Business Breakfast: Harrogate office space provider hires new commercial director

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.

A workplace company with offices in Harrogate has hired a new director as part of plans to grow the company.

Wizu Workspace, which has offices on Station Parade, has appointed Chris Mapp as its commercial director.

The company, which hires out co-working and office space, made the appointment as part of plans to expand in the north of England.

Tom Almas, chief executive of Wizu, said:

“Chris’ hire represents a significant step forward for the next chapter of Wizu. As we continue with our growth plans, bringing on board the right senior leadership is crucial to the future success of the business. 

“Chris’ wealth of experience and commercial expertise in flex space sector will be invaluable to us as we look to expand our footprint and offer even more innovative solutions to our members.”

Mr Mapp will be tasked with leading the company commercial strategy and building relationships with key partners.

He said:

“As a seasoned ‘flex-pert’ with experience in commercial, operational, HR, and marketing functions, I’m excited to join Wizu at such a pivotal time in their growth journey.”

Myers Group opens new Boroughbridge branch

Myers Group

Boroughbridge site

Myers Group has opened a new supply branch in Boroughbridge.

The builders merchants has opened the new store on Old Goods Yard off Milby Road.

The three-acre site comes as part of a £4 million investment by Myers Group.

The company said:

“As well as our comprehensive core stock range we will be making the most of the additional space with a broader timber, roofing and brick offer supported by three delivery vehicles to ensure our new customers have access to the legendary Myers delivery service.

“The site also boasts a large kitchen and bathroom showroom with in-house designers making it a true one-stop shop for both trade and DIY customers.”

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Funeral of Seb Mitchell, 17, to take place on Saturday

The funeral of Harrogate teenager Seb Mitchell will take place this weekend.

Harrogate Grammar School tweeted today the service will be held at Christ Church in High Harrogate at midday on Saturday.

It added:

“We will never forget all that he contributed to the life of HGS.

“Seb’s family warmly welcome all of those who would like to join us in paying tribute to him on Saturday.”

Seb died at Leeds General Infirmary on February 21 — a week before his 18th birthday.

An inquest in Northallerton heard the provisional cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder.

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£29,000 to be diverted from street light budget to pay for Stray lights

A total of £29,190 is to be diverted from the Harrogate district’s street lighting budget to pay for the replacement of decorative lights on the Stray.

The trees line the Stray around West Park, Otley Road, Leeds Road, Montpellier Hill and York Place and are a popular winter attraction.

Last autumn Harrogate Borough Council replaced the old sodium lights with energy-efficient LED bulbs and wrapped them round trunks to prevent them hanging from branches and getting damaged.

Sam Gibbs

The new lighting being installed

In a report due before Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, council officers are set to request retrospective permission to pay for the lights.

The report says the cost of the new lights “has been partly funded by parks and environmental service budgets” but a £29,000 shortfall remained.

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The report says responsibility for annual maintenance of the Stray tree lights rests housing and property services.

It adds:

“However, parks and environmental services were able to provide one off funds to contribute from the cost of the new lights from underspends in the financial year 2021/22. This left a shortfall in funding of £29,000.

“The housing and property reserve includes £84,680 which has built up over the years in relation to street lighting cyclical works which had not been carried out.

“It is recommended that £29,190 of this should be utilised to fund the cost of Stray lights.”

The report adds the council has only received one complaint about the new lighting.

 

Two arrests after bogus police seize boy’s scooter in Bilton

Police have made two arrests after reports of bogus police officers seizing a boy’s electric scooter in Bilton.

North Yorkshire Police issued a statement last night saying it was investigating a “disturbing incident” which happened at 7.20pm on Saturday (March 18).

It involved the suspects mounting the pavement in an unmarked car before seizing the scooter from the teenager.

Police said patrols in the area had “been stepped while the investigation continues”.

In an update this afternoon, the force said it had arrested two suspects in connection with the incident.

It said in a statement:

“We are still urging people to come forward if you can help the current investigation, including relevant dash-cam, doorbell or CCTV footage.

“We’d also would like to speak to anyone who has experienced anything of a similar nature.”

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Cimestoppers on 0800 555111 or by making an online report.

Quote reference number 12230049556.

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Hampsthwaite pupils prepare for epic 1,000-mile bike ride!

A village primary school near Harrogate is taking on an epic challenge to raise £2,000 for improvements to its school playground.

