“It’s a successful business so the plan is not to change too much. We need to have a little time to see how things work and we will only change things if we feel it can be improved.”

Harrogate residents face prospect of new £60 council tax charge

Creating a Harrogate town council could require 35,000 households to pay an additional council tax charge of between £40 and £60, it was revealed today.

Under proposals put forward, elections would take place on May 2 next year to elect 19 councillors in 10 wards.

People living in the wards would face an additional charge on their annual council tax bills to pay for the new local authority.

North Yorkshire County Council today opened a second round of consultation on the proposals, which discussed how much council taxpayers would pay. It said:

“It is not possible to state an exact figure at this stage, but it is anticipated the amount could be in the region of £40 to £60 per year for a Band D property. This amount could give a total precept budget in the range of £1m to £1.6m.”

Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon Town Council currently levy charges on households of £25.27 and £70.77 respectively for a Band D property.

The county council said the precept “will need to be sufficient to cover the set-up costs, administration and running costs and costs of service delivery for future years”. It adds:

“It is anticipated that there would be a surplus in year one, which would go to reserves for use in future years and enable the parish to begin on a secure financial footing.”

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.

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

The abolition of Harrogate Borough Council at the end of the month has led to calls to set up a town council to ensure local views are heard. But others say the cost will not be worth the limited power available the town council – which would have no more authority than a parish council.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

The blue areas face an additional charge.

The consultation says the names of the 10 wards of the new council be the same as the names of the existing county divisions, with the exception of the unparished part of the Oatlands and Pannal division, which will be known as Oatlands ward; and the unparished part of the Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate division, which will be known as Saltergate ward. The ward names to be:

Bilton and Nidd Gorge
Bilton Grange and New Park
Coppice Valley and Duchy
Fairfax and Starbeck
Harlow and St Georges

High Harrogate and Kingsley
Oatlands
Saltergate
Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone
Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate

Councillor Greg White, the county council’s executive member for stronger communities, said:

“Town and parish councils give residents the ability to help to determine how the places in which they live look and feel. The benefits can be seen across our communities every day, so I urge people in Scarborough and Harrogate to seize the opportunity this consultation offers to have a say in shaping local empowerment where they live.”

Read more:

‘Strong support for proposals’

Cllr David Chance, the county council’s executive member for corporate services, said:

“Having received strong support in the initial consultation for the creation of new parishes and councils to serve them, we are keen to hear views from as many residents as possible on the detailed proposals we are now putting forward.

“If you took part in the first consultation, please share your views again on these detailed proposals. This is a separate consultation, so please make sure your views on the proposals are taken into account by completing the survey.”

You can take part in the consultation, which runs until Friday, May 5, here.

Or you can request a paper copy of the survey by calling 01609 536400 between 9.30am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, or emailing cgr@northyorks.gov.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harrogate Mojo bid to open until 6.30am approved

Mojo in Harrogate has had its bid to stay open until 6.30am approved by councillors.

Voodoo Doll Limited, which trades as Mojo, has submitted the licensing request to Harrogate Borough Council for the Parliament Street bar In January.

It includes amending the permitted sale of alcohol from 11am until 4am to 11am to 6am each day of the week.

The proposal would also see the permitted hours for regulated live music, which is currently 11am until 4.30am, changed to 11am to 6am the following morning Monday to Sunday.

The opening hours would be 11am until 6.30am.

A council licensing committee approved the proposal this morning.

Martin Greenhow, managing director of Mojo, told councillors that part of the reason for extending the hours was so the business can recover from the covid pandemic.

He said:

“One of the reasons that we’re here asking for these extra hours is that the business has found challenges since we have returned.

“We have accrued an awful lot of debt in just getting through lockdowns.”

Read more:

The chain already has three bars in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool which are open until 6am.

The committee also heard that Mojo has never had enforcement action taken against it or had a licence revoked.

However, David Birtles, a resident who lives at Harrogate House on Parliament Street, objected to the extension.

He said:

“I do not want to be picking my way with my four-year-old grandson through urine, vomit and broken glass as left on our entrance doorway to the street on a regular basis.”

Officials from Mojo said the concerns over anti-social behaviour and late night disturbance were addressed as part of the licence conditions.

The licence will be reviewed in 12 months time.

The move to extend the hours at Mojo comes three months after nearby Viper Rooms, which had opening hours until 4.30am, closed last month.

Best Bar, which is also on Parliament Street, applied to extend its opening hours to 6.30am on Fridays and Saturdays last month.