The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until February 9. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. 

Global hair and beauty brand, Cloud Nine, has opened two new studios at its Harrogate headquarters, bringing all previously outsourced photo and video shoots in-house.

The beauty company says the aim of the new studio is to develop the creative, commercial and media skills of its team.

The hair and skin stylist area has mirrors and lights with different coloured walls to suit models with different skin tones. There’s also a Green Room designed for the models and guests to relax in before and after each shoot.

CEO Martin Rae, who launched the business with his brother, Gavin, in 2009, said:

“We have created our own studios for two very good reasons. The first is we have a fantastically talented team based within our Harrogate headquarters, who are eager to create their own campaigns, from inception through to execution”.

“And secondly, harnessing the artistic skills of our own people makes perfect business sense, and will benefit us commercially”.

Read more:

• Harrogate man wins landmark disabled settlement against major gym chain
• Family of WWI soldier find where he was killed – by chance

Knaresborough business group supports Ukraine

A lorry full of of medical equipment, blankets and warm clothing, supplied Knaresborough charity PhysioNet and the town’s Rotary Club, is due to arrive in Ukraine today.

The lorry left Knaresborough five days ago and has made its way to Zaporizhzhia in the South East of Ukraine.

Knaresborough Rotary President and Chairman of Physionet, David Kaye, said:

“This is the sixth PhysioNet consignment for Ukraine. The £6,000 transport costs have been paid for entirely by Rotary in Yorkshire”.

PhysioNet was founded in 2005 by Knaresborough Rotarian Peter Thompson.

It collects and refurbishes discarded mobility and physiotherapy equipment – including wheelchairs, Zimmer frames, crutches and walking sticks – and redistributes it for use by the disabled in developing countries.

PhysioNet and Rotary volunteers gave up their Saturday morning to load the lorry for Zaporizhzhia.

Harrogate Borough Council is set to spend £55,000 on consultants and other professionals to help develop a new horticultural nursery to the north-west of the town.

In December, the council revealed it had identified an unspecified site in the Hampsthwaite and Killinghall ward to build a new nursery, which will pave the way for its current site in Harlow Hill to be sold for housing.

A report that will go before Conservative councillor Graham Swift, the council’s cabinet member for resources enterprise and economic development, next week, says the council now needs professional consultation and site investigations to complete the next phase of the project.

It asks Cllr Swift to approve £20,000 being spent on a consultant partner and £35,000 to undertake initial site surveys, investigations, planning fees and other works.

The council, which will be abolished at the end of next month, has said the construction of a new nursery will be financed through capital investment funding, money raised from the sale Harlow Hill nursery and income generated from the nursery.

The project will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council after April 1.

Why does the council want to move from Harlow Hill?

Harlow Hill nursery is where Harrogate Borough Council grows flowers for its award-winning displays across the district. It also sells plants to members of the public to bring in revenue.

The nursery is a significant earner for the council with its 2020/21 annual report saying it brought in income of £153,477.

However, the council says it the facility is “no longer fit for purpose” and is unsuitable for redevelopment.

Read more:

• Harlow Hill and Pannal Ash residents bracing themselves for ’15 years of disruption’
• Losing horticultural nursery will be ‘big, sad loss’ for Harlow Hill, says councillor
• 62 homes set to be built at council’s Harlow Nursery

The land is accessed off either Otley Road or Harlow Moor Road. The council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which sets out where development can take place, says 40 homes can be built there.

A council report published last year recommended 62 “high-quality, carbon efficient” homes are built.

The authority is currently inviting expressions of interest in the land prior to a sale.

An emotional move for residents

Liberal Democrat member for Harlow & St Georges Division on North Yorkshire County Council, Michael Schofield, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the move away from Harlow Hill will be keenly felt by residents as many have walked there to buy plants for decades.

He said people enjoyed visiting and walking through the Pinewoods and Valley Gardens afterwards.

He added the nursery also served as part of a horticultural trail as it connects with RHS Garden Harlow Carr and the charity nursery Horticap.

Cllr Schofield said:

“I understand what people may call progress but we have three fantastic horticultural sites all within walking distance of each other. That inspires people. Residents living here will be very sad to see it go.”

Rudding Park‘s 10k multi-terrain trail race is to return in May after a successful inaugural event last year.

Olympic triathlon gold medallist Jonny Brownlee started last year’s Rudding ParkRace, in which more than 300 runners navigated their way through 18th century parkland at the privately-owned Harrogate resort.

This year’s event, which will be held on May 9, will raise money in support of former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow’s Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal.

There are 450 places available and the entry fee is £25 for affiliated runners and £27 for non-affiliated runner.

Jonny Brownlee at last year’s event.

Nuno César de Sá, Rudding Park hotel manager, said the 2022 race had a “great vibe”, adding:

“Rudding House made the perfect backdrop for the finish line where the prize giving took place as guests enjoyed music, hog roast and refreshments as the sun set.

