Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
A long-serving employee has been appointed to the board of directors of a Harrogate firm.
Phil Robinson has become the application and training director at Belzona, a designer and manufacturer of polymer repair and protection systems.
Mr Robinson, pictured, joined the firm as a trainee project manager in 2007 and will now be responsible for identifying opportunities to expand Belzona’s work in engineering industries including wind power, hydro power and waste-to-energy.
He said:
“Belzona is a fantastic place to work; it has provided me with an incredible number of opportunities over the years and I’m delighted to be occupying this new role.
“Belzona is incredibly well placed to help resolve so many of the issues faced in industry worldwide and I”m looking forward to doing my part in ensuring that potential is realised.”
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Pitches bring pet and prisoner experience client wins to Harrogate agency
A digital marketing firm in Harrogate is celebrating two new client wins after competitive pitches.
Extreme will deliver paid and organic social media for Alcotraz, described as a “prison-style cocktail experience” which sees guests smuggling “moonshine” past guards.
Meanwhile, the team has also been commissioned to rebrand the pet arm of P Dot Wolf and deliver a new website.
The company, based in Harrogate’s Windsor House on Cornwall Road, was established 20 years ago and already works with a number of national and international B2B and B2C brands.
James Brunyard, client services director at Extreme, said:
Girls aged 13 and 14 admit setting fire to bins in Harrogate“These wins are a great representation of the diverse work we do at Extreme. We’re really excited to help both businesses meet their varied aims with our social media and brand expertise and early results for Alcotraz show we’re able to do that.”
Two girls aged 13 and 14 have admitted setting commercial bins on fire in Harrogate town centre.
The girls, who are both from Harrogate, cannot be named for legal reasons.
They pleaded guilty to arson on a Biffa bin worth £600 belonging to Primark on Oxford Place on May 23.
They also admitted the same charge relating to a bin worth £600 belonging to Harrogate Borough Council on May 26.
The 13-year-old is the same girl who admitted in June being drunk in Ripon and attacking three police officers.
They appeared before North Yorkshire Youth Court in Harrogate on Friday, where they were referred to a youth offender panel for 12 months.
They were also ordered to pay £50 compensation.
The older girl also pleaded guilty to separate charges of causing actual bodily harm on June 19 and assaulting a police officer three days later.
She was ordered to pay £200 compensation plus £85 court costs and a £26 surcharge to fund victim services.
Read more:
- Harrogate girl, 13, admits drunken attack on police officers
- Business group calls for more Harrogate town centre police
‘It’ll take more than a scumbag chancer to bring us down’
The owners of The Dale Stores in Birstwith have pledged to continue serving the village after suffering a “sickening” burglary.
Andrea and Matthew Walwyn were sleeping next door when thieves smashed two panes of glass on the front door to gain entry to their shop and post office at nine minutes past midnight on Friday.
They took stamps worth £3,000 and a quantity of cash.
The couple, who have run the Nidderdale business for 17 years, told the Stray Ferret the incident had shaken them and the community but they had been overwhelmed by messages of support.
Read more:
- Thieves steal cash and stamps from Birstwith post office
- Firefighters called to blaze at factory in Birstwith
The shop has reopened and although the post office is currently closed Ms Walwyn said they would be back at full capacity as soon as possible.
She said:
“We are really shaken. It’s just sickening. We live next door and think of the shop as part of our home.
“People have come in saying they have never locked their doors but they are now.
“But we want to fully re-open as soon as possible.”
Last year The Dale Stores won an award in the Rural Oscars competition organised by the Countryside Alliance, receiving praise for its ‘great service and great produce’ and for maintaining a village post office.
Ms Walwyn said she had been taken aback by the kindness shown by villagers in recent days. One man arranged for builders to sort out the damaged door straight away.
A customer arranged to fix the door.
Mr Walwyn put a post on their Facebook page saying, “It’ll take more than a scumbag chancer to bring us down. Andrea and I are here this morning. Nice people are very welcome”.
It prompted nearly 300 likes and a barrage of supportive comments.
One said:
Harrogate’s Rachel Daly given hero’s welcome at Elland Road“After all you both went through yesterday to see you smiling today is what makes Birstwith village shop the best.”
Harrogate’s Rachel Daly received a hero’s welcome at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium this past weekend.
Daly, who is a lifelong fan of Leeds United, was welcomed onto the pitch ahead of the club’s opening day Premier League clash against Wolves on Saturday.
She received a standing ovation and gave a pitch side interview before kick off.
She made the appearance off the back of being part of England’s Lionesses’ historic win at Euro 2022.
Daly and her teammates captured the heart of a nation after clinching the title with a 2-1 defeat of Germany last week.
Following her pitch-side appearance, Daly saw Leeds pick up all three points with a 2-1 win with goals from Rodrigo and an Aït-Nouri own goal.
In June, Daly lived out a childhood dream when she played at Elland Road in an international friendly against the Netherlands.
https://twitter.com/LUFC/status/1555916110700101632?s=20&t=ZxSSO4o_-4xsBGRQRnXI3A
She used to watch the men’s team play at the club’s famous old ground when she was a season ticket holder as a child.
