Harrogate man convicted of animal cruelty wanted by police

Police have issued an appeal for a Harrogate man who is wanted for breaching a court order for animal cruelty.

Robbie Nelson, 24, of Woodfield View, was given a community order last year after neglecting two dogs at a house on High Street in the town.

The case was brought by the animal welfare charity the RSPCA, which revealed that the animals were living in a flat covered in faeces and with carpets soaked in urine.

Nelson was banned from keeping animals for five years and handed a community order to undertake rehabilitation activity following a court hearing in July 2022.

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North Yorkshire Police has now issued an appeal for information on his whereabouts after the 24-year-old failed to comply with the order.

He was due to attend Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on March 3, 2023, but he failed to appear resulting in a warrant for his arrest.

Robbie Nelson RSPCA

The conditions in the flat in Harrogate. Picture: RSPCA.

Enquiries are ongoing to find Nelson, including multiple address checks and contact with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Job Centre.

A police statement added:

“If anyone knows where he is or have information that could help us to find him, please make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or call 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room.

“If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Please quote reference number 122300039283 when providing details.”

Harrogate schoolboy, 16, death in homeless hostel ‘unascertained’, coroner concludes

A corner has concluded that the death of a 16-year-old Harrogate schoolboy in an adult homeless hostel was “unascertained”.

Benjamin Nelson-Roux, a student at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died in Harrogate on April 8, 2020.

His body was found by his mum, Kate, at Harrogate Borough Council-run homeless hostel Cavendish House on Robert Street. He had been living there since February of that year.

The hostel was intended for adults and has nine bedsits.

A wide-ranging 12-day inquest was held into Ben’s death and concluded this morning at North Yorkshire Coroner’s Office in Northallerton.

The hearing explored the decision by North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to place Ben in an adult homeless hostel, given his age, vulnerability, and what was known about his lifestyle at the time.

Death ‘unascertained’

Jon Heath, senior coroner for North Yorkshire, concluded Ben’s death was “unascertained”, but noted that “multiple drugs” had been found in his body.

Mr Heath said there was no evidence of any third party involvement.

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He added that the accommodation provided to the 16-year-old was “unsuitable”, but it could not be determined whether this contributed to his death.

The inquest heard that the hostel had no security on April 7 and April 8 due to a contract issue.

However, Mr Heath said it could not be determined whether any other accommodation would have prevented his death.

The inquest, which was held last year, heard how Ben’s body was found by his mother Kate after she forced entry into his room at around 4pm.

She carried out CPR until a paramedic arrived. However, he was certified dead at 4.50pm.

A toxicology report found several drugs in his bloody, including diazepam, ecstasy and cocaine.

Dr Carl Gray, consultant pathologist at Harrogate District Hospital, said he was unable to undertake a full post-mortem on Ben’s body as it took place during the first covid lockdown.

He told the inquest:

“The cause of death cannot be certain as there was no internal dissections due to the pandemic. Multiple drugs were present but were low and the effects were debatable.”

Ben was placed in the hostel on Robert Street in February 2020 until alternative accommodation was found.

The inquest heard concerns from social workers and other agencies that the hostel was not suitable due to the 16-year-old being at risk of exploitation from county lines drugs dealers.

The hearing at Northallerton also heard that Ben had struggled with drug misuse for several years.

Prevention of future deaths

Following his conclusions, Mr Heath told the court that he intended to issue a prevention of future deaths report.

Mr Heath said he would to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to raise concern over the lack of under-18s facilities for drug misuse.

He also intended to write to North Yorkshire County Council to raise concern over why alternative accommodation was not considered outside of the county.

Arson at Harrogate’s Kimberley Hotel: police appeal for witnesses

Police today appealed for witnesses and information about a suspected arson at the former Kimberley Hotel in Harrogate.

Eight fire engines were called to the derelict 90-bed hotel on King’s Road at about 11pm on Tuesday last week when smoke was seen pouring out of the front and rear of the building.

Half of the main building was damaged by smoke and an annex was destroyed.

A subsequent investigation by firefighters concluded the fire is believed to have been caused deliberately.

Fire crews outside the Kimberley Hotel last week.

