Chip pan fire decimates Harrogate home

A Harrogate home was severely damaged when an unattended chip pan caught fire last night.

Firefighters used a door breaker tool to get into the home, which is in the Coppice area, at about 6.20pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log does not say whether anyone was hurt.

Harrogate and Knaresborough firefighters responded to the call. The incident log says:

“This was a fire to a chip pan that had been left unattended.

“This caused 70% smoke damage throughout the property.

“Crews used a door breaker to enter the property and extinguished the fire using a hose reel jet and a 45mm hose.”

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State-of-the-art laser treatment in Harrogate can remove lumps and bumps

This article is sponsored by Kliniken. 

At Kliniken – Harrogate’s state-of-the-art aesthetics surgical centre – a brand new laser treatment procedure is launching that removes scars, acne, lumps, bumps and even wrinkles without surgery.

It’s called the Ultrapulse CO2 Laser Treatment and it uses a powerful laser to dramatically improve skin texture, skin tone and fine lines.

What treatments does Kliniken offer?

Kliniken offers several different treatments available to suit your needs.

Skin conditions

At Kliniken we also treat other skin conditions, there are many small things that people find on their body that are not cancerous or concerning but you don’t like the look of them.

These lumps and bumps can affect all parts of the body. When left, they can get bigger and become more obvious, resulting in staring or pointing by strangers and friends or family.

Sadly, these “benign” growths can lead to self-confidence issues or being asked by friends and family to “have those growths removed” or “have it looked at”.

However, due to the effects of COVID, most people are unable to have these growths removed by the GP or in hospital anymore.

At Kliniken, we are able to offer a review by a team of specialist plastic surgeons who can check the growths and if appropriate remove them with the help of a local anaesthetic so that you are seen and treated in one go.

Be your confident self

At Kliniken, Chief Surgeon Mr Mallappa Kolar is looking forward to helping people get back to their most confident, comfortable selves.

The non-surgical procedure takes only around 90 minutes and within 7-10 days patients should see a dramatic difference in their appearance.

Mr Kolar said:

“The experience patients receive when coming to the clinic is that our UK-trained plastic surgeon makes a full assessment of the patient. This includes any relevant history, including reasons for treatment and a thorough examination to talk about all options including using the Ultrapulse CO2 laser.

“Patients have treatment performed and go home the same day, from between 50 minutes to an hour and a half.”

Book your free consultation now to find out how this treatment could help you.

Harrogate cafe offers taste of Turkey

Sirius is a new cafe on Beulah Street that offers homemade food inspired by Turkey.

Istanbul is said to have the world’s oldest cafe culture, and Cuneyt Yazicioglu wants to bring some flavours from his home city to Harrogate.

Dishes at Sirius include kumpir, which is a Turkish jacket potato with a wide range of toppings to choose from.

Homemade sweets include the pistachio-flavored baklava. Turkish coffee and tea are also available.

Inside Sirius on Beulah Street

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Mr Yazicioglu has lived in North Yorkshire for 24 years and previously ran a Turkish restaurant in Ripon.

Pictures of famous Turkish singers, actors and comedians adorn the walls of the cafe, which used to be a card shop and is next door to Costa.

It’s the ‘Turkish breakfast’ that takes top billing on the menu. It’s a twist on the English breakfast and includes feta cheese, olives, Turkish pepperoni and honey.

As well as offering Turkish treats, the kitchen serves English breakfast, sandwiches, pizza, paninis and omelettes.

Sirius is open from 9am to 5pm seven days a week at 9 Beulah Street, Harrogate.

Traffic and Travel Alert: A59 is blocked due to a car accident at the junction with White Wall Lane, between Harrogate and Menwith Hill

Emergency services are dealing with a road traffic collision on the A59 between Harrogate and Menwith Hill.

Police at the scene have asked drivers to avoid the area whilst they help those involved.

The collision happened at the junction with White Hall Lane near Menwith Hill.