Pupils, parents, teachers and governors from Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School will be riding over 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on March 29 and 30 — without leaving the school hall.

Just over 100 pupils from Years 1 to 6 will take turns on one of four stationary bikes in the school hall alongside teachers and members of the Hampsthwaite community to collectively achieve the mammoth distance in a cumulative 24 hours.

To add to the challenge, the bikes will use a ‘magic road’ setting on the Wahoo RGT fitness system, which will recreate the exact route including all of the hills, twists and turns.

Headteacher Amy Ross and the school PTA have made playground improvements a top priority for 2023.

Ms Ross said:

“Everyone at Hampsthwaite Primary School is counting down the days until we take on our virtual bike ride.

“It will be a great way to bring the local community together, whilst raising vital funds to make some long overdue improvements to our playground.

“All pupils will benefit from a playground refurbishment and it will make a significant difference to their time at school on a daily basis. I am grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the teachers, pupils and their family members, who have signed up to take part and sponsor us.”

Over £1,600 has already been pledged. You can support the school’s fundraising efforts here.

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Inspectors says Harrogate hospital maternity services ‘requires improvement’

Health inspectors have rated Harrogate District Hospital’s maternity services as ‘requires improvement’.

The Care Quality Commission, which inspects hospitals and health services, published its verdict in a report on Friday after an inspection in November 2022.

The CQC visited the hospital as part of a national inspection of maternity services.

Harrogate District Hospital was previously rated ‘good’ in a 2016 inspection that looked at maternity services and gynaecology. This latest report was the first time maternity services were rated as standalone services.

The four possible outcomes are ‘outstanding’. ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said it was “difficult to understand” the change in the rating.

The CQC report said “compliance with appropriate safeguarding, life support training and medicines did not meet targets” although it acknowledged “there was a plan in place to recover this position”.

It added that the number of medical staff on hand “were not always sufficient” and there was no clear system in place to “to identify prioritise risks to women in the maternity assessment area”.

Regular checks on life saving equipment “were not always completed”, the report said.

Inspectors said staff at the service “did not always receive and keep up to date” with mandatory training.

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However, the CQC did find the service had enough midwifery staff to care for women and that staff worked well together.

It added:

“Staff had training in key skills, and worked well together for the benefit of women, understood how to protect women from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well.

“Staff assessed risks to women in most areas, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.”

‘Not a fair reflection’

In response to the report, Mr Coulter said he did not feel that the findings in the report were a reflection of the service at the hospital.

He said:

“With such positive findings in the CQC report it is difficult to understand the resultant rating change and we do not feel it is a fair reflection of the maternity service we provide. The report describes a maternity unit which is fully staffed, with a positive culture, with staff that are competent, listen to women and are always seeking to improve. 

“We are proud of our team for the dedication, professionalism and caring attitude that they show each day whilst supporting those in our care. We are disappointed the rating applied to the service overall and for the safe domain does not appear to reflect the findings in the report.

“Whatever the rating in this report, our response will be to focus on learning and improvement, as it is for any external or internal service review. 

“As part of this focus on continually improving our services, we prioritise listening and learning to ensure we can provide the high quality care that our patients deserve. Listening to people who use our maternity services is so important, as we completely understand that peoples’ experience can differ. 

“This is why, in addition to our own improvement work, we work in partnership with our Maternity Voices Partnership who provide another valuable way for us to hear the needs of those using our services.”

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly fires Aston Villa Women into FA Cup semi-final

Harrogate-born Rachel Daly scored the goal that sent Aston Villa Women into their first FA Cup semi-final last night.

Daly’s extra time winner helped Villa overcome last year’s beaten finalists Manchester City Women 2-1

It was her 19th goal of a remarkable first season since her summer move back to the UK from Houston Dash.

Manchester City Women are third in the Women’s Super League — two places above the West Midlands team.

The match hung in the balance until Daly popped up at the far post in the sixth minute of extra time to score the decisive goal.

Villa are now one match from Wembley and will enter Tuesday’s semi-final draw alongside Manchester United Women, Brighton Women and table-topping Chelsea Women.

Daly, who started playing at Killinghall Nomads and now has 319,000 followers on Instagram, has been in fine form all season not only for Villa but also England.

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Planned Harrogate district taxi licence fare hikes ‘far too much’

A Harrogate district taxi driver has criticised new taxi fare and licence fees planned for North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council unveiled the new charges as part of its new licensing policy for cabs under the upcoming North Yorkshire Council.

