Stray art installation opens to help people reflect on covid dead

A giant art installation has opened on the Stray today to help people reflect on those who have lost their lives through coronavirus.

The piece, called In Memoriam, measures 36 metres in diameter and features more than 100 flags made from hospital bed sheets.

As well as a memorial to those who have died, it is also a tribute to those who have been on the frontline trying to save lives.

It’s been designed by award-winning artist Luke Jerram and will be on West Park Stray until June 7. After that it will move to Edinburgh, Fleetwood and Weston-super-Mare.

There is no entry fee and Harrogate International Festivals has commissioned a reflective piece of music called ‘A Moment of Time’, which you can find here.

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This is the first in a series of installations and events delivered in the months ahead by Harrogate International Festivals, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

In Memoriam is being supported by Hornbeam Park Developments Ltd, Harrogate BID, and Swainsons Funeral Directors.

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals chief executive, said

“Two years ago, we were lucky enough to bring Luke’s Museum of the Moon to St Wilfrid’s Church, which was one of the highlights of that summer’s international festival, and was visited by more than 10,000 people.

“As an arts charity delivering festivals and events, we were first to close and will be the last to open, but we can’t just open the doors on our venues and go straight back to normal.

“We wanted to create something unique in Harrogate that acknowledged the last year whilst allowing us to create a safe, outdoor event for the town.

“We don’t want people to just look at In Memoriam from afar, we want people to experience it; we want individuals, families and friends to walk into the heart of it; we want them to sit under the flags and quietly reflect the events of the last 15 months.”

Bank holiday weekend train travellers face delays and replacement buses

Northern will be running a limited service this weekend, despite the bank holiday and forecasts for better weather.

Passengers wishing to travel to Leeds this Sunday will need to use a replacement bus service between Horsforth and Leeds.

This is expected to add 20 minutes to journey times.

Engineering work on the York – Harrogate – Leeds line will take place on Sunday May 30.

Timetable changes across the Northern network this weekend are the result of engineering improvement works around Leeds, Manchester and Warrington. Full details are available on its website.

The company asked passengers to be “flexible with their journey”.

A spokesperson said:

“We’ll be adding extra carriages where possible but, with amended timetables in place in many areas, we will have fewer trains operating than on a normal weekend.

“We need our customers to plan carefully for any rail travel this weekend and be prepared for services to be much busier than they have been recently.”

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Harrogate residents: ‘Act before someone is killed’

Residents near one of the main house-building sites in Harrogate have called for urgent road safety action after a lorry and car collided.

About 600 homes are due to be built near Kingsley Drive and Kingsley Road.

Kingsley Ward Action Group, which campaigns to protect green spaces in the area, is angry because it claims safety fears are being ignored.

A video showing last week’s collision, which led to the car being written off, prompted the group to write to highways authority North Yorkshire County Council.

The email said:

“We have repeatedly stated that Kingsley Road is not suitable for this type of heavy construction traffic.

“Only luck prevented this being even worse and watching the video should make you grateful you don’t have to risk living on this road.”

The council’s response, seen by the Stray Ferret, says extra traffic is “unavoidable” when developments are being built.

The council added it would “ensure that the concerns of Kingsley Ward Action Group are made known to the housing developers that are currently using hauliers for the movement of bulk materials” but the lack of specific measures has angered the group.

It replied:

“Your response to our grave concerns backed up with hard video proof does not fill us with confidence that you are in fact acting in our interests at all.

“There is a clear danger here.

“From the response we have had to this near tragic incident it is clear only a multiple fatality will actually have any impact on the current truck activity.”

John Hansard, a member of the group, told the Stray Ferret it wanted the council to enforce a 20mph speed limit for site traffic and take tough action against lorries with uncovered loads.

Emily Mellalieu, development management team leader at the council, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are conscious of the disruption to residents that inevitably accompanies large-scale residential development such as that in the Kingsley/Bogs Lane area.

“We are liaising with housing developers in the Kingsley Farm area about the impact of their operations and complaints received from residents, councillors and action groups.

“At all times, we place the highest priority on road safety.

“Concerns raised recently have been forwarded to the developers for their attention and we will continue to work with the developers to ensure operations are undertaken as efficiently and safely as possible.

“The developer was required as part of the planning process to produce a construction management plan to mitigate the impact of its operations.”

Crime commissioner to visit Stray tomorrow to discuss dog theft

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott will address growing concerns about dog theft in a public meeting on the Stray tomorrow.

The session will be held between 1pm and 2pm on the section of the Stray near Harrogate District Hospital.

Dog owners will be able to air their feelings and find out more about what is being planned to tackle the problem.

Mr Allott, who lives in Knaresborough, said tackling dog theft would be one of his top priorities during his campaign to become the new commissioner.

