Harrogate Archives - Page 708 of 821

‘Victory for the people!’: Harrogate’s plastic grass removed this morning

Harrogate Borough Council has removed the plastic grass from planters on Cambridge Street after a huge backlash.

Workers have already taken out the fake turf as the council considers what to do next to brighten up the town centre. It said yesterday it hoped to have something vibrant in place by June.

Last night’s council apology prompted a big reaction on social media. Many praised the council for holding its hand up and admitting it had made a mistake while others called for it to collaborate more with people and groups to prevent a repeat.

Sarah Gibbs, an environmental campaigner who set up a petition calling for the removal of the fake grass, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s a victory for the people. This change shows that people power really does work.

“I was really pleased when I saw the council’s second apology. This is a real one this this time because they are actually doing something about it.

“The petition still stands though. It also called for the council to work with schools, businesses and others to manage the planters.”

So far, in just under two days, her petition has attracted about 500 signatures.

Shan Oakes, a spokesperson for the Green Party in Harrogate, said:

“It’s good that the council have apologised and accepted that they had done something wrong.

“I just hope the council will review its policy on biodiversity going forward, it needs to change its whole outlook.

“There should be a people’s assembly. If the council collaborated with people then this would have been avoided.”

How it looked before the plastic grass was removed.

While many called over the last two weeks for the council to remove the astro turf, Extinction Rebellion Harrogate took direct action last week when it replaced the plastic grass with plants in one of the raised beds.

Jess Thompson, who took part in the protest, told the Stray Ferret;

“We are pleased with the council’s apology. It is a positive step but there is still a way to go.

“Biodiversity needs to be the priority, not aesthetics. I do not know how much would have been done if we did not take action.

“Hopefully the council will use this as an opportunity. Hopefully the people will also continue to hold those in power accountable.”

Parkrun tentatively scheduled to return to Harrogate and Knaresborough in two weeks

Parkrun could resume in Harrogate and Knaresborough in just over a fortnight’s time after an absence of more than a year.

Organisers hope to restart the weekly 5km run in the two towns on June 5.

The government’s roadmap out of lockdown has permitted parkrun since March. But obstacles have remained in the way of organisers, who still have to negotiate with whoever owns the land on which the runs take place.

Harrogate Borough Council has given parkrun permission to return on the Stray in Harrogate and Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough.

However, a spokesperson for the National Trust, which owns Fountains Abbey in Ripon told the Stray Ferret:

“We are still working closely with the organisers and volunteers at parkrun. We have no set date for a return yet.

“The National Trust is committed to working with parkrun. But we have to limit the numbers of people in our busiest areas.”

The Harrogate district appears to be in better position than much of the rest of the country. So far parkrun only has permission for 161 of its 589 locations.

That low number means that the return of parkrun “hangs in the balance.” A spokesperson for Parkrun UK said:

“A combination of obstacles, including misunderstanding the government’s roadmap, reluctance, hesitation and unnecessary red tape threatens to delay the return of parkrun indefinitely.

“Parkrun UK must make a decision two weeks ahead of the planned return on whether restarting events on June 5 is viable.

“With all other sports returning, alongside the reopening of indoor dining and hospitality, further roadblocks to parkrun’s return feel unreasonable.”

Three men arrested in police drugs swoop in Harrogate

Police arrested three men on suspicion of drug offences in Harrogate yesterday as part of a crackdown on county lines drug dealing.

According to a statement today by North Yorkshire Police, plain cloth officers on patrol in the Avenue Grove area of Starbeck had their suspicions raised by the activity of a man.

He was stopped and searched and found to have class A drugs on him.

Officers then searched a nearby property where they found three other men who were also searched.

A police statement said:

“Officers recovered more drugs stashed in a mattress, £200 in cash from one of the men and other suspected drugs paraphernalia including three mobile phones. A fourth man was also arrested on suspicion of theft offences.”

A 39-year-old Harrogate man was arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs. Another man from Harrogate, aged 38, was arrested on suspicion of theft, possessing class A drugs and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

A Leeds man, aged 50, was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin with intent to supply. He has been released on bail while enquiries continue.