Six days on, North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“As part of the ongoing police investigation, we are appealing people to come forward about any suspicious activity at the location and particularly on the evening of Tuesday March 7.”

You can email ellie.paul@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2, and ask for Ellie Paul or pass information on anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230042171 when providing details.

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‘Once you’ve been to Bettys you’ve done Harrogate’, claims Ripon councillor

A Ripon councillor has suggested there is little for tourists to do in Harrogate after visiting the famous tearooms Bettys.

Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, was speaking at the final Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee meeting before the new North Yorkshire Council is formed on April 1.

He referred to the sometimes thorny relationship between Harrogate and Ripon and said reorganisation was a chance for the city to be presented in a different way to tourists.

Ripon is currently marketed as a tourist destination within Destination Harrogate — Harrogate Borough Council’s destination management organisation.

But Destination Harrogate’s future is unclear as the new council looks to set up a county-wide tourism strategy instead.

Cllr Williams was critical of how Ripon has positioned within Destination Harrogate. He said:

“[We need to] remove the idea that Ripon is somehow linked to Destination Harrogate. It should be Destination Ripon.

“We are two very distinct localities. We don’t want to be marketed as a day trip from Harrogate. We’re far more than a day trip from Harrogate.”

“Once you’ve been to Bettys you’ve done Harrogate, quite frankly.”

‘Rose-tinted view’

Officers spoke to councillors about the economic opportunities in Ripon, which included a presentation on how the city’s economy has performed since covid.

Dave Caulfield, who will be assistant director economic development at the new council, said tourism was crucial to Ripon’s economy and the city’s offer would form part of a new tourism strategy that is being developed for North Yorkshire.

But Cllr Williams said the report presented a “rose-tinted view” of Ripon. He called on the new council to “listen to local people in Ripon and work with them rather than ignoring them”.

In response, Mr Caulfield said:

“It’s important we do listen as a new council. We want to look at opportunities to do things better when we can.”

There were also warms words for Ripon from David Staveley, Conservative councillor for Settle and Penyghent.

He told Cllr Williams:

“You are stepping out of the shadow of Harrogate and you will be equal partners here. Ripon has an awful lot to offer.”

Junior doctors begin strike at Harrogate District Hospital

Junior doctors formed a large picket line on Wetherby Road in Harrogate this morning as a 72-hour strike got underway.

Up to 61,000 junior or trainee doctors began a walkout at 7am today in a dispute over pay.

Many cars sounded their horns in support of those taking part in today’s action on Wetherby Road, close to Harrogate District Hospital.

The British Medical Association and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have defied calls from Health Secretary Steve Barclay to call off the strike.

They are calling for a 26% pay increase to “reverse the steep decline in pay faced by junior doctors since 2008/9”, according to the BMA.

A statement on Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust‘s website says the strike will impact services to patients. It says:

“Outpatients appointments and planned activity may be affected.

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority.

“We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.”

The full statement is here.

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Plan approved to convert former Harrogate Italian restaurant into flat

A plan to convert the former Lugii’s restaurant in Harrogate into a flat has been approved.

The Italian restaurant, which was situated in a residential area on Valley Drive, closed in October 2021.

Applicant Nidge O’Brien tabled plans to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building into a two-bedroom apartment.

Now, the council has approved the plans.

In a report, the authority said the move would “respect the character and appearance of the existing building and surrounding conservation area”.

Luigi’s closed its doors on October 17, 2021. In a post on its Facebook page, management at the restaurant said:

“We have thus reached the end of the journey, and we take this opportunity to thank all the customers who have supported us with their affection during these two years.

“Luigi’s Restaurant will open its doors for you on Sunday 17th October for the last time.

“Heartfelt thanks to all of you, it was a pleasure to pamper you and give you the goodness of our simple and genuine dishes.We will meet again, around the county.”

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Ofsted rates Harrogate pre-school ‘outstanding’ for first time

“Passionate” staff and a “stimulating” environment combine to make Harrogate’s Performatots an ‘outstanding’ pre-school, according to Ofsted.

The latest report by the government’s inspectors praises the way the setting teaches children language and maths, as well as skills including food preparation and hygiene.

Performatots was inspected alongside Northern Performance Academy, a performing arts school that is part of the same business run by Kelly Nevett.

