North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner is set to face further scrutiny over plans to cut the number of night-time fire engines in Harrogate to just one.

Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe will face councillors at a special meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee next Thursday.

The plans, which are currently out to consultation, have already been criticised as “putting money before lives”.

The Fire Brigades Union also described the proposals as “seriously concerning”.

The plans would see Harrogate fire station continue to have two fire engines during the day, but just one between 10pm and 9am when fewer incidents usually occur.

The move would also mean some of the fire station’s 40 crew members are moved to different stations or roles.

Harrogate Fire Station on Skipton Road

A report to Thursday’s meeting said Harrogate is of a “predominantly low combined fire risk” and that this “does not warrant” two 24-hour fire engines.

Commissioner Metcalfe has also insisted the fire service would “continue to provide an immediate emergency response” during the night.

Yet concerns remain that the move would increase response times if multiple emergencies occur during late hours and back-up vehicles have to travel further from outside of Harrogate.

Steve Howley, secretary of the North Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union, previously urged the public to reject the proposals which he said would “put lives at risk.” He said:

“The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner needs to fight for the correct funding from government, not simply mask underfunding by slashing services and providing the public of North Yorkshire with a second-rate emergency response service.”

Save £1.5m a year

Ms Metcalfe said the plans – which also include cuts to services in York and Scarborough – would save over £1.5 million a year, yet she insisted they are not cost-cutting measures.

She also said the savings would allow for investment in fire prevention.

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The proposals are part of the fire service’s Risk and Resource Model which sets out how it will deploy staff and equipment across North Yorkshire over the next three years.

The consultation will run until August 14 and residents are being urged to give their feedback online.

Commissioner Metcalfe said in a statement:

“The role of a fire and rescue service has changed and continues to change, with only 26% of our incidents last year relating to a fire emergency.

“We want to ensure we are addressing our current and future challenges and that we have the capacity to prevent and stop incidents happening in the first place.

“Inevitably, there are some areas where the setup of the service would change but I’m confident the right people, right equipment and the right support would continue to be available to everyone.”

To have your say go to www.TellCommissionerZoe.co.uk

A chef who shot his baker in the eye with an air pistol, “effectively” blinding him, has been remanded in custody to await sentence.

Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn gastro pub in Killinghall.

Mr Corbyn was taken to hospital for a procedure to remove the ball bearing from his eye, York Crown Court heard.

Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn fear of violence. 

Yesterday (Thursday, July 21), a jury found Plummer not guilty of the second count following a four-day trial, but he now awaits sentence for GBH.

Prosecutor Howard Shaw said the horrific incident in September 2020 began innocently enough but turned more sinister.

He added:

“The defendant came into the kitchen and said, ‘I’ve got an air pistol’.

“(Plummer) was bragging to Aidan Corbyn about the gun, telling he.. he wanted to go outside and shoot at some bottles. He asked Aidan Corbyn to join him.”

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Mr Corbyn later said that he agreed to go outside because he was scared of Plummer, his boss.

The two men went outside to the back of the pub where they lined some bottles up as targets. 

They returned to the kitchen at about 12 noon and Mr Corbyn went back to work.

The chef started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn, “pretending to shoot him”, said Mr Shaw.

He added:

“He kept pointing it at his face several times.”

Safety catch

At that stage, it appeared that Plummer had the safety catch on, but Mr Corbyn was so worried he tried to get away from him. However, his boss followed him, “laughing and joking and pointing the gun at Mr Corbyn”.

Things turned uglier when Plummer pointed the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face “from a distance of about one metre”.

Mr Shaw said:

“He pointed the gun straight at his face (and) the air pistol discharged.

“Aidan Corbyn was shot in his left eye, the ball bearing lodging in his eye, effectively blinding him.”

Plummer, who lives at the gastro pub on Skipton Road, was arrested and taken in for questioning. 

He told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded when he shot Mr Corbyn.

Mr Shaw added:

“He said he thought the safety catch had been on and (that) he hadn’t aimed at Mr Corbyn.

“He said he and (Mr Corbyn) got on well and that this was an accident.”