@your_harrogate @HgateAdvertiser @thestrayferret @Harrogate_News @BBCYork @BBCYorkshire @itvcalendar

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) May 5, 2022

 

Harrogate event hopes to encourage more women to cycle

An event to encourage more women to take up cycling is being held in Harrogate this weekend.

Businesses in the town have teamed up to host three days of ‘personalised cycling support, skills and inspiration’.

Hosted by activewear store Sweaty Betty, health food café Hustle & Co and cycling firm The Personal Cyclist, women of all ages and abilities are invited to take part from Friday to Sunday.

Research by Sport England’s Active Lives Survey (May 2020 – May 2021), revealed that 8.3 million adults cycle regularly in England, with only 13 per cent of these being women.

The weekend is being supported by the Electric Bike Shop, on Leeds Road, which will provide a fleet of test bikes and pre-bookable safety checks for all appointments during the weekend.

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Whilst the physical and mental benefits of exercising outdoors are undisputed, British Cycling coach Kate Auld, founder of the Personal Cyclist, said:

“Some of cycling’s special magic lies in its sociability, sustainability and the almost childlike joy it brings out in people. Not forgetting fabulous coffee and cake stops. But it can sometimes feel intimidating to get going.

“Together with Hustle & Co and Sweaty Betty, we want to empower everyone with the confidence and skills to cycle safely.

“Whether it’s for fitness, commuting or errands around town, we’re building healthy habits around busy lives, without judgement or jargon.”

Nici Routledge, co-owner of Hustle & Co, said she loved the idea of cycling around Harrogate, but admitted she was “a bit scared”.

She said:

“What should I wear? What about punctures? Where are the best routes? I needed some hand-holding to help me out, starting with the right bike for my budget.”

Pre-bookable appointments, costing £20 per person, are available Friday 6 to Sunday, May 8 and last around 40 minutes. A bike is not essential.

Email thepersonalcyclist@gmail.com to book.

Bid to convert Harrogate working men’s club into flats refused

Harrogate Borough Council has refused a bid to convert a former working men’s club in Harrogate into two flats.

The National Reserve Club, East Parade, formally closed in July following a unanimous resolution from its members last year. It was also known as ‘The Nash’.

The organisation had been registered as a working men’s club since July 11, 1913, when it was known as the Harrogate Battalion National Reserve of the West Riding of York Club.

ID Planning, which submitted the plan on behalf of Ashleigh and Caroline Wells, said in its application that the scheme would provide a viable use for the building.

But as the building is a community facility, the council said in its refusal that the owner had not been able to prove that it was no longer viable before submitting planning permission.

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Working men’s clubs were once the heart of the community across the country but many have faced dwindling membership numbers with some forced to close.

The Nash never reopened after the first covid lockdown two years ago.

It had 28 members at the time of closing and donated its remaining cash to charity.

However, other Harrogate clubs such as The Londesborough Club and Bilton WMC are still going strong.

Read Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam’s history of the town’s working men’s clubs here.

Harrogate council to move ‘eyesore’ £4,350 smart bins

Two new smart bins branded an ‘eyesore’ outside Harrogate’s Valley Gardens are to be moved.

Harrogate Borough Council said today it would “find a more suitable location for the bins”, which it revealed cost £4,350 each.

The bins use sensors to identify different types of waste, as well as how full the receptacles are and whether they have been damaged.

Harrogate Civic Society and the Friends of Valley Gardens both called for the bins to be relocated this week because of their visual impact on the conservation area.

The council has installed six smart bins, costing a total of £26,1000, in Valley Gardens. But it is the two outside the main entrance that have attracted criticism.

Stuart Holland, co-chair of the civic society, said it welcomed receptacles to collect waste and recycling but described the smart bins as ‘eyesores’.

Ann Beeby, secretary of the Friends of Valley Gardens charity, said it has aesthetic concerns and had asked the council to consider moving them inside the entrance.