In a report published this week, Ofsted inspector Jo Clark said:

“Children show high levels of curiosity and a sense of wonder in their learning. For example, during a unique birthday walk children sing and celebrate the earth revolving around the sun for each year of a child’s birth.

“They celebrate the life of the child, as children and staff offer words of thanks and best wishes. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

“Children develop their emotional literacy through speech and drama classes in their wonderful theatre. Specialist drama teachers support children to identify feelings using coloured scarves. Children use a red scarf to depict an angry emotion.

“They skilfully use their words to explain their feelings. A child places a calm coloured scarf around the child and says, ‘I’ll protect you.’ Children learn to understand their emotions and develop a positive mental attitude.”

The report said children “showed tremendous levels of independence” such as when taking food for lunch and choosing their seats.

It said this made them “superbly prepared” for the next steps in their education.

Ms Clark’s report also said:

“Management and staff are inspirational in their vision for providing children with exceptional and unique learning experiences. They are dedicated in developing the skills and knowledge of all staff to ensure the best outcomes for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

“Partnership with parents is exceptional. Staff provide parents with the skills and knowledge to continue and extend their child’s learning and development at home.”

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The report did not give any suggestions for improvement, rating all four areas of education ‘outstanding’.

The new rating – a step up from the previous ‘good’ grading given in 2017 – has been welcomed by Performatots, based on Anchor Road.

Owner and principal Kelly Nevett  said:

“We are all absolutely over the moon to receive this recognition for Northern Performance Academy and especially our early years department of exceptionally passionate, talented teachers.

“We are a school that champions the power of the arts in education, shining a spotlight on the incredible way they bring learning to life and help young people to be confident, creative, curious and capable. We are thrilled that our unique, pioneering approach to the early years curriculum, was judged to be outstanding.

“Our glowing report has made many of our parents cry – for all the right reasons! It’s so reassuring for parents to know that their children are receiving the very best level of early education and care available to them. Who wouldn’t want their child to have an outstanding start to their life?”

Ms Nevett said the grading was particularly welcome after Ofsted changed its criteria in 2021, making the top rating harder to achieve.

While the inspection only took place on one day in February, she said it reflected much more than what was seen during that small window.

“It’s about the years and years prior to that moment of consistently analysing, evaluating and evolving in order to become the very best you can be. It’s a journey and it doesn’t just happen, so it’s about the blood, sweat and tears, the set-backs, the knocks, the sleepless nights, the juggling, the failures and the low points.

“We are where we are through sheer hard work, determination and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Despite receiving no recommendations for improvement from Ofsted, we have fostered a fantastic company culture and a vision to always be improving. I know we will continue to reflect, enhance and develop the amazing opportunities available here.”

Harrogate to be second fastest growing place in Yorkshire, says North Yorkshire Council CEO

Harrogate is forecast to be the second fastest growing town in Yorkshire this year, says the new chief executive of North Yorkshire Council.

Richard Flinton, who is set to oversee devolution in the county from April 1, was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Stray Ferret Business Awards on Thursday.

Mr Flinton told the ceremony at Pavilions of Harrogate that supporting local business would be a major part of the new council’s agenda.

He said:

“Supporting business will be a really big part of the council.

“I have got great admiration for the wealth creators, the entrepreneurs and the talented individuals in this room.”

Mr Flinton will oversee the biggest reorganisation of local government in North Yorkshire since 1974.

The move will see seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, and the county council scrapped to make way for one unitary authority.

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Mr Flinton, who is also involved with York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said he wanted to see the new council work closely with the private sector.

He said:

“Our shared aim has got to be to try and create more jobs and wealth.

“I know that growing your businesses is what creates those jobs and that wealth. One of our roles in the public sector is to be able support you through infrastructure, through making sure people have got the right skills and work together to make sure we grow our economy.”

‘A massive opportunity’

Mr Flinton said Harrogate was “an incredibly important” part of the economy of North Yorkshire, adding:

“Ernst and Young are forecasting that Harrogate will be the second fastest growing part of the whole of Yorkshire this year, just behind the city of Leeds.”

He added that there was a “massive opportunity” for Harrogate to be one of the most vibrant towns in the north of England.

