North Yorkshire Police has so far remained silent over gunfire heard at the Pinewoods yesterday.

Armed officers closed off the area after residents reported hearing “very loud” bangs at about 5pm.

A police helicopter circled the 96-acre woodland, which is located a kilometre south of Harrogate town centre, for some time afterwards.

The Stray Ferret contacted the police for information last night, but 15 hours after the incident, no information has been released.

Officers at the Pinewoods entrance on Plantation Road said only that a ‘containment exercise’ was being carried out. Armed police were stood down in the area after at about 7.15pm.

Two armed police officers were stationed at the Pinewoods entrance on Plantation Road.

We spoke to several residents in the area who reported hearing gunfire. Many said they heard three shots and then noticed armed police and a helicopter brought in. There were also reports of a taser being brought to the scene.

One woman said she’d heard three gun shots but didn’t think such things happened in Harrogate so she assumed it was a car backfiring and went swimming.

The armed officers on Plantation Road.

Another person said a residents’ what’s app group had been going crazy with people wanting to know what was going on, as the Pinewoods is a popular local beauty spot.

But so far the police have remained silent and it is not known if anyone was hurt or if any arrests have been made.

Read more:

• Harrogate district people asked for views on police 101 and 999 calls
• Armed police close off Pinewoods after suspected gunfire

Police have closed off the Pinewoods after suspected gunfire was heard this evening.

Someone in the area told the Stray Ferret they heard three “very loud” bangs, which they presumed to be gunshots, at around 5pm.

They said a police helicopter has been circling the woodland since then.

The Stray Ferret spoke to one police officer who said armed police had “contained” the area but did not give any further information. It is not known if anyone has been hurt.

We will have more information on this developing story as we get it.

A pair of nurses from Starbeck who are cycling across Europe for charity have made the trip even more special — by getting engaged in Paris.

Andy Dennis proposed to Tracey Hill at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and even had friends on hand to film the occasion and celebrate with them.

He said:

“Everything was perfect: the company was lovely, the place chose itself — there was a view of the tower framed by the trees.”

Tracey said:

“He got down on one knee and it felt like going into an exam you haven’t prepared for.

“I just kept saying, ‘What are you doing? What’s going on?'”

Fortunately, Tracey accepted the proposal, and the newly engaged couple have enjoyed some time in Paris to celebrate.

Staying in a hotel for a couple of nights is luxury compared to some of their other experiences so far. Tracey said:

“We’ve been wild camping on our way here. You’re getting up, you feel sticky, you’re in a field, there’s nowhere to wash yourself except with a handful of water from your bottle.

“You’re packing up and off you go onto the road – it’s so hot from about half past eight, you’re just so grateful when you go through a forest.

“We watch out for each other and push ourselves to drink even if we aren’t thirsty, so we don’t get dehydrated.”

Now, the couple are back on the road towards Geneva.

They have told close family about their engagement, and Andy posted the video on his blog about the trip, but it will be many weeks before they can celebrate with friends and family.

They don’t expect to complete the 2,000-mile trip to Gibraltar for three months.

The ride is the couple’s latest fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a medical charity providing support to people in conflict zones and other troubled areas of the world.

Andy has completed previous challenges as part of a bid to raise £200,000 for MSF, which he has worked for on four missions: Uganda, twice in South Sudan, and in an ebola centre in Sierra Leone.

Read more:

• Ripon soldiers in Cyprus to undergo mammoth charity challenge
• Harrogate business man praises ‘amazing’ charity following £2m aid convoy into Ukraine

In his day job, Andy is a staff nurse on the intensive care unit at Harrogate District Hospital, where he and Tracey met. She now works as a nurse in dermatology at York Hospital.

Both have been supported by their employers, who have given them time off to complete the ride from Amsterdam to Gibraltar. The couple are funding all the travel, accommodation and food themselves, so all money donated goes directly to MSF.

To follow the couple’s progress, visit Andy’s blog or Tracey’s blog. You can donate to the cause by clicking the links from either of their blogs.

Harrogate business Glawning Ltd has been named microbusiness of the year at the Federation of Small Businesses awards.  

Glawning, which sells awnings and accessories for campervans, was set up in 2013 by husband and wife James and Sarah Martin.

Since then, the company has flourished, and last year turned over more than £500,000.

The annual awards, which celebrate the best of small business and entrepreneurship, attracted more than 3,000 entries from the UK.  

Glawning won the Yorkshire award before defeating 12 other regional finalists at yesterday’s event in Glasgow, which was hosted by TV presenters Clare Balding and JJ Chalmers.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also there to address the nominees.  

Read more:

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• ‘Somebody knows something’— Killinghall peacock mystery deepens

Ms Martin said:  

“We set up our business after identifying a gap in the market and this award is very much a testament to all the work we have put into creating and launching a product that we ourselves need and use.” 

The company now plans to launch in Europe and the USA this year.

Martin McTague, FSB national chair said:  

“This is an example of a small business that recognised an opening for a new product and worked hard to create something that has been a success amongst the campervan community.