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A council spokesman said today:

“The location of the bins was chosen in areas where footfall is high and where in peak season bins require emptying multiple times a day.

“We’d like to thank Harrogate district residents and Harrogate Civic Society for sharing their comments on the bins. And following feedback from the civic society, we will work with them to find a more suitable location for the bins outside Valley Gardens to preserve the heritage of the town while maintaining a high footfall area.”

Smart bins ‘improve efficiency and increase recycling’

Smart bins at Valley Gardens

Two bins have also been installed in the children’s play area.

The council spokesperson said the new solar-powered compacting public bins would “improve efficiency and increase recycling”.

They added:

“Each self-contained 240l bin, that prevents birds and vermin from entering, can compact the volume of up to 10 standard bins.

“Resulting in each pair accommodating a total of up to 4,800 litres of waste and recycling and a reduction in the time and cost of emptying bins, as well as a reduction in fuel costs and carbon emissions.

“Meaning we can spend more time litter picking and keeping the district clean and looking its best.

“The allowance for recycling glass, plastic and cans means that these items can be removed from general waste and increase the district’s recycling rates.

“Much like the standard bins that have recently been retrofitted with a sensor, we are also able to monitor fill levels and are alerted if there are issues with the bin, or the bin becomes full before its next collection, ensuring litter is kept to a minimum and we can ensure the district is kept clean and tidy.”

 

Harrogate online predator caught by vigilantes

A Harrogate man asked a 13-year-old ‘girl’ for nude photos during online chats, a court heard.

Thomas Fryer, 36, contacted the ‘girl’ on a messenger app, not realising he was in fact chatting with an adult decoy who was working undercover to trap online predators.

Prosecutor Ashleigh Metcalfe told York Crown Court that a vigilante group called Keeping Kids Safe was behind the sting, which ended with a “confrontation” at Fryer’s home that was live-streamed on social media.

She said the volunteer decoy – a man who was named in court – set up a fake profile purporting to be a teenage girl.

Fryer made contact under the username ‘Tom Fryer 1’. On the ‘girl’s’ profile it said she was 19 years of age, but when he contacted her, she told him she was 13 years old.

Thus began a series of debauched chats on the Oasis and KIK apps, culminating in the “confrontation” at Fryer’s home where the vigilantes called in police.

Officers arrived on the scene and seized Fryer’s iPhone, which showed messages between him and the ‘girl’, including one in which he asked her if she “goes nude” and encouraged her to take naked photos of herself. Ms Metcalfe said:

‘She’ sent him two photos, whereupon Fryer called her a ‘cute girl’.”

He then asked ‘her’ if she had any photos of her young friend and if this girl was sexually active.

He then asked ‘her’:

“Why don’t you kiss your ‘bestie’ for the experience?”

In subsequent chats, he asked for more pictures from the ‘girl’ and told ‘her’:

“It’s probably better to keep this between you and me. Don’t tell anyone about the (pictures) LOL.”

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Ms Metcalfe said the chats occurred over a five-day period between May 28 and June 1, 2020.

Never been in trouble before

Fryer, of Dragon Parade, was quizzed by police but remained largely silent. However, he ultimately admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

They were charged as ‘attempts’ because the ‘girl’ was in fact an adult decoy.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said Fryer had never been in trouble before.

Judge Simon Hickey said it was better for Fryer to get the help he needed in the community rather than any custodial sentence.

Fryer was given an 18-month community order with a 40-day rehabilitation programme. He was also ordered to carry out 80 hours’ unpaid work.

He was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for five years and made subject to a five-year sexual-harm prevention order, mainly to curb his internet activities.

Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner lays wreath 60 years on

Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner Guy Tweedy has laid a wreath to pay tribute to victims of the morning sickness ‘wonder drug’.

Mr Tweedy placed the wreath at the foot of a copper beech tree planted on the Harrogate’s Montpellier Hill in 2012.