A fourth man, aged 26, from Harrogate, was arrested on suspicion of a number of theft offences.

The three men arrested on suspicion of drug offences have been released while under investigation as further enquiries are carried out.

The police statement added:

“Members of the public are urged to report any suspicious activity about drug dealing in their neighbourhood to the police on 101. Or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 in an emergency.

“Police are also urging people to report any signs that someone they know is being exploited by criminals and forced to work for them.

“This can include what is known as ‘cuckooing’, where drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person – who are often drug users themselves – and use it to store and sell drugs.”

Trees planted to honour Captain Tom at Harrogate’s army college

Junior soldiers at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate have planted six magnolia trees in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore, who was the honorary colonel of the college on Pennypot Lane.

The planting is part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, an initiative to plant trees to mark next year’s platinum jubilee.

The project was launched yesterday by the queen and Prince Charles, who planted a tree at Windsor Castle.

The choice of a magnolia tree, which is native to Asia, is designed to be poignant as during Captain Tom’s service during World War Two he served in India and Burma.

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Having been raised in Keighley, West Yorkshire, Captain Sir Tom was made an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate last spring. He later visited the college to speak to junior soldiers and was invited back for their graduation in September.

He raised almost £33m for NHS Charities Together by walking lengths of his garden in Bedfordshire, hitting the headlines in the process. He died aged 100 in February this year.

Junior soldier Michael Oates said:

“I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been a new experience for me and it’s ace. Captain Tom was born in the same place, and went to the same school as my mum, who has passed away. So, it’s good to see someone from a place close to me.

“Planting trees and helping the environment is really good. It makes me proud to know that I am a part of this.”

Harrogate council awarded £204,000 to reduce rough sleeping

Harrogate Borough Council has been awarded £204,269 by the government to help people living on the streets find accommodation.

The funding is part of the £203m Rough Sleeping Initiative allocated to councils by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said the funds will be spent on providing short-term support for rough sleepers, including accommodation and support worker staffing.

According to the government, the Rough Sleeping Initiative, which was launched in 2018, has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas that have not taken part in the programme.

Eddie Hughes, the minister for rough sleeping, said:

“This is part of an unprecedented £750 million of government investment this year to help us reach our goal of ending rough sleeping by the end of this parliament.”

Harrogate and homelessness

Last month, the council opened a new 19-bed homeless centre in Starbeck called Fern House. The site, on Spa Lane, cost £2.3 million to build and provides accommodation as well as support for homeless people.

The council erected temporary winter accommodation units for homeless people on Tower Street last winter. The units were removed in March without being used.

The Stray Ferret revealed in March that the council spent more than £350,000 on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people from the start of the first lockdown until the end of last year.

E-scooters: scourge of pedestrians or saviour of transport in Harrogate?

E-scooters have been described as both an innovative solution to congestion and air pollution and a danger to pedestrians.

The Stray Ferret published a letter from reader Richard Abbott over the weekend, who said he recently dodged out the way of an e-scooter rider near the Stray.

He called them a “blight” and a “scourge” yet they are likely to become a more familiar sight in places like Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon in the coming years.

The government is trialing the use of rented e-scooters in over 30 areas across the UK until August. It thinks they could encourage people to use their cars less and help the country’s green recovery post-covid.

What are e-scooters?

E-scooters are similar to regular scooters but have small, electric motors.

Over 100 cities across the world operate scooter-sharing schemes, including Paris and Barcelona, where you can hire one for around €19 an hour.

E-scooters are sold in the UK online and in shops, and they can cost anywhere from just over £100 to £1,000.

Are they legal?

It is against the law to use a privately owned e-scooter in the Harrogate district. Riders risk a £300 fine, six penalty points on their licence or having their e-scooter impounded.

The government said it will make a decision on legalising e-scooters in the rest of the UK after the trial ends in August.

For the trial, e-scooters are allowed on the road and in cycle lanes provided users have a full or provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence. They are still banned on the pavement and must not go above 15.5mph.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said it was not aware of e-scooter use being a particularly prevalent issue and added the number of recorded incidents last year was in single figures across the whole of the county.

Sustainable or dangerous?

