A Harrogate man is set to dominate TV screens over the festive period after finishing ninth at the World’s Strongest Man.

Luke Richardson’s result in Florida completed a remarkable year that has seen him go from novice to one of the most talked about strength athletes on the planet at the age of just 23.

Luke, a former powerlifter, only took part in his first strongman competition last year. Since then he has finished fourth at Britain’s Strongest Man, won Europe’s Strongest Man and is now ranked ninth in the world.

Channel 5 is due to broadcast coverage of all three events over Christmas and New Year.

Luke does the log lift. Pic courtesy of SBD. 

It’s still sinking in for Luke, who was working as a lifeguard at Starbeck Baths recently and is now a professional strongman with his own gym, multiple sponsors and almost 60,000 Instagram followers. He says:

“It’s been quite a year. But I was actually a bit disappointed with my performance in the World’s Strongest Man final.

“I held my own on some events but some silly mistakes on others let me down. Next year I’d like to get in the top five, then finish on the podium and then maybe win a few.”

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Luke would become the youngest ever winner of the World’s Strongest Man if he takes the title in 2021. Beyond that, he has his sights set on breaking the all-time record of five World’s Strongest Man titles held by Poland’s Mariusz Pudzianowski. He says:

“It’s a tall order but i’ve got age on my side and I love what I do. It’s my passion.”

Starbeck school

Luke has lived in Harrogate all of his life. He attended Starbeck Community Primary School and Harrogate High School and discovered he was “quite strong” when he joined Phoenix Fitness in Starbeck at 18.

North Yorkshire is a strongman hotspot. Darren Sadler, a former World’s Strongest Man competitor who now organises many of the leading events, owns Absolute Fitness in Boroughbridge which attracts many top competitors.

Luke trains there on a Monday night but has opened a gym in Wetherby with his training partner Richard Parish called the LR Strength Shed.

He entered his first powerlifting competition when he was 19 and won three British, two European and one world title before switching to strongman 18 months ago.

He only lost one powerlifting competition and at 21 became the youngest person ever to achieve a total of 1,000 kg in the three powerlifting lifts when he managed a 403 kg squat, 222.5 kg bench press and 385 kg deadlift.

Weighs 150 kg

Strongman is far more multi-faceted than many people realise, which makes Luke’s rapid ascent to the top even more remarkable. Luke, who is 6 ft 3 tall and weighs 150 kg, explains:

“My training has changed massively. You have to be the most versatile athlete: you’ve got to have the strength of a powerlifter and the movement of a Cross-Fitter. You have to be a jack of all trades.

“The guy who can pull 500kg on a deadlift probably won’t be as good carrying five sacks down a course because he won’t be as quick. You have to be fit, fast and big.”

Luke Richardson winning Europe’s Strongest Man. Pic courtesy of SBD. 

6,000 calories a day

Luke trains five days a week for four hours a time. He eats 6,000 calories daily in five meals.

By strongman standards, he’s quite small. Hafþór Björnsson, the Icelandic former World’s Strongest Man and Game of Thrones star, is 6 ft 11 and 205 kg. Luke says:

“We are emerging out of the era of mass giants.  You don’t have to be 200kg to win these days.”

It isn’t easy for strongmen to blend in but Luke still walks around Harrogate largely unnoticed. Does he ever get recognised?

“Sometimes when I’m in shops. I don’t mind. It’s nice to be recognised when you try hard to achieve something.”

After this month’s strongman TV coverage, it may happen more often.

Staff at Debenhams in Harrogate face anxious futures in the wake of today’s news that the company is due to be wound-up.

Debenhams employs 12,000 staff overall and its department store on Parliament Street in Harrogate has been a local shopping institution.

Debenhams confirmed its Harrogate store will reopen tomorrow. All stores are due to continue trading until stock is cleared.

But the outlook is bleak for staff as the festive season approaches.

The retail giant, which was founded 242 years ago, has been in administration since April. The collapse of a possible deal with JD Sports means the business is now set to enter liquidation.

Many High Street stores were struggling even before the pandemic. The retail group Arcadia announced yesterday it had entered administration, and shops will be desperate for a Christmas boost when they re-open tomorrow.

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Free Sunday buses and free weekday parking after 3pm are being introduced this month to encourage shoppers to spend money in Harrogate’s shops this Christmas.

Harrogate Business Improvement District, which aims to boost the town centre, is behind both projects.

The ‘free after three’ parking initiative allows motorists to park in the Victoria car park on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays free of charge after 3pm.

It begins on Monday and will run until Christmas Eve.

The ‘Sunday Freeway’ initiative, which returns this year, gives people the chance to catch a free ride on one of Harrogate Bus Company’s electric buses on a Sunday.