Daly even has a line from the Leeds anthem Marching on Together tattooed on her forearm.
She said in an interview ahead of the Netherlands friendly:
“It’s a club that has held such a special place in my heart and my family’s heart and I’ve got so many memories of being at Leeds.”
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- Harrogate’s Rachel Daly ready for emotional Elland Road fixture
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Rachel Daly continues to support Killinghall team, coach reveals
Riverdale actress filming in Harrogate today
Riverdale actress Camila Mendes is filming in Harrogate today.
Film production vehicles have been parked on Beech Grove alongside the Stray today.
The vehicles included an actor’s trailer and double decker bus.
Crew members told the Stray Ferret the production company was called Upgraded, which may also be the title of the film.
Camila filming on The Stray in Harrogate today.
They said Ms Mendes was one of the stars of the movie, which is being produced for Amazon Prime and is set in the modern day.
They added that it would be shot on the Stray at the top of Montpellier hill, as well as in the town centre.
They also said they would be filming at a hotel in the town tomorrow and the film was also being shot around Leeds and Bradford.
Filming on The Stray.
Camila Mendes is an American-Brazilian actress and singer. She made her debut portraying Veronica Lodge on the teen drama series Riverdale.
Her Instagram story shows the actress recently visiting Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.
Read more:
North Yorkshire Police is investigating a burglary at a rural post office in Nidderdale.
Thieves entered the Dales Stores Post Office in Birstwith at nine minutes past midnight on Friday (August 5).
The suspects smashed two panes of glass on the front door and stole cash and a large amount of stamps with a high value.
A North Yorkshire Police statement added:
“Officers are asking members of the public to get in touch if they have any information, saw anything suspicious or can identify the person recorded on CCTV.
“In particular, offices are asking local residents if they have any CCTV or dash cam footage of vehicles in the area at the time of the burglary.
“Anyone with any information is asked to email leah.fitzsimons@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC 950 Fitzsimons.
“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote reference number 12220137553 when passing on information.”
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Appeal for missing Leeds man who may be in Harrogate
Police are appealing for information on a missing Leeds man who may have travelled to the Harrogate area.
Jesus Moreno, 41, is described as of Spanish origin with long curly brown hair, a long brown beard and wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.
He is 5ft 7in tall and has an orange octopus tattoo on his upper left arm.
West Yorkshire Police believe he may have travelled to the Harrogate and Knaresborough area.
Officers have urged the public to call 101 referencing log number 1061 02-08.
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Harrogate mental health crisis team remains in Ripon
Harrogate’s mental health crisis team is still operating out of Ripon, two years after health bosses closed the town’s Briary unit.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the district, moved the team to The Orchards at Ripon following the closure of the Briary unit at Harrogate District Hospital in May 2020.
The crisis team provides specialist inpatient care for adults and children with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital.
The 29 staff were relocated after managers were unable to find alternative accommodation in Harrogate.
At the time, health bosses said the move was a short term solution until a new base in Harrogate was found.
The Stay Ferret asked the mental health trust whether a new base had been identified for the crisis team and if it had returned to face-to-face consultations.
A spokesperson for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said:
“Following the transformation work associated with adult and older adult mental health services, there was a requirement for services other than hospital liaison to move out of Harrogate District Foundation Trust.
“In the planning of this, the adult and children’s crisis teams were accommodated at the Ripon community base at The Orchards from May 2020, as the crisis team coverage included Harrogate, Ripon and the rural district areas. The crisis team continues to operate from their own office spaces in Ripon.”
They added:
“Because of the nature of the crisis and home-based treatment team, the way we met the needs of patient and carers did not change, in that, we retained face-to-face contact throughout covid balanced with telephone or video contacts, depending on patient choice and level of need as we had done before.”
Read more:
- Harrogate needs mental health crisis team ‘at earliest opportunity’
- Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure
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In March 2021, health bosses told the Stray Ferret that the team needed to return at the “earliest opportunity”.
When the Briary Wing closed in April 2020, inpatient mental health services transferred to York.
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.
Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
Woman who lost 12 stone launches crowdfunder to remove loose skinA Harrogate slimmer who lost almost 12 stone has launched a crowdfunding appeal to pay for surgery to remove her loose skin.
NHS worker Debs Smith embarked on her epic weight loss after her dad died in December 2019.
Ms Smith, from Jennyfields, started off weighing more than 21 stone and had 68-inch hips at less than five feet tall. She said:
“I was literally wider than I was tall.”
Over the next two years she shed eleven-and-a-half stone, now weighing just below 10 stone, and says she’s never felt happier.
Debs Smith, right, before her weight loss
But she has already spent £35,000 dealing with the impact of her dramatic weight loss by paying for two operations to get rid of what she describes as “the loosest skin I’ve ever seen”. She says:
“I looked and felt like a tiny skeleton stuck inside a giant hot sleeping bag made of skin.