The tree was the UK’s first-ever memorial to those who died as a result of their mothers being prescribed the drug in the early stages of pregnancy.

The wreath commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Thalidomide Society, which was formed in 1962 by the parents of children affected by the drug.

Mr Tweedy, who turns 60 in June and is himself a Thalidomider, is a prominent campaigner for the society.

The society was formed by parents of children affected by the drug in order to provide mutual support and seek compensation.

At least 2,000 babies in the UK were born due to Thalidomide, and more than half of them died within their first year. An unknown number also died in the womb.

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Common deformities included missing or shortened limbs, blindness, brain damage and missing internal organs.

442 UK Thalidomiders still alive

There are a total of 442 Thalidomiders aged between 56 and 63 still alive in the UK today.

Over the last two decades, Mr Tweedy – who sufferers from shortened arms and fingers fused together, has helped secure hundreds of millions of pounds from the government for the ongoing care of fellow survivors.

He said:

“A decade ago, we planted this tree to commemorate those who died from this hideous drug. Thalidomide was the worst man-made disaster in peace time history.

“It killed thousands of babies in the womb and in their first years of life. It left thousands more with terrible deformities and affected the lives of thousands of families around the world.

“For the last ten years I have watched the memorial tree grow – and it will be here long after I, and all the other Thalidomide survivors, have passed away.

“The Harrogate district has seven thalidomide survivors, and since its inception 60 years ago the Thalidomide Society has fought our corner and championed our welfare.

“Whilst this wreath is to commemorate the victims of this tragedy, it’s also to recognise the ongoing work of the Thalidomide Society which aims to ensure the impact of thalidomide is never forgotten.

The quirky new Harrogate café where customers can cuddle chihuahuas

A quirky café where you can grab a slice of cake and cuddle a chihuahua is set to open in Harrogate this month.

Billed as ‘England’s first interactive chihuahua experience’, The Chihuahua Lounge is aimed at boosting mental health with pet assisted therapy.

The venue, on Knaresborough Road, is expected to open on weekends from Saturday, May 14.

Customers will be able to book a 50-minute session at the café, on Knaresborough Road, and chill out with a coffee in the company of six cute long-haired chihuahuas.

Picnic and her puppies Badger, Lambie, Potter, Peony and Lucy, all bred and raised by café founder Caroline Leather, will roam free within the building.

Ms Leather said she wanted to share the benefits that she gains from her own affectionate pack of chihuahuas.

She explained that this is how the concept of a ‘home-from-home interactive chihuahua experience’ with lounge seating, coffee, cakes and cuddles was born.

Ms Leather said:

“The Chihuahua Lounge is a friendly, safe haven, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

“We are passionate about animal assisted therapy, which has shown that spending time with dogs not only reduces your heart rate and blood pressure, but is good for mental health.

“We offer an extensive menu of hot and cold drinks, freshly baked cakes and have cosy sofas, arm chairs and foot stools, so you can kick off your shoes and curl up for a cuddle.”

The experience costs £10 per person. This contributes towards the cost of the specific qualifications needed to exhibit the animals, as well as the strict animal welfare and licensing laws.

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For the safety of the dogs, only children over the age of six are permitted.

Ms Leather said:

“Our dogs love human attention and we have made sure that the café is a home-from-home for them.

“They also have their own private room where they are free to wander in and out as they please.

“We do not force our dogs to be in the lounge area with our guests. When the dogs are in the lounge space, they are there out of choice, and we intend to always keep it that way.

Ms Leather explained that the dogs also have weekly health checks and  behavioural studies are conducted on each animal regularly to ensure their behaviour in the café demonstrates that of a happy and relaxed dog.

She added:

“If it does not, we take them out of the café environment.

“We have a set of house rules to protect the dogs welfare that have to be adhered to by all customers.

“We also limit the capacity of our café to ensure the dogs are not overcrowded.”