The Stray Ferret Business Awards showcased a variety of talent from across the area, and 11 finalists were crowned the winners of their categories.

The ceremony was attended by nearly 400 guests and celebrated the success of businesses from across the district.

You can read more about the winners of the awards here.

Scammers fail to spoil another successful Knaresborough tractor run

Thousands of people turned out across the Harrogate district today to support the Knaresborough tractor run.

The event, which is believed to be Britain’s biggest tractor run, has become one of the district’s most popular annual events.

Almost 400 tractors, including some vintage open station models with hardy drivers braving the elements, tooted their horns, waved and revved their engines to the delight of the crowds.

Organised by Knaresborough Young Farmers, the event raises money for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Tractors set off just after 9am from the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and headed to Ripley and Knaresborough.

Knaresborough tractor run

Today’s start at the showground.

The convoy then passed Staveley, Burton Leonard and Markington, Bishop Thornton and Glasshouses before stopping in Pateley Bridge for lunch.

The drivers and passengers then continued to Bewerley, Dacre, Darley, Birstwith and Hampsthwaite before finishing in Knaresborough late this afternoon.

The organisers arranged live tracking of the front and back tractors for the first time, which led to some scammers posting a link online asking people to give bank details to follow a live stream.

Some people reported losses before the organisers deleted the links and issued warnings not to use them.

The number of tractors taking part and the sum raised has yet to be confirmed but the event appears to have been another big success.

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Stray Views: North Yorkshire rural transport ‘desperately inefficient’

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Hats off to North Yorkshire County Council for being open about the cost of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes. The reason that DRT is expensive in rural areas is because it is desperately inefficient.

DRT is supposed to be the answer where demand for timetabled services has dropped to uneconomic levels. But DRT actually makes the problem worse – if the only timetabled bus leaves at 10.30, it may well carry me (who would prefer to leave at 09.30) and my neighbour (who might prefer to leave at 11.30). 

But DRT asks us each when we want to travel, and if we are both lucky enough to bag a ride, then the bus will come to our village twice, carrying just one of us each time. And because the schedule is built in random order, as requests come in, the vehicles end up with wasteful gaps when there isn’t enough time to fit in an extra trip, and lots of “dead mileage” as the vehicles zoom around empty from one drop off to the next pickup.

I live in a part of rural Derbyshire that is likely to lose timetabled services soon, and I wanted to see if my fears were borne out by data. Finding no published information on loadings for DRT buses, I made a FOI request to NYCC for detailed information on the Yorbus service around Ripon. 

The data, for February, March and April 2022 shows the two minibuses carrying passengers for just a third of their operating time and when they did have passengers, it was rarely more than three. Normal taxis could have been used instead (with far lower costs and emissions) for over 97% of the operating hours. These figures will have improved, a bit, as ridership has increased in the last year, but Yorbus will still be running as what is in effect a badly-scheduled taxi service using vastly oversized vehicles.

Even if you don’t worry about the cost, DRT isn’t even a good replacement for a timetabled service. The marketing materials may talk about flexibility, but for the user that means uncertainty.

NYCC have reported that Yorbus has been unable to meet about 20% of the requests for a ride. 

Failure may be OK if you were planning to go shopping: perhaps you will be luckier tomorrow. But what if you had wanted to use Yorbus to get to work? Or to an appointment with a hospital consultant?

John Geddes, Winster, Derbyshire

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‘Disgust’ at North Yorkshire County Council view

I read with disgust but no real surprise in the Stray Ferret the view of the North Yorkshire Tory council expressed by the opposition concerning the behaviour of the council. 

They describe the behaviour as something like a “Putinesque regime” amongst other descriptors. They then go on to describe actions that are nothing short of abuses of power.

It irks me that this dire council has managed to wriggle out of it’s responsibility to face elections till 2027 as a result of the re-organisation of local government.

Let’s face it, it is likely that the forthcoming local elections are likely to see the Tories, deservedly, wiped off the the face of the electoral map in much of the country. North Yorkshire however remains lumbered with this dismal bunch for another four years.

This thoroughly depressing and damaging state of affairs should not be allowed to stand.

Nick Hudson, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.