Newcastle novelist Mick Herron has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022, presented by Harrogate International Festivals, for his crime novel Slough House.

The announcement was made at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate last night during the opening ceremony of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which runs until Sunday.

The book, which is the seventh installment in the bestselling series of the same name, follows a band of failed spies.

This year marks Herron’s first time winning the award after five appearances on the shortlist in just six years.

The author received a £3,000 prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

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Mick Herron said:

“This is the most coveted trophy in the crime writing community and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have won it.”

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said there was “an incredibly strong shortlist”.

The festival will see crime fiction icons including Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, Denise Mina, Lynda La Plante, Mark Billingham, Ann Cleeves and more take to the stage to discuss all things crime fiction at the world’s biggest celebration of the genre.

For more information on the line up and tickets, visit here.

The biannual Mercer Open art exhibition is extending its remit after 20 years of being held in Harrogate.

Hosted by the Mercer Gallery on Swan Road, the event is now open to anyone with a Yorkshire connection this year, rather than the previous limit of the Harrogate district.

People who were born in Yorkshire, or who have lived, worked or studied in the region qualify to submit their work.

Karen Southworth, curator at the Mercer Gallery, said:

“The Mercer Open is not only a wonderful celebration of the fantastic artistic talent associated with Yorkshire, but also offers an amazing opportunity for visitors to the Harrogate district and art-lovers to discover the Mercer Art Gallery and to buy something really special.

“We’re delighted to extend entry invitations more widely this year and we look forward to an incredible showcase of artwork in the Mercer Open, bringing new audiences to the Mercer and enabling more people to enjoy the feel good experience of art appreciation.”

The Mercer Gallery

The exhibition has also been extended in other ways this year. Buyers no longer have to wait until the end of the event to collect their purchases but can take them home immediately.

New work will be put on display throughout the four-month exhibition, enabling more artists to be included and seeing the event evolve over time.

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Meanwhile, the cost of submission this year is £15 for up to three pieces of work, and for the first time it can be done online via the CuratorSpace website.

Anyone who would find the submission fee a barrier can contact curator Courtney Spencer via the CuratorSpace website.

Courtney said:

“I’m really excited to build on the incredible work of the gallery team who have been delivering a biannual open exhibition for the past 20 years.

“It’s been brilliant to broaden the callout to include artists connected to Yorkshire, to move the submissions process online and to reduce the submission fee to enable more artists to submit works.”

Artists have just over a week to submit entries before the deadline of midnight on Sunday, July 31.

The exhibition will run from September 17 until January 8, 2023. The Mercer Gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

A Harrogate restaurant inspired by fashion styles and food trends from around the world has reopened.

Fashion House, which was previously called Fashion House Bistro, has undergone a major refurbishment.

The restaurant on Swan Road is the concept of fashion photographer David Dresser and Leeds-based businessman Joel Feldman.

The kitchen will be run by Peruvian head chef Erika Ramos, who will be serving up dishes from her home country with an Italian twist.

Fashion House hosted a garden party to celebrate reopening this week.

A spokesperson for the restaurant said:

“From London to LA, Italy to Barcelona, this new restaurant has taken inspiration from fashion styles and food trends across the globe and streamlined it together to create Fashion House in Harrogate.”

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Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate’s Odeon cinema bought by property group

Bramall Properties Ltd has acquired the freehold of the Odeon cinema in Harrogate from a property investment fund for an undisclosed sum.

The 1930s art deco style Grade II listed building was put up for sale for £7m in April and is let to Odeon Cinemas Limited on a 25 year lease which was originally granted in 2013 when Odeon sold its freehold interest.

The property includes part of the car park operated by Harrogate Borough Council to the rear of the cinema and the premises occupied by Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre on East Parade.

The Odeon is in a prominent position within the town and has been acquired as a long term investment by Yorkshire-based Bramall Properties whose head office is in Harrogate. The building has been an iconic part of the town for many years.

Bramall Properties said it has no immediate plans to redevelop the site and it hopes Odeon Cinemas will continue to operate from the location for many years entertaining Harrogate residents with the latest blockbusters.

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Award for wine created in Harrogate district

James Townsend with Oz Clarke and Susie Barrie at the awards.