It includes the 2A, 2B, 3 and 6 services, which link Bilton, Dene Park, The Knox, Jennyfield and Pannal Ash with the town centre. The initiative will run through December and into the New Year.

The projects are part of the BID’s Harrogate at Christmas campaign, which encourages shoppers to support local businesses after a difficult year that has seen many closures.

Harrogate BID acting chairman Sara Ferguson said:

“Because of the lockdown, traders in the town have already lost a month’s worth of business and are playing catchup.

“Now we are coming out of the second lockdown, we are launching these two initiatives to bring people into town, via two different modes of transport.”

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The Harrogate Bus Company chief executive Alex Hornby said:

“It’s amazing news for our town – reducing emissions and congestion, while making it easier for everyone to support our local economy and get our town’s traders back on their feet.

“Harrogate’s businesses have had an incredibly tough year, with two lockdowns and continued restrictions impacting everyone. It’s now up to us all to support them as they re-open for the crucial run-up to Christmas by taking advantage of free travel.”

Coronavirus cases in the Harrogate district have continued to fall as the end of the second lockdown approaches.

Public Health England reported just 14 additional cases in the district today, down from a peak of 95 on November 9.

The Harrogate district now has the lowest infection rate of the seven district and borough council regions in North Yorkshire.

Its seven-day average rate is 97 cases per 100,000 people, which is also well below the England average of 160 per 100,000.

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Selby has the highest rate in North Yorkshire at 155 cases per 100,000 people, which is still below the national average.

The R number in the district has also fallen to 0.6. Any number below one means the spread of the virus is declining.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any additional coronavirus deaths.

The hospital has recorded 99 covid deaths since the start of the pandemic. The last death was recorded over the weekend but happened on Thursday last week,

Harrogate’s independent shops say they are hesitant to stay open late in case there isn’t the footfall to make it profitable.

The government is to relax rules on late night opening to help stores recover sales after lockdown.

Store owners are gearing up to reopen on Wednesday but some want to see how many people return to the high street before spending money on additional staff.

In previous years, Harrogate’s shops have opened late one night during the week but this year shops are being precautious.

What do the shop owners say?

Louise Chesters, owner of Dizzy Duck in Harrogate, said:

“We’ll have to see how we go, if we get busy I will extend them to accordingly. It’s hard to tell if we will be inundated so it’s just a case of embracing it all. It would also take extra organising to extend the hours so we will have to see how it goes on Wednesday but I’m excited.”

Georgie Roberts, owner of Georgie’s, said:

“If someone asked I would stay open of course or if someone asks for a private appointment later in the day to feel safe then of course I would accommodate it. I’ll be flexible and see what happens but because I am out of the centre late nights tend not to work for me.”

Bob Kennedy, owner of G23 and Porters, said:

“Late nights don’t always work for us. It could be different this year with people supporting the high street, but I don’t know if it would be worth it. We will have to see how shoppers react when we reopen. It has been a difficult year and we need people to support local retail.”

After another month of closure the shops were eager to reopen. They are hoping a festive boost in sales can begin to make up for lost time.

Sandra Doherty, Chief Executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, was sceptical of the impact of the new guidelines. She said:

“Permitting shops to open for extra hours will, in a few instances, allow the retailers to benefit from a potential increase in trade, however, in most cases the extra costs in staffing will actually cut into profits.

“The temptation to stay open when others are closed will be tremendous, but there is only so much money to go around, and opening more hours will just spread the ‘spend’ over a longer time frame.”

Police have made six arrests after a spate of overnight burglaries in Harrogate.

Thieves broke into four homes in the Rossett, Oatlands, High Harrogate and Pannal Ash areas in the last week alone.

Homeowners reported that jewellery, cash and electronic devices had all been stolen.

North Yorkshire Police arrested six men aged in their 20s to their 50s. The police released them all under investigation.

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As a result of the burglaries the police have warned residents to be vigilant in the run up to Christmas.

Detective Sergeant Tom Barker, from Harrogate’s proactive team, said:

“It’s a common trend that during the lead up to Christmas we have a spate in burglaries.

“As a result, we have a dedicated team of officers out in the areas we know that are being targeted.”

The force has put out advice asking people to lock doors and windows, leave a light on when heading out and never leave valuables on show.

All 285 students in year 11 at Harrogate Grammar School have been told to stay at home to self-isolate for two weeks.

The school contacted families yesterday after the number of infections gradually increased between Thursday and Sunday to eight.

Only pupils in close proximity to those who test positive should isolate.

But the school decided to put the whole year group into isolation when the number of cases rose to eight.