He highlighted a survey showing dog thefts increased by 250% last year due to gangs cashing in on the demand for puppies during lockdown.

Sought-after breeds, such as French bulldogs, can sell for more than £5,000 and a litter can fetch £35,000.

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Two more Harrogate schools report strangers harassing children

Parents are being urged to be vigilant after two more schools in the Harrogate district reported recent incidents of children being harassed on the way home.

Police revealed yesterday that an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted while walking home from school at the junction of King’s Road and Chatsworth Grove in Harrogate on Tuesday.

The girl, whose school has not been revealed, was upset and shaken by the incident.

It has since emerged that a man in his early 20s chased year seven pupils on their way home from Harrogate High School last night.

The pupils, who were walking on Skipton Road, hid and the man ran past.

Lucy Greenwood, head of school at Harrogate High School, wrote to parents last night alerting them to the news. Her message said:

“It is worth reminding your children to be extra vigilant and to make their way directly home.

“We have reported the incident to the police and we will be making all students in school aware and to remind them to be extra vigilant on their way home.”

A school spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret the incident happened shortly after 2.25pm.

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Willow Tree Community Primary School has also reported two incidents to police that occurred late last week.

One involved a man dressed in black following people home and another involved a black Jeep driving backwards and forwards past a small group of pupils travelling to and from school.

Helen Davey, headteacher of Willow Tree Community Primary School, wrote to parents:

“I have been in touch with the police today to get further information about their response to this.

“They  have asked that anyone who is concerned that they have seen something suspicious should ring 101.

“Although they are able to have officers in the area, anything of concern should be reported so they can build a picture of what is happening.”

Ms Davey told the Stray Ferret the incidents took place in a ginnel near Saint Andrew’s Road at the back of the school.

“It’s a shock and a bit of a wake-up call.”

She added she did not know if there was any link between all the reported incidents.

Police advice

North Yorkshire Police has not issued any further updates and did not say whether it believed the incidents were linked.

Sergeant Alex Sellars from the Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Team said yesterday that “incidents of this nature are rare in North Yorkshire”.

Sergeant Sellars added:

“There are some very simple steps that we can all take to help us feel safer when we’re walking home, such as walking in a group or with a friend, letting someone know what route you’ll be taking, when you are leaving somewhere and when you expect to be home and walk along main routes and well-lit areas.

“Please be assured that we take reports of this nature very seriously and our officers are committed to ensuring public safety.”

Five arrests in Harrogate during county lines action week

Police made five arrests in Harrogate as part of last week’s national operation on county lines drug dealing.

The arrests began on May 17 when plain clothes officers on patrol around Avenue Grove in Starbeck found class A drugs on a man behaving suspiciously.

That arrest led them to a nearby property, where they found and searched three other men. The officers found drugs stashed in a mattress, £200, drug paraphernalia and three phone.

On May 22, a man in his 40s who had breached his prison licence was arrested and returned to jail.

Later the same day, police arrested a man in his 30s on Otley Road, who officers thought was driving erratically.

The suspect failed a roadside drug wipe and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of class A drugs. He was released under investigation.

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County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs is smaller towns and cities.

It takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to communicate between towns and advertise their drugs for sale.

North Yorkshire Police also made arrests in York, Whitby, Thirsk, Scarborough, and on the A1 motorway.

Police also made 87 welfare visits to 95 vulnerable people.

Officers seized a total of £10,000 plus heroin, cannabis, pregabalin and a large quantity of suspected cocaine believed to be worth several thousands of pounds.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott said he welcomed the action taken, adding:

“But we should be under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face from these organised criminals who bring tragedy to communities and scar our society.

“Ensuring we take prompt action to educate and enforce is one of my priorities as commissioner.”

Chief Inspector Lorraine Crossman-Smith coordinated North Yorkshire Police’s involvement in the action week. She said:

“I hope the people of North Yorkshire are reassured that we mean it when we say drug dealing is a priority and that we will take action when they report information to us.”

Three friends to run three marathons in three days in memory of James Hindmarsh

Three men from Harrogate are running three marathons in three days this weekend to raise money in memory of their friend James Hindmarsh.

James died aged 24 in April after being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Henry Bartle, Ollie Ward and Jeremy Butterfield will run 26.2 miles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, which helps people with all forms of sarcoma cancers.

The three friends pledged to complete fundraising events for James’ medical treatment when he was alive and now that he has died they have vowed to continue.

James Hindmarsh

James Hindmarsh

On Friday and Saturday, the trio will run along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Bradley in Craven to the centre of Leeds. On Sunday, they will complete four laps of Harrogate, finishing on West Park.