Mr Abbott’s letter to the Stray Ferret provoked a lively response on the Stray Ferret’s social media, with some heralding them as a sustainable transport option for the future while others were fearful of injuries.

One person said on Twitter:

“They are dangerous, they use both the pavements, precincts and roads, going too fast.”

Another said:

“Depends on who’s riding it and how. If used with consideration for others I think they’d be a useful sustainable transport option that takes up less room than a car. If they were legal I’d get one for sure. Far cheaper than an electric bike.”

With the number of e-scooter riders set to increase, the debate is likely to intensify in the years ahead.

People urged to ‘think carefully’ before attending Harrogate hospital emergency department

People have been urged to think carefully before going to the emergency department at Harrogate District Hospital.

The hospital issued a statement yesterday saying the department had seen a significant increase in patient numbers over the past couple of months.

About 130 patients a day attended the department in March, compared with 160 a day in May.

This meant patients with less urgent issues were waiting longer to be seen.

Dr Matt Shepherd, consultant emergency medicine and clinical director long term and unscheduled care at the hospital, urged people to call NHS 111 first unless it was a life-threatening illness or injury.

He said:

“We are now seeing approximately eight per cent more patients attending our emergency department than were doing so before covid began, which makes it very difficult to ensure we can safely keep social distancing measures in place.

“Colleagues in the department – and the wider hospital – are working incredibly hard to provide care but we do ask that people think about other healthcare options available to them.

“The most urgent and life-threatening cases take priority, which means that unfortunately people coming in with less urgent issues are experiencing longer waiting times. Our emergency department is for emergencies only, such as severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, significant head injuries and broken bones.”

He added that alternatives, such as calling NHS 111, consulting a GP or visiting a pharmacist, could mean waiting less time to receive care. He added:

“You can also check any symptoms and find out what to do and when to get help using the NHS website – nhs.uk. It can find services near you, such as local pharmacies, who can offer advice for common health problems such as sore throats and headaches, aches and pains, bumps and bruises or sickness and diarrhoea.”

‘We got it wrong’: Harrogate council agrees to remove plastic grass

Harrogate Borough Council has made a dramatic U-turn this evening and agreed to remove plastic grass from planters in the town centre.

The council’s decision to install the artificial grass sparked a fierce backlash, which saw protesters from Extinction Rebellion replace the turf with plants.

The council initially defended the £800 scheme, claiming it had received “lots of positive feedback” despite complaints it looked “cheap and tacky” and was damaging to the environment.

It then said it had failed to communicate the move properly but now, after 400 people signed a petition in the last 24 hours calling for the fake grass to be removed, the council has issued a mea culpa.

It said in a statement posted on social media:

“We got things wrong with the artificial grass in the planters on Cambridge Street.

“The artificial grass was a last resort, and the decision to use it was made with the best intentions, but on reflection it was the wrong one.

“We will be removing the ‘grass’ and keeping the planters while we continue to find a better solution.

“We hope to have something installed by the end of June that provides a vibrant display of colour all year round.”

The statement added it considered using stone or bark instead of the plastic grass but ruled it out because “we felt it will most likely end up being used as an ashtray or thrown around”.

It added the saga had detracted from other initiatives, such as planting 5,500 wildflowers on the Stray and the upcoming white rose project, that will see thousands of trees planted.

Harrogate paedophile jailed for 22 years for 86 sex attacks

A Harrogate paedophile has been jailed for 22 years for subjecting four young girls to sexual abuse.

Jessica Brennan, who was listed as Allan Brennan by the court but is a trans woman who identifies as Jessica, groomed and then sexually assaulted the children, one of whom was just four years old, in separate incidents over a 17-year period from the late 1990s.

Brennan, from Harrogate, tried to rape one of the youngsters and one girl was subjected to systematic sexual abuse over 10 years which involved “multiple” incidents, York Crown Court heard.

None of the victims, who had been “haunted” by the abuse, can be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast said one of the victims came forward to police with allegations against Brennan, who has two children, as early as 2000 but no charges were brought.

He said there had been no fewer than 86 separate sexual assaults on the girls over a 17-year period.

