Three years ago, David Elstob had the urge to open his own auction house. It was an ambitious idea for a 34-year-old with a large mortgage and a toddler, but he felt it was now or never.

After cutting his teeth at a site in Bedale, he relocated to Ripon Business Park where he now hosts auctions every four weeks, specialising in fine art, antiques, and silver and jewellery.

It has been quite a journey. Mr Elstob opened in Ripon in December 2019 — three months before the first national covid lockdown.

But although covid decimated many start-ups, it has had a more favourable impact on auctions by hastening the transition to online bidding and more modern digital approaches, which suits a man who is considerably younger than many in the trade.

Online auctions attract more bidders, meaning higher prices and more commission, which explains why many auction houses still operate remotely post-covid restrictions.

At 37, David Elstob is younger than most auctioneers.

Elstob and Elstob allows bidders back in on sales days but whereas 100 people may have turned up pre-covid, there’s unlikely to be more than 20 these days. Fortunately this is more than offset by the number of online and telephone bidders.

Mr Elstob says:

“We’d love a room full of people again but I don’t think we will ever go back to that.

“Covid has moved things on 10 years. It’s made us work differently — it’s so easy to bid online now.”

£50,000 brooch

As with many things in life, the thrill of live bidding has moved online.

Mr Elstob recalls with infectious excitement hosting the only online auction in Europe one day during the first lockdown in April 2020, when thousands of bidders worldwide competed for 600 lots. Instead of finishing by mid-afternoon as usual, the bids kept coming long into the night.

“It was a phenomenal sale. I don’t think I will ever experience anything like that again. People in Australia started logging on when it got dark over here. I brought the gavel down on the last lot at 9.45pm.”

A Tiffany orchid brooch sold for £50,000, adding to the frisson.

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Like Morphets of Harrogate and Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, Elstob and Elstob focuses on high-end collectables rather than general items, like Thompsons Auctioneers in Killinghall and Harrogate Auction Centre, which specialise in house clearances.

His most unusual lot? A bull’s scrotum that had been made into a handbag. It fetched £30. Nostalgia-fuelled 1960s and 1970s furniture is currently fetching good money and the market for Chinese porcelain and art remains strong.

Hidden gems

Mr Elstob, who is originally from Bishop Auckland and has a master’s degree in antiques, initially planned to “go down the surveying / estate agent route and quickly realised that wasn’t for me”.

He headed up the sales room team at Addisons of Barnard Castle in County Durham before becoming director at Thomas Watsons in Darlington.

Outside the sales room in Ripon.

A specialist in 20th century design, particularly the work of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson, who was part of the 1920s arts and crafts revival, he is nevertheless a general valuer, who can call on a range of experts for help.

“It’s like being a GP. I might not be able to give you a figure for everything you bring in but I will be able to say if it’s authentic and point you in the right direction.”

Often solicitors get in touch asking him to conduct probate valuations. One such coin collection in Southport was worth £50,000.

Mr Elstob, who enjoys keeping fit and spending time with his daughter, employs five staff. He plans to conduct more specialist sales and online auctions and to run more eBay themed auctions, which appeal to younger people.

At 37, his youthful vigour makes him well placed to capitalise on the changes to auctioneering. But he remains steeped in the traditions of the trade and the thrill of discovering what lurks in the attic:

“My favourite part of the job is being out on the road. You never know what you will find in someone’s home.”

In less than a month’s time, the curtain will come down on the career of one of the most influential — and divisive — politicians in the Harrogate district this century.

Don Mackenzie served 16 years as a Harrogate borough councillor, but will be best remembered for his current role as executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

His portfolio includes transport, which means he has led on key decisions, such as the Harrogate Station Gateway, the junction 47 upgrade of the A1(M) near Knaresborough, realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill and numerous schemes to promote cycling and walking.

In an era when some politicians pick and choose which media to talk to, and hide behind press officers, Cllr Mackenzie has always been willing to pick up the phone and front up. He believes in transparency, he says. Colleagues say he’s on top of his brief, and some think he would have made a good county council leader.

But the judgement of the people is more brutal. Barely a day passes without references to ‘Dismal Don’ or calls for his resignation on social media. Complex transport schemes rarely please everyone and rarely progress swiftly and he is remarkably relaxed about the fallout:

“If I let these things upset me, I would have given up years ago. The only thing that occasionally annoys me is social media, especially anonymous posters.