Henry said:

“We’re nervous and apprehensive but excited to get going now. It’s all for James, it’s all in his memory. He would have wanted us to go ahead with it. Sarcoma UK is such an underfunded charity and the condition is so rare, there’s been little development in treatment since the 1980s.

“All the money is going towards research and development or new drugs. We want to raise awareness.”

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James’ cancer was so rare his family and friends had to look abroad for treatment. They now want to ensure Sarcoma UK has funds to continue researching treatment to help other families.

So far £30,000 has been pledged via the JustGiving page.

Three other friends have taken on other fundraising challenges in memory of James. Joe Braham skied through the night from Verbier in Switzerland to the summit of Mont Fort.

Luca Peterson and Harry Halsall completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the Lake District Three Peaks in two consecutive days.

Latest plan to convert Harrogate’s Windsor House into 94 flats approved

The latest plan to convert Windsor House, near Valley Gardens, into 94 flats has been approved by Harrogate Borough Council.

There have been several similar applications to convert the office block on Cornwall Road in recent years.

In 2014 the council approved an application from landlord Boultbee Brooks to convert the building to housing under permitted development rights.

However, a condition was attached that said the conversion must be completed within three years.

When the 2014 application lapsed, the landlord submitted another application in 2017, which was again passed.

Three years later in 2020, with building work still yet to begin, a new application was submitted but this time it was refused because the council said some rooms would have inadequate natural light.

Revised plans in March that dealt with the lack of light have been accepted by council planning officer Mike Parkes.

First introduced in 2013 as a way to mitigate the UK’s housing shortage, office-to-residential permitted development rights make it easier for owners of office blocks to convert them into homes.

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Last year, the Windsor House application received an objection from a tenant of the building, who said the conversion would “drive businesses out of Harrogate”.

The objection said:

“It took us months to find office space in Harrogate within a reasonable walking distance of town. Please think of business in Harrogate, it can’t all be about residential. We need places to work too, Harrogate needs commercial business.”

Windsor House, which is located in the Duchy estate area, is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Harrogate.

Built in 1900 overlooking Valley Gardens, it was originally the Grand Hotel and became offices in the 1980s.

The Stray Ferret contacted Savills, the agent acting on behalf of Boultbee Brooks, to ask if it planned to start work on the conversion within the next three years but we did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Girl, 11, sexually assaulted walking home from school on busy Harrogate street

Police are appealing for witnesses after an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on Harrogate’s King’s Road on Tuesday.

The victim, an 11-year-old girl, was making her way home from school at about 3.15pm.

As she approached the junction with Chatsworth Grove, a man approached from behind and placed one hand on her hip and another hand on her waist and made a sexually inappropriate comment to her.

The girl ran away and arrived home upset and shaken.

It occurred just a day after a woman died suddenly in a similar location on King’s Road.

North Yorkshire Police described the girl’s attacker as white, in his 40s, around 5ft 8 with dark, greying hair that was short on one side but longer on the other.

He also has a distinctive mole above his right eyebrow.

He was wearing a red jumper, khaki coloured trousers and black Nike trainers with white laces. The girl said he had a rough Yorkshire accent.

‘Disturbing but rare incident’

Speaking about the incident, Sergeant Alex Sellars, from the Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Team said;

“This is a disturbing incident which has understandably left the victim very shaken and upset.

“She has been incredibly brave when speaking to police and has been able to give us a detailed description of the man who approached her. Officers will be conducting further enquiries in the area, but we would appreciate the public’s assistance in helping us to identifying this man.

“With the incident taking place at the end of the school day, the area would have been busy with parents and children making their way home. If you were passing on the school run, please can you take a moment to recall your journey, or check your car dash-cams – did you see a man in the area who fits the description? If so, please do get in touch with us.”

Sergeant Sellars added incidents like this were “rare in North Yorkshire”, adding:

“Please be assured that we take reports of this nature very seriously and our officers are committed to ensuring public safety.”

Police said in a statement they were keen to speak to anyone who was in the area of Kings Road and Chatsworth Grove at 3.15pm who may have witnessed the incident, or anyone who recognises the description of the man.

Anyone with information can dial 101, select option 2 and speak to the force control room quoting reference 12210125274.

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Found: Police appeal for help to find missing Starbeck man

Update: This missing man from Starbeck has been found safe and well. The police have thanked residents and said their calls were “crucial”.

North Yorkshire Police has appealed for help locating a missing man from Starbeck.

Andrew Macleod, 54, is described as white, 6ft tall, slim build, having short grey hair and tattoos on top of his arms.

He was last seen wearing pale blue jeans, a blue puffa jacket and possibly brown suede leather boots.

Police issued the appeal this afternoon. No photo of Mr Macleod has been released and it is not known how long he has been missing.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote reference number 264.

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