A vineyard in the Harrogate district has been awarded the title of best wine in the Midlands and the North region in the WineGB awards.

Dunesforde Vineyard‘s Queen of the North was awarded the accolade by a panel of wine experts including Oz Clarke and Susie Barrie.

Speaking after the award ceremony in London, the company’s head of wine development Peter Townsend said:

“We are delighted to have received this prestigious award from WineGB.

“We are still a young vineyard compared to many in the UK and are immensely proud that our Queen of the North’s first vintage has been honoured in this way.”

The family-run vineyard, based near Upper Dunsforth, was founded in 2016 and grows solaris, bacchus, pinot noir précoce and pinot gris varieties.

Its Queen of the North classic cuvée was named after Queen Cartimandua, leader of the largest and most northerly tribe in England who formed an alliance with Roman invaders in the first century AD.

The wine is made using a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes harvested in the summer of 2018, with only 1,316 individually-numbered bottles produced.

A former Harrogate headteacher repeatedly visited a website which was “indicative” of alleged indecent images of children, a court heard today.

Matthew Shillito, 42, denies making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between December 3, 2012 and December 31, 2015.

Mr Shillito, of Gordon Avenue, Harrogate, was appointed headteacher of Western Primary School in 2019.

He was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools.

None of the alleged offences related to his employment.

Mr Shillito appeared for trial at Harrogate Magistrates Court today.

Philip Morris, prosecuting, told the court that the indecent images were found on the cache in Mr Shillito’s computer, which could have only have got there had he accessed sites with those images.

He said:

“It is the prosecution’s case that those images found as they were on the computer cache were present as a result of the user of the computer accessing indicative content on the internet.”

Police seize computers

Police arrested Mr Shillito and seized two computers at his address on January 4, 2020.

Officers recovered a Dell laptop and a MacBook Pro, which contained a back up from an iPad mini which was not found.

Giving evidence to the court, Zoe Warboys, a digital forensic investigation officer at North Yorkshire Police, said that while the defendant may not have been aware of the cache, he could have only got them by accessing the material.

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A Russian website named in court was frequently accessed on the Dell laptop, which Ms Warboys told the court was a site which contained indecent images of children.

The site is public and allows users to upload albums of images which others can view.

The court heard how the site was frequently visited on February 26, 2011.

Mr Morris told the court that Shillito visited some of the pages which were “indicative” of possibly including indecent images 30 times.

Meanwhile the defendant’s MacBook contained a backup from an iPad mini, which the court heard was not recovered by police during the raid.

Mr Morris said the backup included search terms which were “indicative” of indecent images of children.

A number of Google search terms were also presented to the court, which the prosecution argued demonstrated an intent from the defendant to access the alleged images.

Denies allegations

There was no evidence that Mr Shillito downloaded the alleged images onto his desktop, the court heard.

Mr Shillito repeatedly denied to the court that he had knowingly accessed indecent images of children.

Kevin Blount, defence, said that while the terms found on the computers may have been indicative, they were “not conclusive” as they could also bring up legitimate results.

The court heard how Mr Shillito had also repeatedly denied accessing the alleged images during police interview.

The trial continues.

The newly refurbished Coach and Horses on West Park in Harrogate opened its doors for the first time this evening.

The much loved traditional pub was bought last year by Provenance Inns, which promised to keep it true to its heritage.

Work to revamp the pub has been extensive: the once central bar has been moved to the back of the ground floor and there is a restaurant on the first floor. In total the pub can seat up to 100 diners and it employs 30 staff.

Staff prepare for the big opening party tonight.

The upstairs dining space and tables.

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The previous landlord, John Nelson is well-known in the Harrogate area — he was landlord for 33 years and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities.

The new owners want to keep the tradition of raising money for Martin House Hospice. There will be a monthly quiz on Sundays where proceeds will go to the charity and for every burger bought a pound will also be donated.

The Coach and Horses opens to the public tomorrow at 5pm. Normal opening hours are noon to 11pm Monday to Saturday, closing earlier at 10pm on a Sunday.

Stockeld Park is set to open its £3.5 million children’s play centre to the public this weekend.