“We were thrilled to raise over £4,000 for the Queen’s Green Canopy and this year we are super excited to be supporting Rob Burrow and his family whose tireless campaign to raise awareness and funds to support families living with MND is inspiring.”

The start of last year’s race.

Last year’s winner was Nathan Edmonson from Ilkley Harriers, who recorded a time of 34 mins 25 secs. The fastest female was Charlotte Mason from City of York AC in a time of 41 mins 29 secs.

More information is available here.

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Read more:

• Nidderdale fell running group achieves affiliation to England Athletics
• Harrogate’s Rachel Daly scores four in Women’s FA Cup

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A disabled Harrogate man has won a settlement against Nuffield Health after the gym allegedly discriminated against him when trying to renew his membership.

Andrew Gray, a lawyer and founder of Truth Legal, was a member of his local Nuffield health and fitness centre until his health deteriorated.

Mr Gray was a keen marathon runner and played football until April 2021.

Side effects attributed to treatment following a prescribed course of the antibiotic fluoroquinolone led to him developing chronic fatigue, fainting episodes and numerous other symptoms due to heart, blood pressure and prostate problems.

Now disabled, he enquired with his local gym in Harrogate in February last year about reduced rates due to being physically unable to use the equipment and attend the facilities.

He was a keen user of the swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi which helped relieve muscle and joint pain resulting from his condition.

However, Mr Gray was told that no adjustments in the membership pricing structure for disabled people were available.

Mr Gray argued that as his health condition varies unpredictably, sometimes he would not be well enough to use the pool and jacuzzi despite his desire to do so for the benefits it would afford him, further justifying his request for a reasonably lowered membership fee. 

He said:

“All I wanted to do was to enhance my chance to get well again. Many disabled people would benefit from fairer access to such facilities.

“People with chronic conditions are put off joining such places because of the unfair pricing.”

Read more:

• 1,300 people waiting a year for operations at Harrogate hospital, says chief executive
• Harrogate hospital trust plans home care service to tackle bed blocking

Acting on behalf of Mr Gray, Katherine Swinn, a senior associate solicitor at Truth Legal also based in Harrogate, issued a disability discrimination claim for breach of the 2010 Equality Act. 

The outcome saw Nuffield agreeing to settle the claim, establishing an independent committee, comprising a team of medical experts to look at all future memberships for disabled members. 

Moving forward, people with disabilities will be able to apply for reduced membership rates after submitting medical evidence of their disability. The committee will consider applications on a case by case basis.

‘Positive outcome for disabled people’

Ms Swinn said:

“This is a very positive outcome for Mr Gray and for disabled people in general, who have been unfairly discriminated against purely for wanting to go to the gym and only pay for the equipment and facilities that they are physically capable of using.

“As this was already in place for pensioners using this particular gym, there was no fair or reasonable explanation why a similar reduced fee membership policy didn’t exist for people with disabilities who also wanted to attend.

“It is completely pointless to have legislation in place such as the Equality Act 2010 if nobody really uses it outside of the workplace. It is applicable to services, as well as employment.

“We are fully supportive of Nuffield’s decision to provide people with disabilities with an opportunity to apply for a reduced fee and hopefully this will establish a fair precedent for other similar leisure facilities to introduce policies that will include rather than exclude disabled members.”

Mr Gray welcomed the settlement and said he hoped other gym chains would follow suit and implement similar membership policies.

He said:

“My hope is that other gym chains follow suit. If they did, they would be opening themselves up to many with disabilities who are put off by the unfair pricing policies. And use of gym facilities could help hundreds of thousands of people to improve their health.”

A spokesperson for Nuffield Health said:

“We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the nation and are always looking at ways to widen access to our services.

“As part of this we continually consider new ways to support people with different needs.”

Details, including a timeframe, for the introduction of the policy has yet to be confirmed.

A man has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of theft from a shop in Harrogate town centre.

Jason Mark Johnson, 24, of no fixed address, was charged with trespassing at VPZ vape shop on Beulah Street and stealing property worth £685 on November 11 last year.

He denied the charge but was found guilty at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week and sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Court documents said Johnson was given a custodial sentence because of the seriousness of the crime and also because the offence was aggravated by his previous record of offending.

He was also ordered to pay £685 compensation.

Read more:

• Man jailed for racial harassment and carrying weapon in Harrogate
• Man jailed for indecent exposure at Harrogate Library

Teachers in the Harrogate district will go on strike today — and firefighters could be next.

The district has seen a wave of industrial action in recent weeks involving rail, postal, nursing and ambulance workers.

