Race for Life returns to Harrogate today

The charity fundraiser Race For Life is set to return to Harrogate today after being cancelled last year due to covid.

Five events will take place on the Stray to raise money for Cancer Research UK. There will be three, five, and 10 kilometre runs. plus two muddy obstacle courses.

Some groups have already generated significant sums ahead of the race, including Tracy and Lorraine’s Angels, which has raised £1,200.

The group. which met through their involvement in the Dishforth Military Wives Choir, will be taking on the pretty muddy obstacle course. Out of the eight in the group, two have been affected by breast cancer since 2020.

Dishforth Military Wives Choir where Tracy and Lorraine’s Angels met

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Tracy Seavers said:

“I was the 1 in 2 to have a cancer diagnosis and spent all of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 undergoing treatment.

“It has been a long hard slog but made easier by all those people who have gone before me trialling medications to make treatment kinder. Without research I would not be where I am today.”

Pretty Muddy 5K

All five events will be held on The Stray, starting with the 10 kilometre run at 9.30am and ending with the pretty muddy five kilometre obstacle course at 1.15pm.

Oatlands Drive will be shut today for the event.

Adult entry is £19.99 and child entry is £10. Men have been able to join in since 2019.

For more information about Sunday’s race for life in Harrogate, see Cancer Research UK‘s website.

There’s something in the water as Harrogate brews up for Beer Week

As the craft beer explosion continues in the UK, Harrogate is set to launch its first ever Beer Week. The town is firmly at the forefront of the industry, boasting five breweries in the HG postcode alone.

So what makes Harrogate beer so special? There’s definitely something in the water..

Harrogate is undeniably famous for its water. Its development as a prosperous and flourishing spa town dates back to the 16th century.

William Slingsby discovered the first spring in 1571 in the area now known as High Harrogate. It was named the Tewit Well Spring and the water was found to be medicinal. People, rich and poor, began to flock to the town to test the curative powers of the waters.

Perhaps it is therefore unsurprising to learn that the district’s water – and Yorkshire water as a whole – is perfect for brewing some of the best craft beers in the country.

More breweries have been opening in Yorkshire than anywhere else in the UK, including London.

And Harrogate now boasts five breweries within the HG postcode – internationally-renowned Roosters; rising star Harrogate Brewing; Turning Point, which chose Knaresborough for its expansion two years ago; Daleside, the town’s longest-standing local brewery; and Cold Bath Brewing, which is making waves across the town with its beers, bar and clubhouse space.

The brewery at Roosters Brewing Co.

To celebrate the town’s growing brewing culture, as well as the bars, pubs and restaurants which support the breweries, this month Harrogate is launching its first ever Beer Week from September 20 to 26.

Harrogate beer communications specialist Rachel Auty, who founded Women on Tap and has secured backing from Harrogate BID to help bring the idea to fruition, said:

“I have been told by breweries that Yorkshire is a key place for brewing because of the water. Harrogate is known for its water so it’s a nice link. It is known for its water history and heritage and it is now attracting breweries to the area.

It [Beer Week] is something we have wanted to do for quite a few years now. We were hoping to get it off the ground las year, but Covid put a stop to holding any events.

“I have seen the beer scene in the town explode over the last seven or eight years. It has got really interesting. We have really exciting beer here actually being brewed.”

With special beer weeks being held in places like Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, Rachel, who is delivering the event under her specialist food and drink brand TASTE, said Harrogate’s beer scene was strong enough to rival the cities. It’s thought Harrogate is the only town in the country set to host such an event.

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A programme of special events and initiatives will be hosted at bars, brewery taps, and eateries across Harrogate. The event will culminate in a big beer weekend in the town centre. Other features on the programme will include an ‘Indie Beer Trail’, live local music, and a home brewing competition, with some big names in UK beer heading to Harrogate to host a range of talks and tastings.

Guest headliners include award-winning beer writer Pete Brown presenting ‘Craft: An Argument’ at Cold Bath Clubhouse, a beer tasting and reading with author Matthew Curtis at Roosters taproom, a Conversation on Harrogate Beer with award-winning writer Melissa Cole and Discovering Harrogate Beer with beer sommelier Annabel Smith also at the Cold Bath Clubhouse.

And for those who have ever imagined beer and donuts as the perfect combination, there will even be a chance to try sour and stout-filled doughnuts at The Tap on Tower Street, which has commissioned Harrogate business Doe to create the unique flavour especially for the event.

A collaboration between all the local breweries will also see a special beer produced for Beer Week – a West Coast IPA brewed at Turning Point.

Co-owner of the Cold Bath Brewing Co Jim Mossman, who also sits on the board of Harrogate BID, said:

“I have been very receptive to the idea of putting something positive together with regards to an event in Harrogate, promoting not only breweries in the town, but all the local great independent bars and restaurants as well.

Harrogate is internationally famous for the quality of its water, so it’s by no coincidence you see some great breweries and gin distilleries in this geographical area. They are using it to make quality beer and gins.