The allegations re-emerged three or four years ago when the abuse finally stopped and other girls came forward. Brennan was finally charged with a raft of sexual offences which had “ruined” the girls’ lives, the court heard.

One of the victims said she had suffered anxiety attacks since the abuse, and she had been taking anti-depressants.

She had been unable to form proper relationships and felt an inexplicable guilt.

Another victim had been having counselling sessions due to anxiety after losing her “self-worth and self-esteem”. She said:

“It’s made it hard for me to trust people.

“This has affected my family. Anything that this evil man gets (in terms of punishment) won’t be enough for what he’s done to me and my family.”

Another victim spoke of her “pain and suffering over the last 21 years. I was sexually abused when I was four.” She added:

“I had minimum understanding of what was happening to me. The comprehension of what happened to me as a child makes me sick to my stomach.

“I’m constantly haunted by what happened to me.”

She said she got flashbacks to the abuse and was put on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication for panic attacks.

“At 12, I was taking medication I didn’t even understand.”

“It didn’t stop what happened ruining my life. It has affected every aspect of my life (including) forming a relationship with boys. I felt like my body was not my own.

“There just doesn’t seem to be any aspect of what happened to me that doesn’t live with me to this day.”

It had affected her college education and her work and left her with a “pit of depression”, she added.

She had to take time off work due to anxiety attacks, which meant that she had lost out financially too.

“My life was stolen from me when I was just four years’ old,” she said.

“I was abused and violated by an…adult.”

The fourth victim, a “vulnerable child”, said she “always felt (the abuse) was my fault”.

She too was signed off work last year for anxiety and depression.

Brennan, of Bowland Close, was charged with 16 separate offences including sexual assault of a child, indecent assault, sexual activity with a child and one count of attempted rape of a girl under 13.

She was found guilty after a trial earlier this year and appeared for sentence via video link on Monday. Three other allegations of sexual abuse were “severed” and not-guilty verdicts recorded.

Gillian Batts, for Brennan, said her client, who had been remanded in jail since the trial, had no previous convictions.

Judge Simon Hickey criticised Brennan for her chronic abuse of the children, who were aged from four to their teens:

“You attacked four separate young girls over (a) 17-year period.

“You are in my mind a dangerous offender (and) there is a risk of you causing (further) serious harm to young females.”

“You chose to hide behind these offences, claiming you had no memory (beyond) a few years ago.”

Brennan was jailed for 22 years, of which she will serve half behind bars before being released on parole.

However, the judge also imposed a four-year extended period on prison licence upon Brennan’s eventual release from jail.

In addition to the jail sentence, Brennan was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order limiting her contact with children for an indefinite period.

Three years for running over police officer in Harrogate

A man has been sent to prison for three years and two months after he ran over a police officer in Harrogate.

Llewellyn Mitcham, 30, was sentenced today at York Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

On March 16, police spotted a car on Bewerley Road in Harrogate that they believed belonged to a drug dealer.

They followed the car into a car park and then left their police vehicle to speak to the suspects.

Mitcham, of Harold Place in Leeds, drove off as the officers approached and hit PC Lister, throwing him into the air.

As a result of the impact, PC Lister suffered a severe fracture to his knee, which he is still recovering from two months later.

The court heard how Mitcham left the car park and was spotted speeding away before police brought his vehicle to a stop and arrested him.

Mitcham pleaded guilty to causing serious injury whilst dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving whilst disqualified.

North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable, Kirsty Smith, said:

“PC Lister has served as a North Yorkshire police officer for a number of years and on the day of the incident was carrying out proactive work to prevent drug dealers from surrounding counties entering the Harrogate area and committing crime.

“During this line of duty he was seriously injured following Llewellyn Mitcham’s actions trying to evade arrest. Mitcham gave no regard for PC Lister’s welfare and made good his escape where he was finally apprehended some 20 miles away following a police pursuit.

“When you suffer an injury like this although we may be able to heal physically, the trauma stays with you. As police officers we know our job comes with risk but Mitcham’s actions and the long-lasting impact of these should not be underestimated, a fact which has been clearly reflected in the sentencing.”

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Harrogate and homelessness

What are e-scooters?

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Are they legal?

Sustainable or dangerous?

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