Members of the National Education Union, Britain’s largest teaching union, are on strike today in a move that will affect many local schools. Today will also see no Northern train services operate on the Harrogate and Knaresborough line.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of the NEU North Yorkshire, said picket lines were being organised at Grove Road Community Primary School in Harrogate and King James’s School in Knaresborough.

There is also the prospect of Harrogate district firefighters walking out after the results of a strike ballot this week revealed 88% of Fire Brigades Union members voted yes on a 73% turnout.

The FBU has given the government and employers until February 9 to come forward with an improved pay offer to avert what would be the first nationwide fire strike since 2003.

Read more:

• Why are Harrogate district teachers going on strike?
• Harrogate head torn between ‘head and heart’ over teacher strike

Harrogate is the only fire station crewed 24 hours in the Harrogate district and is likely to be affected by any action.

Harrogate Fire Station on Skipton Road

It is not known to what extent other local fire stations would be involved. Ripon is crewed from 8am to 6pm each day and on call outside these hours. There are 24-hour on call stations at Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Masham and Summerbridge plus a volunteer station at Lofthouse.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said:

“This is an absolute last resort for our members. The responsibility for any disruption to services lies squarely with fire service employers and government ministers.

A young Harrogate man died when his car left the A59 as he drove home after drinking heavily, an inquest has heard.

Samuel Ronald Gibson, known as Sam, was 24 when the fatal collision occurred in the early hours of March 13 last year.

His Peugeot 208 spun off the road, collided with a tree, lifted up and landed in a ditch close near Poppleton at around 3.30am, today’s inquest was told by a police investigator.

A toxicology report after his death found he had 201mg of alcohol in his blood, against the legal limit of 80mg.

A statement from his colleague and friend Sophie Rothwell was read at the inquest held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton this afternoon. She said:

“When Sam was sober, he knew drink driving was wrong. However, when he went out it was like there was no controlling or stopping him and it wasn’t possible to reason with him…

“I would describe [Sam] as an unsafe driver [even when sober]. He drove very fast, exceeding the speed limit and I didn’t feel safe as a passenger.”

The court heard a statement from Sam’s mother, Jennifer Perkins, who said he had “always had a strong work ethic”, beginning with a paper round in his teens. He later moved into hospitality, working at Revolucion de Cuba and then Sainsbury’s in Harrogate.

The former Rossett School student had been manager at the Cosy Club bar in York for three-and-a-half years before moving to the Ivy in early 2022.

After passing his driving test at 18, Sam lost his licence aged 20 when he was convicted of drink-driving. When he had his licence back, Ms Perkins said he was “always very careful and cautious about not driving when he knew he would be drinking”.

However, in the few months prior to his death, she said there had been a couple of occasions when he had driven home after drinking.

Friends also said Sam was known to drive after drinking. Some had tried to hide his car keys to prevent him doing so, and others had stopped socialising with him.

Read more:

• Rossett School pays tribute to ex-student Sam Gibson, 24
• Police plea to call out drink drivers amid increasing Harrogate district incidents

In statements, colleague Sophie Rothwell and her boyfriend Max Bradford said they had been out with Sam in York on the night he died.

They said he had drunk lager, prosecco, wine, beer and spirits between around 8pm on Saturday, March 12 and 1.30am the following day.

Ms Rothwell said:

“He was so drunk that, at one bar, he couldn’t stand up properly and kept falling down.”

Sam stayed out after his friends went home, and he went to a nearby food van for something to eat.

Sam’s car was discovered in a ditch by the A59 around 7am the next morning.

The inquest heard he had suffered a “catastrophic” brain and spinal cord injury, described by the doctor performing the post-mortem as “an entirely unsurvivable event” which would have killed him almost instantly.

Forensic collision investigator PC Richard Barker said Sam had been wearing a seatbelt but the airbags in the car had not deployed, showing signs that they had previously activated and not been properly repaired.

Although he could not say for certain how fast the car was travelling, PC Barker believed it was in excess of the maximum speed at which the car could navigate the bends of the road.

North Yorkshire coroner Jonathan Leach concluded Sam had died as a result of the collision, saying:

“It would appear that Sam was driving along the A59 at speed and, I suspect as a result of the alcohol he had drunk, his concentration and his ability to drive properly was impaired.

“I suspect he over-reacted, left the road and struck a tree, and died at the scene.”

‘Devastation’

In their statements, both Ms Rothwell and Mr Bradford described Sam as a reliable friend and a good colleague who was the “life and soul” of both his workplace and any party.

Ms Rothwell added:

“Sam was the most reliable friend you could have asked for. He was the person you could call at any time and losing him has left a massive hole in my heart.”

Ms Perkins’ statement said Sam was a “nice young man” who had looked after her when she lost her sight and had taken gifts to an elderly neighbour who had moved into a care home. She added:

“While Sam made bad judgements and mistakes in relation to driving, this is the kind of loving, caring person Sam was and how I wish for him to be remembered.”