It comes at a difficult time for the students, who were preparing to take mock GCSE exams this week.

A school spokeswoman acknowledged the outbreak had occurred at a bad time but added “the safety of pupils and staff must come first”.

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Pupils will now use school computers to complete some of their exams at home – at the same time as they would have done at school.

The students will upload their exam results into a secure folder.

A spokesperson for the school said:

“We know and respect that the students have worked hard to prepare for these exams so we wanted to give them the opportunity to complete them.

“We have made it achievable with the iPads, and so far we have had positive feedback.”

Staff from a Harrogate construction company travelled to London yesterday to deliver this year’s Downing Street Christmas tree.

HACS Group employees took the tree, which was chosen at a competition in Harrogate, from York to the country’s most famous house.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the 20 ft tree was the “first step to bringing us some festive cheer”.

The tree was grown by York Christmas Trees, which won last month’s annual Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year competition at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

After the HACS Group erected the tree it was decorated by an Oxfordshire company.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet, were among the judges.

Heather Parry, managing agent of event organisers the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, said:

“Today is a symbolic moment which shows the start of a Christmas which we have all been so focussed on.

“It was a significant boost that the government supported our members, recognising that Christmas trees are essential at this time of year and that the selling season is short; whilst understanding consumers are particularly keen to get their decorations up this year.”

HACS, which is based in Ripley, is an independent building and construction services contractor.

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One of the Harrogate district’s most senior politicians has said the time has come to accept the Harrogate Nightingale hospital will never be used for covid and handed back.

Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrats leader in the House of Lords, said the NHS should let Harrogate District Council take back control of the building.

Lord Newby spoke to the Stray Ferret after receiving what he described as “non answers” to a series of questions he submitted to the government about staffing and bed capacity at the Nightingales in Harrogate, Sunderland and Manchester.

He asked how many nurses were required and was told by the Conservative peer Lord Bethell that “each Nightingale team has been developing a clinical model that can be scaled up as and when additional capacity is required in the region”.

Lord Newby said last month he doubted the Harrogate Nightingale had the staff to fully open and has now said:

“The only conclusions which one can draw are that the NHS has no firm plans to staff up the Harrogate Nightingale.

“If it were ever to be used for covid patients, it would obviously have to be staffed by existing staff now working in regional hospitals – all of which are already stretched – and cannot easily release doctors and nurses..

“I do not therefore believe that the facility in Harrogate will ever be used for covid and that the government should now accept this reality and hand the site back to the council.”

‘Flawed concept’

The government has described the Nightingales as “insurance policies”. But with the peak of the second wave of the pandemic believed to have passed, and a vaccine on its way, the chances of them being used have receded.

Lord Newby said the concept of using the Nightingale was “flawed from the start”. He added:

“The government should instead have looked at ways in which it could have freed up facilities in existing NHS facilities to allow for greater intake of covid patients, if this had been required.”

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The Stray Ferret has requested interviews with the NHS about the Harrogate Nightingale, which was set up to treat covid patients in Yorkshire and the Humber, on numerous occasions but so far has not received one.

A spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement:

“The NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber is getting ready to care for patients should it be needed and has been operating a clinical imaging service since June to support local trusts in delivering diagnostic and surveillance CT scans, with more than 3,000 patients having now been seen at the clinic.”

Lord Newby replied:

“‘Getting ready’ is very different from ‘being ready’. The fact they’ve got a scanner there is irrelevant. The are plenty of other sites in Yorkshire where they could have put this.”

Harrogate Civic Society is to oppose plans to convert the town’s former post office into offices and 25 flats.

Post Office Ltd wants to add a fourth floor on to the three-storey sandstone terraced building, which closed last year after more than 100 years as a post office.

The society, which is a charity that aims to keep Harrogate beautiful, said in a statement it welcomed the principle of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use facility but added:

“We are, however, concerned about the impact of an additional floor to this building in the conservation area, as the proposal does not address the whole of the building as originally designed.

“The appearance of the new floor results in a design solution which is not fully considered or refined and therefore does not enhance the existing roofscape in its present form.”

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Property development company One Acre Group has submitted plans on behalf of Post Office Ltd to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building. If approved, work could start in the summer.

The post office controversially relocated to WH Smith last year amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”.

The society said the application would encourage retail and make the area more vibrant. It added:

“We support the principle of re-use of vacant upper floors in the town centre for residential purposes.

“We believe this concept should be encouraged and developed in all areas of the town centre so that buildings and streets as a whole appear to have life at all times.”

But the organisation said it was “concerned about the relationship of the proposed extension to the existing buildings along Cambridge Terrace”, adding:

“The society is of the opinion that the developer’s proposal as it stands should be resisted.”