It will see the fixed start fee for a district cabbie increase from £3.60 to £4.00.

However, the night time and Christmas tariffs would remain fixed at £5.40 and £7.20.

Meanwhile, the council is also proposing increasing licence fees for new drivers from the current Harrogate rate of £319 for one-year to £350.

It is also planning a renewal fee increase from £249 to £280 – a hike of 12.5%.

The proposed table of tariffs are due to go before a county council executive tomorrow.

Richard Fieldman, who runs a taxi firm in Ripon, said the new tariffs would not help those who work night shifts.

He criticised the policy and added that the licence fees increase of 12.5% was “far too much”.

Mr Fieldman said:

“They have put their hand in a lottery bag and thrown it in.”

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The move comes as North Yorkshire County Council will introduce a single hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy from the spring.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies. However, under the new policy, drivers will be able to operate in any area of the county.

Cllr Derek Bastiman, executive councillor for open to business, said:

“The proposed licence fees ensure we can provide the administration of vehicle and operators’ licences, carry out essential inspections of vehicles so that passengers can continue to travel safely and maintain hackney carriage stands, as well as the enforcement of the licences, without creating an additional cost to the taxpayer.

“With the launch of a single local licensing authority for North Yorkshire, the proposed fees also ensures hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally, and will hopefully encourage them to continue to invest in and maintain high-quality and safe vehicles.

“The setting of taxi fares is also a statutory duty for the licensing authority and our aim is to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and to the taxi driver, and not create confusion by varied fares in the licensed area.

“The proposed fares are the maximum hackney carriage drivers can charge. They can of course charge a lower fare, should they wish to do so.”

Bogus police seize boy’s electric scooter in Bilton

Two bogus police officers mounted a pavement in an unmarked car before seizing a boy’s electric scooter in Bilton yesterday.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement this evening it was investigating the “disturbing incident”, which happened at 7.20pm last night as the teenager was pushing the scooter.

The statement added”

“It has caused a great deal of distress and anger both to him and his family.

“Despite extensive enquiries including a trawl of CCTV in the area, the suspects have yet to be tracked down.

“Checks are being carried out with neighbouring police forces in case the offenders have travelled into North Yorkshire.”

Both suspects are described as white, medium build, with tattooed arms, and wearing black police-style clothing including combat trousers.

The are believed to have been driving either a black Ford Mondeo or Ford Focus.

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Police said patrols in the area “have been stepped while the investigation continues”.

They appealed to anyone with information, dash-cam, doorbell or CCTV footage to report it urgently on the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101, option 1.

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Cimestoppers on 0800 555111 or by making an online report.

Quote reference number 12230049556.

Harrogate Grammar School appoints student leadership team

Harrogate Grammar School has appointed a new student leadership team.

Tess Eastaugh and Zach Southworth have been appointed head students of the Student Leadership Team, while Hannah Barclay, Sam Featherstone, Alice Lashua, Theo Levine, Adam Mir and Amy Robson have all been appointed as deputies.

The head students have a wide remit to represent over 2000 students, to chair the senate and report back to the senior leaders in the school. 

Meanwhile, the deputies run the school council across the year groups.

The whole team will support school events, whilst also promoting the recruitment of new students and meeting with other Head Students from across the Red Kite Learning Trust. 

Ben Twitchin, director of the school’s sixth form, said:

“Candidates wrote a letter of application and then recorded a short piece to camera, which was played to whole school for all students to cast their vote. 

“Successful students then presented to the school’s Senate, and from the final eight students were interviewed to become part of our Student Leadership Team, with Tess and Zach as our Head Students and the other six as a key team of Deputies.”

Zach Southworth, head student, said:

“Being appointed Head Student is the culmination of a dream for me as I was inspired by a previous Head Student when I joined year 7 in 2017. I now have the responsibility, with the rest of the team, to work with all the staff, and students to continue to enhance the experience of students at our school.”

Neil Renton, headteacher at the grammar school, added:

“We are fortunate to have such a strong group of student leaders at our school”

“This team will build on the fantastic work of our previous student leaders who have made such a positive contribution to school life.

“We know that they will be positive role models and fine ambassadors for our school within the wider community.”

Pictured above: Front left to right: Zach Southworth and Tess Eastaugh Middle left to right: Adam Mir, Amy Robson, Alice Lashua and Hannah Barclay Back left to right: Theo Levine and Sam Featherstone.

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