She added:

“I can’t express in words just how much devastation losing Sam has left behind. The whole family are suffering as a result. I can’t believe he has gone.”

Staff at the Harrogate branch of stationery store Paperchase face an uncertain future after the company went into administration today.

Sky News reported this morning Tesco was in advanced talks to buy Paperchase’s name and other intellectual property through a pre-pack administration but was unlikely to be interested in any stores — casting doubt over the workforce’s future.

Staff in Harrogate told the Stray Ferret they were unable to comment at this time when we called this morning.

Read more:

• Historic Harrogate hotel closes as staff face redundancy
• Harrogate head torn between ‘head and heart’ over teacher strike

People in parts of the Harrogate district are being urged to sign up for free security checks and upgrades to homes and farms.

Residents in the parishes of Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton, Kirk Deighton, Kirk Hammerton, Leathley, Long Marston, North Deighton, Sicklinghall and Spofforth with Stockeld are eligible to apply.

They could receive new locks for vulnerable doors, windows, garages and sheds, and alarm systems for farms and small holdings. For homes with suitable WiFi coverage the scheme also includes a RING video doorbell.

Funding for the Protect Your Home was secured last year by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner‘s office, which was awarded £719,590 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund.

The scheme aims to prevent burglaries in over 1,000 homes and 90 farms along the borders of the Harrogate and Craven district but so far only 422 homes have received a security upgrade.

In the Harrogate district, the take-up has been as high as 46% of homes in North Deighton and as low as 3% in Sicklinghall.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s former Kimberley Hotel being used for drugs and crime, say police
• Harrogate district police inspector reveals local crime hotspots

Now crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and local councillors are encouraging more people to sign up.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“My office have done really well to secure this funding from the Home Office on behalf of these communities and so it’s really important that the money is used to improve the security of as many homes and farms as possible.

“The more people who sign up in a community the more resilient to burglary that area becomes, and we’ve seen this demonstrated in Cononley when a burglar was captured on seven video door bells, many funded through this scheme.”

The last chance to apply is August this year.

Superintendent Teresa Lam, senior operational commander for Harrogate and Craven, said:

“I would encourage any eligible occupants to become involved in this fantastic initiative to help protect their properties”.

Teachers in state schools in the Harrogate district will strike tomorrow.

It means that schools will either close for the day or see classrooms disrupted if they decide to remain open.

The National Education Union, which is the largest teaching union in the country, is behind the industrial action that will affect schools in England and Wales.

Ninety percent of its 120,000 members voted to strike in a ballot.

It’s the latest strike to hit the UK this winter that has also seen nurses, rail workers, postal staff and paramedics join picket lines.

Why are teachers striking?

Most state school teachers in England and Wales had a 5% pay rise rise in 2022. But with inflation at over 10%, the NEU says this has resulted in a real-term pay cut for teachers.

The union also says teachers have lost 23% in real-terms pay since 2010, which it described as an “unsustainable situation”.

It believes low pay has led to thousands of teachers leaving the profession, including a third of those who have recently qualified.

Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said:

“The government must know there is going to have to be a correction on teacher pay. They must realise that school support staff need a pay rise.

“If they do not, then the consequences are clear for parents and children. The lack of dedicated maths teachers, for example, means that 1 in 8 pupils are having work set and assessed by people who are not qualified in the teaching of maths. Anyone who values education should support us in this dispute because that is what we are standing up for.”

Read more:

• Harrogate head torn between ‘head and heart’ over teacher strike
• Nurses and ambulance workers set to strike in Harrogate on same day

How will classrooms be affected?

A final decision on whether a school stays open is up the headteacher, although government guidance says they should take “all reasonable steps” to ensure they do not close.

Teachers are not required to tell the school if they intend to strike but headteachers can ask them in advance to help preparations.

For schools that remain open, other teachers may be asked to cover the classes of those taking industrial action. Classes may also be combined.

The government says if a school possible it should, where possible, provide online learning for children.

What does the government say and will the dispute be resolved?

If the union doesn’t reach an agreement over pay with the government, there are three more days of industrial action planned at schools in Yorkshire on the following dates:

Tuesday February 28
Wednesday March 15
Thursday March 16

But like similar disputes with health and rail unions, the government is so far holding firm against calls to increase teachers’ pay.

The secretary of state for education, Gillian Keegan, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph over the weekend she was “disappointed” that this week’s strike was going ahead but she wanted to continue “constructive discussions” on pay.

Ms Keegan says the government has provided an extra £2bn in school funding, which she believes meets union demands.

There are reports in the media that Ms Keegan will meet with union bosses today in an attempt to avert Wednesday’s strikes.

If the talks are unsuccessful, we will be seeing the highly unusual sight of picket lines outside schools in North Yorkshire this week.