“I wish them success as they continue to innovate and create new products and take on the international markets.” 

Harrogate Borough Council’s Conservative leader Richard Cooper has made changes to his top team, 10 months before the local authority is abolished.

Cllr Cooper has appointed Cllr Sam Gibbs, who represents Harrogate Valley Gardens, as cabinet member for the environment, waste reduction and recycling brief on his six-person cabinet.

Rebecca Burnett, who represents Harrogate St George’s, has been appointed chair of the planning committee, which makes decisions on major housing and development projects.

Ed Darling, who was elected in Knaresborough Castle, is the new chair of the 12-person licensing committee, which can grant or refuse alcohol and Hackney cab licences.

Sam Gibbs

Cllr Gibbs, who has represented Valley Gardens since 2018, will replace Cllr Andrew Paraskos.

Collecting household waste is one of the council’s biggest responsibilities and this year it will be trialling wheelie bins for housing recycling.

According to the Richmond Conservatives website, Cllr Gibbs is employed as the constituency agent for Chancellor and Richmond MP Rishi Sunak.

He is also a county councillor, winning the Valley Gardens & Central division in this month’s local elections.

Read more:

• ‘Where’s the infrastructure?’: New councillor queries 480-home Bluecoat Wood plan
• Council hopes to start Otley Road phase two in autumn

Rebecca Burnett

Rebecca Burnett replaces Cllr John Mann as chair of the planning committee.

Cllr Burnett has been a councillor since 2014 but will be stepping down from local politics when the council is abolished in April 2023.

She was the cabinet member for planning from 2015 until 2020, during the formation of Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which allocates over 13,000 new homes for building in the district up to 2035.

Other appointments

Ed Darling will become the new chair of the licensing committee, replacing Cllr Victoria Oldham, who will become the council’s final Mayor.

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Gibbs, Cllr Burnett and Cllr Darling for comment but none responded.

The committee memberships will be confirmed at next week’s full council meeting. Read the full list here.

Bettys will close its tea rooms early today as staff gather to celebrate the end of two difficult years.

The ‘Big Get Together’ will see all 1,600 staff from Bettys & Taylors invited to mark the hard work done by the company’s individuals and teams since 2020.

Today will be the first time everyone has been able to get together for what has been an annual celebration since the start of the covid pandemic.

Organiser Victoria Turner said:

“Every year we hold our internal Honours Awards which recognise the achievements and successes of our people over the 12 months.

“This year also marks the 60th anniversary of Bettys & Taylors coming together as Group, so it’s a special opportunity to bring everyone together to celebrate and reconnect after the challenges of the last two years.”

The tea rooms at Harrogate, York, Northallerton and Ilkley will close at 3.30pm today, while Harlow Carr closes at 4pm, to allow staff to join the celebrations.

Read more:

• Bettys applies to create new baby changing room in Harrogate tea rooms
• Bettys and Taylors win Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has told Parliament that cuts to train services in the towns will damage business and make it impossible for some commuters to be at work on time.

The two early morning weekday services from Harrogate to Leeds were axed this week, meaning the earliest commuters can arrive in Leeds is 7.28am

Speaking in a Commons transport debate yesterday, Mr Jones said it was a “bad mistake” to think that the decline in passenger numbers due to covid was now at a fixed level and “service levels can be cut back accordingly”.

He added:

“We have seen some of the implications of this locally on the Leeds-Harrogate-Knaresborough-York line.

“The services that have been cut back are the early morning services to Leeds, although many people from Harrogate commute to Leeds for work.

“Some will now find it impossible to be in work on time. For other service users, it is now impossible to connect with the Leeds to London services that get into our capital before 10am.

“That is not good enough for business people, and Harrogate has significant conference business at its convention centre, with many people travelling to it from across the country.

“Other rail cuts have created long gaps in the evening services and an earlier finish on the Knaresborough service. These cuts are obviously bad for our night-time economy.”

Mr Jones, a former transport minister, said the cuts were “not great to see” because rail services had been “making such great progress after all of the years of Labour’s no-growth northern franchise”.

He cited the six daily direct London services and better rolling stock as examples.

Read more:

• Harrogate commuters frustrated as early trains axed today
• How did a First World War bomb end up in Knaresborough?

Mr Jones said he’d had a “very positive meeting” with Robin Gisby, the chair of rail operator Northern, who he said “recognised the significance of the services that have been cut, and he is working on reinstatement for later this year”.

One of the key issues, he added, was training more drivers.

Praise for local buses

Mr Jones also used his speech to praise the “excellent leadership” of Don Mackenzie, who was the North Yorkshire county councillor in charge of transport until the local elections on May 5, for securing £8m from the government for a scheme with Harrogate Bus Company to bring 39 electric buses to Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Mr Jones added:

“The bottom line is that the new electric buses are very popular, and the customer response has been excellent.

“I have checked this with the bus company and with passengers. People like the ride quality and the quietness, alongside the fact that the vehicles are bright, airy and pleasant to be in. They are obviously also emission free, which is highly popular.”