“Not how anyone wants to live, this affected my mobility, daily hygiene and dignity.”
The two operations, which took 16 hours in total, lifted and reconstructed everything on her upper body. Removing the loose skin from her stomach alone got rid of one-and-a-half stone.
She flew to Cairo for the operations because the cost is far less in Egypt than the UK, but her funds are now depleted.
She said:
“To make those earlier operations happen I took out a bank loan and an extra mortgage.
“The two procedures would originally have included my thigh areas but I have bleeding issues, which slowed down what could be achieved each time.
“A final procedure is needed for the huge amount of sagging skin on my thighs.”
Ms Smith, who was helped in her weight loss by Slimming World in Jennyfields, has launched a £5,000 crowdfunding campaign. So far it has raised almost £500. She said:
“Before I lost weight I could walk only a few yards before becoming breathless; I now often walk with my dog for two to three hours and its still a wonderful experience.
“However, my thigh skin hangs like big loose curtains flopping around inside trousers, so I can’t wear patterned trousers without looking very odd.
“Either leg can easily get stuck to or under the other leg in bed.”
You can donate to Ms Smith’s campaign here.
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Have the district’s glamping sites benefitted from foreign travel chaos?
In the past few years high end camping or “glamping” as it is more commonly known, has become increasing popular, with a number of new sites springing up in the district.
Now as families weigh up whether to risk airport and port chaos to go abroad or remain in the UK, how is this relatively new holiday industry faring?
Some providers in the Harrogate district have reported an increase in trade, others have seen a downturn.
This has been put down to an increase in the cost of living, as well as last year’s demand being “unprecedented” due covid travel restrictions.
The local glamping industry
Tom Sterne, owner of Yurtshire, between Ripon and Pateley Bridge, said advance bookings for the luxury glamping and wellness retreat have been growing by the day.
He said:
“Since the news about flight cancellations and chaotic scenes at airports hit the media, the number of enquiries we have received has increased markedly.
“When we opened last July, we benefited from the sudden switch to staycations, from people across the Harrogate district and further afield, who would normally fly off to the sun and we are witnessing a repeat this year.”
A break in Nidderdale
Lindsay and Chris Morrell, whose annual summer holidays in Tuscany have been on hold since the covid lockdowns began in March 2020, have booked Italy next year.
But the couple, who used to live in Harrogate and have since moved to Northumberland, decided to take a break in Nidderdale for their 2022 getaway.
Ms Morrell said:
“With the problems people are encountering at airports, we didn’t want to risk booking for Tuscany this year and hope that issues affecting overseas travel will be sorted out by the time we are ready to venture abroad.”
Chris and Lindsay Morrell
For friends Carroll Shaw and Annie Brown, who live in Ripon, overseas holidays are no longer on the agenda.
Ms Shaw said:
“Why would anybody who lives so close to the gorgeous Nidderdale countryside, want the hassle of flying thousands of miles to lie on a crowded beach?”
A slow start
Louise Pullan co-owns the Breaks Fold Farm camping and glamping site in the Washburn Valley, next to Thruscross Reservoir, in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
She told the Stray Ferret that the beginning of the year had been very quiet, but it had started to pick up.
Breaks Fold Farm.
Ms Pullan, who runs the site with her husband Richard, said:
“It has been a very slow start.
“We were 60 per cent down in May and June based on our 2019 bookings.
“However we have seen a rapid uptake in bookings into July and August in all our accommodation.
“People are watching their finances and holidays maybe aren’t top of their priority lists.
“We have noticed we are getting a lot of local guests from Harrogate and Skipton, so maybe the fuel prices are also having an impact on people’s choices.”
Ms Pullan said the campsite’s main customer base is short stays of two to three nights.
Read more:
A difficult financial time
She said the price had been kept the same for the last three years, with discounts on longer stays to try and help people out during what is a difficult financial time.
She said:
“This is difficult as we as a business are now seeing increasing costs. For example our waste emptying costs have gone up 30 per cent, a bottle of gas has gone from £55 to £85 and our business insurance is double last year’s.
“We can’t afford to employ somebody this year due to soaring inflation, which is putting a huge pressure on us as a two-man band.
“Energy prices are just completely unbelievable and some of our fellow owners are up on 57p per kw, seeing their energy bills over double on previous years.
“We are only going to be able to absorb this for so long, unless hospitality businesses are offered some form of relief such as a VAT cut, like they were through 2021.
“Some sites have tried massively to capitalise on the staycation boom from 2020 and have made their prices unreachable for some.”
Cutting back
Claire Jones, owner of Strawberry Safari shepherds huts, in Wormald Green, between Harrogate and Ripon, said she had also seen a quieter year compared to last year.
Strawberry Safari.
She said:
“We believe this is due to a combination of people going abroad and also cutting back on short breaks in between their main holidays, due to cost of living increases.
“That said, last year’s demand was unprecedented and so it’s hard to compare the two.
“We have still seen some lovely guests this year, many of whom are here to enjoy the many events happening in and around Harrogate.”