We are hosting a series of events in Cold Bath Club House and we are really looking forward to a number of things, from just generating community spirit and bringing venues together, which is great after 15 months of the pandemic – from live music events, to some really credible industry speakers coming to town to do beer tastings and talks.”

Jim said the Harrogate brewing scene was mainly about craft beer, which has seen an explosion in the UK, including lager, pilsner, pale ale and West Coast IPA, but said it was impossible to choose a favourite due to the vast amount of different brewing processes and flavours.

However, he said Cold Bath Brewery was in the process of launching new barrel-aged beers. These are beers that have been aged in oak barrels, allowing the wood to impart extra flavour.

He said:

“We have launched a barrel-aged process in terms of flavours you can create, for example we are using old bourbon barrels.”

Cold Bath Brewing Co.

Pubs, bars and eateries taking part in Harrogate Beer Week include:

The Harrogate Tap

Starling Independent

The Tap on Tower Street

The Little Ale House

Major Tom’s Social

Cold Bath Clubhouse

The Disappearing Chin

Roosters Brewery and Taproom

Blind Jack’s, Knaresborough

Cold Bath Deli and Wine Bar

HUSK Beer Emporium

Turning Point Brewery and Taproom

Harrogate library set to host activities fair

Harrogate library will host an activities fair from 10.30am to 2pm on September 23.

The fair will feature activities such as arts and crafts, dancing and photography. Anyone can drop in.

Cllr Greg White, executive member for libraries at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Getting out, taking part in activities and meeting people is a really good way to boost your mood and combat loneliness.”

Groups taking part include Harrogate Chess Club, St Paul’s Art Group and Harrogate Photographic Society.

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Groups that are unable attend on the day will still have information available for those attending to see.

The library, on Victoria Avenue, hopes the activities fair will be an opportunity for Harrogate district residents, especially retired people, to meet new people and learn new skills.

For more information see the Harrogate Library Facebook page.

‘Mindless idiots’ vandalise planters in Harrogate

A Harrogate business organisation has criticised “mindless idiots” for vandalising planters on the town’s Beulah Street.

Business owners on the street arrived this morning to find the planters had been damaged overnight and they had to clear the mess up themselves.

The planters were put in place last year by Harrogate Business Improvement District in an effort to improve the look of the town centre.

Around 20 businesses were given floral displays as part of the project in October. The BID also installed 120 hanging baskets across the town, including Beulah Street.

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A spokesperson for Harrogate BID told the Stray Ferret that it was now in the process of replacing the planters and working with Harrogate Borough Council to look at CCTV from the street.

They added:

“We are very disappointed by this. This was some mindless idiots who do not care for the town centre. Our remit is to make the town centre good.

“We are not going to be put off by some idiots.”

£20m Transforming Cities contract advertised to push projects forward

A contract worth up to £20 million is being advertised to progress major transport schemes in Yorkshire, including the Harrogate Station Gateway.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which works in partnership with local authorities to improve transport and stimulate economic development, wants to bring in a strategic development partner for its Transforming Cities projects.

The projects include the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme in Harrogate, which could see the town’s James Street pedestrianised and Station Parade reduced to one lane.

The contract seeks to commission a company to provide technical details for all the schemes that are part of the Transforming Cities programme and move them to a full business case stage.

According to the government procurement site, the contract is worth between £5 million and £20 million and would last until October 2023.

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However, the Stray Ferret understands that, while North Yorkshire councils would have access to the service provided by the contractor, county council officials do not anticipate using it.

The Harrogate Station Gateway project is currently at the design stage and will be subject to further public consultation.

It is one of numerous schemes being funded by a £2.45 billion central government fund to boost cycling and walking in towns and cities.

The Stray Ferret reported in July that work could start on the Harrogate scheme in February 2022.

According to a county council report, construction would start when final approval is received from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Woodfield school taking ‘effective action’ to improve, says Ofsted

Harrogate’s Woodfield Community Primary School is taking “effective action” to improve after being placed under special measures by Ofsted.

Ofsted inspectors rated the Bilton primary school as “inadequate” in January last year.

They found children were not attending school, lessons did not “follow a logical sequence” and there was no strategic plan to allocate funds for disadvantaged pupils.

Inspectors recommended that the school be put in special measures as it was “failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education” and added that those responsible for governing the school were not “demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school”.

When a school is placed in special measures it is given an action plan to improve and is inspected regularly by Ofsted to ensure it is improving.

However, officials now say the school is taking action to improve.

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Ofsted visited the school in June and said staff were working well with management to systemically improve.

It added that parents were positive about the school. All those who responded to an Ofsted online questionnaire would recommend the school to other parents.

Woodfield Community Primary School

Woodfield Community Primary School

Mathew Atkinson, executive headteacher at Woodfield, said: 

“There are many things to celebrate in the report: attendance, SEND, behaviour and the curriculum have all improved and we have clear areas to continue to develop. 

“We are taking the right actions towards the removal of special measures and we are looking forward to another great year at Woodfield.”

Jo Marwood, head of school, said:

“We are proud of the report from Her Majesty’s inspectors and it confirms all the hard work that our students, staff, parents and governors put in to making Woodfield such a great school for our community.