Two hundred water voles released in Nidderdale are thriving in their new habitat, surveys have discovered.

Yorkshire Water released two groups of the endangered animals in 2020 and 2021 at Timble Ings Wood in the Washburn Valley.  

Recent surveys suggest they are settling in well to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with signs of the animals up to 1km away from the original release site.  

Surveys of the area have found burrows, droppings, and signs of feeding, such as piles of nibbled grass. There have also been regular checks for the water vole’s main predator, the American mink, which has not been spotted.  

Philip Tennyson, recreation coordinator at Yorkshire Water said:  

“While this is a successful project, water voles are particularly sensitive to disturbance, and the good work we’ve done so far can easily be lost.  

“We would urge visitors to Timble Ings Woods to stay on the paths and keep dogs on a lead away from the ponds and watercourses to protect the fragile water vole population.” 

Read More: 

• 100 water voles released in Washburn Valley this week
• Nidderdale group offers dog leads to protect nesting birds

Water voles are classed as an endangered species, and have been identified as one of Britain’s fastest declining mammals.  

They have been named as a priority species for protection in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and conservation efforts like the one in Nidderdale are crucial in preventing their extinction.  

The project is part of Yorkshire Water’s Water Works for Wildlife initiative, which aims to enhance biodiversity in 15 local wildlife sites.  

World champion boxer Josh Warrington thrilled members of a boxing club in Harrogate last night when he dropped in on a training session.

Warrington, the IBF featherweight king, was accompanied by IBO lightweight world champion Maxi Hughes at H Hour Boxing Gym on Skipton Road.

Rob Smith, head coach at the club, has known the fighters for years and invited them down.

They brought their world title belts and posed for pictures first with junior members and then with the seniors.

Maxi Hughes (left) and Josh Warrington with juniors Eduardo Pereira (front left) and Jeno Laki.

Warrington told the Stray Ferret he often visited Harrogate with his wife and daughters and found it peaceful compared to his home city of Leeds.

He has visited H Hour Boxing previously and said he particularly liked having the opportunity to inspire kids.

“It’s easy for them to go down the wrong path. I like to talk to them and say ‘life is hard, boxing is hard but stick at it because it’s worthwhile.

“I started at seven or eight and never thought I had the natural ability to succeed. It was my mindset that did it and now I like to instil that in other kids.”

Some fans brought memorabilia for Warrington and Hughes to sign and were clearly thrilled to meet them.

Dane Hall poses with the champs.

Dane Hall, 22, who has been training at the club for just under a year, got the fighters to sign his gloves. He said:

“Josh is bloody brilliant. He’s one of the boys. My dad is also a massive fan.”

Read more:

• Leeds United legends reminisce with Harrogate dementia residents
• Harrogate Grammar hopes to light up sports pitch until 8pm

Rob Smith, who puts on training sessions three times a week at the club, is well connected in boxing. He is chairman of the central area of the British Boxing Board of Control and has brought the fighters to the gym on previous occasions. He said:

“Harrogate is perceived as an affluent area but boxing is a working class sport.

“Some of our members are not from the wealthiest families and they look at Josh and Maxi and see guys from similar working class backgrounds who have done the business at world level so it inspires them.”

Training at the gym last night.

A plan to demolish Harrogate’s former Debenhams store on Parliament Street has been withdrawn.

Wetherby-based property company Stirling Prescient submitted a proposal to demolish the three buildings that Debenhams was situated in and replace them with 50 flats and two commercial units.

The site on Parliament Street has been home to different retailers for more than a century. Before Debenhams, it housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores.

However, according to Harrogate Borough Council’s online planning portal, the application has now been withdrawn.

It follows an objection from Emma Gibbens, the council’s conservation officer, who raised concerns that the demolition of the building would harm the local area.

She said:

“The loss of the traditional building form and architectural detail would be harmful to the street scene and character and special interest of the conservation area, the building forming part of the designated heritage asset in a manner that contributes positively to its character.”

A CGI view of the planned apartments at Debenhams on Parliament Street.

Ms Gibbens added that the developer needed to prove that the demolition was justified.

The objection followed similar concerns from campaign group Save Britain’s Heritage, which said the developer had failed to provide “clear or adequate justification” for demolishing the building.

Read more:

• Heritage groups say ‘no justification’ for Harrogate Debenhams demolition
• Plans submitted to demolish former Harrogate Debenhams
• Harrogate council conservation officer ‘cannot support’ Debenhams demolition

However, Historic England said it supported regeneration of the site but added that there should be a “sensitive conversion” of the two older department store buildings.

Stirling Prescient said in documents submitted to the council:

“The proposals as a whole will strengthen the town’s vitality and viability, increasing footfall and contributing to the local economy.

“The proposal represents a sustainable form of development and therefore benefits from the presumption in favour of sustainable development, meaning planning permission should be granted without delay.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Leeds-based planning consultants Quod, which were the agent for the developer, to ask why the application was withdrawn.

However, we did not receive a response by the time of publication.