The Playhive, set over 20,000 square feet, is one of Europe’s largest indoor play centres. It will open for the first time on Saturday.

The play centre has space, aeronautical, subaquatic and jungle themed areas, which are all connected by a 33-feet tall tower, which also comes with giant slides and a toddler zone.

Playhive also includes a football pitch-sized area filled with play equipment and a pizzeria for families to enjoy after a day of play.

The different zones are all connected by a large tower.

With capacity for 400 visitors at a time, Stockeld Park believes that the new venture will come as a welcome boost for Wetherby and Spofforth’s economy.

The Playhive has created 50 jobs.

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It was the brainchild of park owners Peter and Susie Grant, who wanted to create an all-weather space where adults and children can explore, learn and play together.

It is one of the largest indoor play centres in Europe.

Peter Grant said:

“Susie and I are so excited to finally see the Playhive come to life – a passion project of ours for years, it’s great to see the final result come together exactly as we envisioned.

“We wanted to move away from the traditional soft play scene whilst also encouraging play and imagination in the kids that attend Stockeld Park each year.

“One of the most incredible parts of the Playhive is that it allows for all occasion play – ideal for those rainy Yorkshire days!”

Tickets to the Adventure Park and Playhive cost £19.50 and can be purchased here.

Cabbies have reacted angrily to plans to shorten the length of the main taxi rank in Harrogate as part of the £11.2m Station Gateway scheme.

The rank on Station Parade, opposite the train and bus stations, currently accommodates about a dozen hackney carriages.

Councillors want to reduce this by two vehicles and introduce a new bay over the road under plans to introduce single-lane traffic on Station Parade and create new cycle paths.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the gateway scheme, included the taxi rank proposals in new design plans that went out to consultation yesterday.

Tania Weston, the council’s programme manager for the gateway scheme, told a media briefing about the new designs last week that cabbies were satisfied with the new arrangements, which also include creating extra bays outside Mainline Taxis further along Station Parade.

Paul McMahon, who owns PM Taxis, said cabbies were told in talks with the council that the Station Parade rank would stay in its entirety.

He said:

“They have completely backtracked on what we were told.

“How can you possibly service a busy railway station, especially when conferences are in town, when you shorten the taxi rank?”

Kevin O’Boyle, who owns Central Taxis, said several town centre bays would be lost if the part-pedestrianisation of James Street also went ahead. He said:

“This would be an unfair, derogatory step.

“Problems were pointed out at council liaison meetings a good six months back but it appears to have changed nothing.”

Mr O’Boyle said shortening the main rank and creating a new bay over the road, which he understands will be for wheelchair-accessible taxis, would cause tensions among cabbies.

He said drivers sometimes already had to loop round Harrogate because spaces weren’t available on the rank and the situation would get worse.

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He added it would also cause a scramble for customers on two fronts and cause ill feeling amongst cabbies waiting on the current rank who saw a wheelchair-accessible vehicle nip into the new bay over the road and pick up a non-wheelchair user.

Mr O’Boyle added:

“They need to get it into their heads that taxis are part of the infrastructure of the town.”

“Creating another rank will only cause divisions within the taxi trade.”

Ms Weston said in a statement:

“During the second consultation we received feedback from taxi drivers and companies about the proposed changes.

“As a result, we are retaining the current taxi rank on Station Parade but this will be slightly shorter.

“There will be a relocated taxi space on the opposite side of the road.

“We have also included a raised table on the northern part of Station Parade (between Bower Road and Cheltenham Parade) to make easier for people to cross the road to access the taxi company.

“Previously taxi drivers requested additional taxi rank spaces on the west side of the town centre and we will offset any loss through the Transforming Cities Fund project by providing new spaces in this area.

“Additionally, should a decision be taken to progress the scheme, the contractor will be contacting taxi companies to understand their requirements during construction, including the potential location of temporary taxi ranks.”

‘Fantastic regeneration project’

The gateway project is one of three active travel schemes in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

It is supported by North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said last week hailed the scheme as a “fantastic regeneration project and the first major investment in Harrogate in 30 years”.

But business groups have expressed concerns about its impact on retail.