“We would like to say thank you for the dedication of staff, the children, parents and governors and the support we have received from the local community.”

Harrogate salaries increase as number of EU workers drop

The average salary of jobs advertised in the Harrogate district from January to March 2021 rose by 28% compared with the same three-month period last year, according to a report by Harrogate borough council.

The quarterly economic overview of the Harrogate district says that the average salary for jobs advertised in the first quarter of this year was £32,000 – up from £25,000 in 2020.

The five sectors providing the largest number of employment opportunities were human health and social work; education; professional, scientific and technical; wholesale and retail trade; and accommodation and food services.

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However, the number of vacancies in the care and hospitality industries in particular are causing headaches.

It was reported this week that around 500 care workers in North Yorkshire could be forced out of their jobs when compulsory vaccines come into force in November.

Mike Padgham, chair of the non-profit organisation Independent Care Group, which provides care services in North Yorkshire and York, told the local democracy reporting service about the scale of the crisis. He said: 

“The staffing crisis is now so bad that providers are battling day-to-day to cover shifts both in homes and in looking after people in their own home.

“Many say it is the worst they have known in more than 30 years and so we need urgent action now before the added pressures of winter turn this into a total meltdown.”

EU nationals in the Harrogate district

Meanwhile, the number of national insurance number (NINO) registrations by EU nationals has decreased year-on-year by 64%.

Between January and March 2020, there were 67 NINO EU registrations.

In the same period this year, there were only 24 NINO EU registrations in total.

There are some signs that this may change though. Last month, the branch manager of Travail Employment Group, which recruits front-of-house and catering positions across the district, spoke to the Stray Ferret about the impact of Brexit on hospitality recruitment.

Lisa Headford believed it’s overly simplistic to blame Brexit on the recruitment crisis in hospitality. She said:

“It’s not definitive. We’ve had a number of people come back to Harrogate from Poland as during the lockdown they didn’t have a permanent job, and they wouldn’t have got furlough. They are now gravitating back.”

Good news for the high street

The council report also shows an improving picture for the town centre, with the retail vacancy rate decreasing from 8.6% in January-March 2020 to 6.8% in 2021.

Councillor Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development, said:

“It is really encouraging to see that the economy is recovering well across the Harrogate district. Especially with shop vacancy rates reducing.

“As the district starts to exit coronavirus lockdowns and returns to a more normalised ways of living, we are keen to ensure that key investment projects are pushed ahead to ensure the local economy recovers and thrives.

“We will also not want to do this alone, and have already been working proactively with a wide range of people and organisations and will continue to work in collaboration with our partners to share ideas and maximise resources we have available to us.”

Starbeck artist goes viral… at the age of four!

A four-year-old boy from Starbeck has racked up over 2,500 likes on Facebook for a painting he created.

Clive Leeming, who started reception at Starbeck Primary Academy this week, became a sensation in the Family Lowdown Tips & Ideas Facebook group after his mum Elena shared his abstract painting.

Proud mum Mrs Leeming said:

“Like most parents we have our kids’ paintings on the fridge or wall for a while then put them in a box and don’t think anything of it. But this one in particular, when he brought it to us we were like ‘wow’.

“He only paints about once a week, but since he was really young he’s loved messing around with paint.”

Clive’s abstract painting

Over 1,000 people in the million-strong Facebook group commented to say how impressed they were with Clive’s artwork. Some even said that after years of art school they struggled to produce work of this calibre.

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Clive’s dad, Darren, added that they’re now trying to find him art classes in Harrogate:

“We really want to encourage him as best we can, because he’s got a talent. He’s loved painting from an early age, and it’s often abstract art.

“We’re trying to find a class, but it’s hard for a four-year-old!”

Four-year-old Clive Leeming with his painting.

Clive created the painting on regular paper, using acrylic paints and water. But what is the budding Picasso’s painting of?

“It’s an elephant!” he says.

Hotel Chocolat to open cafe in Harrogate

A new Hotel Chocolat cafe is to open on Harrogate’s James Street next month.

The nationwide brand currently has a shop on James Street but is set to open a new store across the road for its for chocolate-loving customers.

The new store, in the former jewellers Swarovski, will replace the company’s other shop and include a cafe.

It is due to open on October 18. Builders are currently on site renovating the unit.

The new store is recruiting a full-time retail assistant as well as a temporary position for Christmas.

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In July last year Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive of Hotel Chocolat, listed Harrogate as one of its “high flying locations” alongside York Designer Outlet and Beverley.

The unit was occupied over summer by Ellie Warburtons pop-up shop, selling premium cakes and hot drinks.

Woman sexually assaulted at Harrogate train station

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to following a sexual assault at Harrogate Station.

A woman waiting for a train was approached by a man who tried to strike up a conversation with her shortly after 7pm on Saturday August 7.

The woman turned away but the man continued to speak before sexually assaulting her.

British Transport Police said in a statement today:

“Officers believe the man in the image may have information which could help their investigation.”

If you recognise him, or have any information, you can contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference number 567 of 07/08/21.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.

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