“Tough decisions have to be made and all they do is sit in the comfort of their own home posting anonymous criticism. It’s cowardly.”

‘Right time to go’

On the day we met Cllr Mackenzie, who has lived in Harrogate since 1973 and represents Harrogate Saltergate, he received an email asking how dare he approve 770 houses being built on Otley Road — the decision has not been made yet and will be taken by Harrogate Borough Council, of which he has not been a councillor since 2018.

Such confusion will end when North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are abolished next year to make way for North Yorkshire Council, which will become the new unitary authority for the county.

New weather stations have been introduced to help drivers in difficult conditions.

That looming seismic change has persuaded Cllr Mackenzie, 72, not to seek re-election on May 5. He is the only one of 10 members of the county council executive not to do so. Wasn’t he tempted to continue?

“No I wasn’t. It’s a five-year commitment. I felt that my time as a county councillor had come to a natural end. Many of my colleagues have great difficulty deciding when and if to retire. Many people say a career in politics always ends in tears so I feel this is the right time to go.”

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Nevertheless he will be sad to depart.

“I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.

“Most councillors set out to do something for their local community. Most people like me are in it to make a difference and sometimes it’s difficult to make that difference. There are inevitably disappointments. We’ve been disappointed this week with our Bus Service Improvement Plan.”

The county council’s plan involved bidding £116m to the Department for Transport to improve bus services in North Yorkshire. It received none. A significant chunk would have been spent easing congestion in Harrogate. But in March the government awarded the council and Harrogate Bus Company £7.8m to make the firm’s fleet all-electric.

There have been other successes, such as the Bond End double mini roundabout in Knaresborough, which eased congestion at one of the most polluted spots in the Harrogate district.

“It was a highlight because many people thought it would not work and were worried about safety and taking away the traffic lights.”

Junction 47, trains and Kex Gill

Cllr Mackenzie lauds the A1(M) junction 47 upgrade, due to end end anytime now, as a rare example of infrastructure investment coming before development.

He says train services are far better now, with more frequent direct trains to London, than before he became a councillor despite rail operator Northern’s announcement last month of cuts to Harrogate services. He says:

“Northern have assured me these reductions will be short-term only.”

He admits to being a “little frustrated” the Kex Gill realignment won’t be completed before he leaves office. Delays, he says, are inevitable when “taking a major trans-pennine highway across a sensitive area of countryside”. Peat deposits are among the vexed considerations. But the project has levered £56m from the Department for Transport and should start this year.

Walking and cycling schemes

Active travel schemes have been the most contentious, particularly the Harrogate Station Gateway. It was one of three initiatives worth £42million funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Making the case for the Station Gateway at a business meeting.

Cllr Mackenzie says the Selby and Skipton projects “have been problem free”; Harrogate has been anything but, with strong opposition from businesses and residents to reducing Station Parade to single lane and pedestrianising part of James Street. He remains a staunch advocate:

“It’s bringing £11million of much needed investment into the town centre. It will be a radical improvement to a part of town that needs improving and it will be good for the visitor economy.”

He says he would be “inclined to continue’ with the closure of Beech Grove in Harrogate to through traffic when the 18-month experiment ends in August, with the caveat that he “would be guided by the data”.

As for Otley Road cycle path, he was “a little surprised to hear complaints from the cycling lobby” because “what we have delivered is exactly what the plans showed so they had plenty of time to raise concerns then”.

He says the council will conduct another round of consultation on phase two “so people are absolutely clear” about the plans this time.

Why have these schemes provoked so much anger?

“In Harrogate, when one attempts change — in this case to improve facilities for walking and cycling — you get roughly half the population behind you and half against you.

“Also, many people feel any restrictions on car driving is a bad thing whereas if you want to overcome congestion you have to have a realistic alternative.”

Conservative for 40 years

Don Johannes Josef Mackenzie was born in Germany and is bilingual — his dad stayed there after the war and met a German woman. The family moved before Cllr Mackenzie’s first birthday and he grew up in Ipswich.

He became managing director of MMP International, which supplied industrial repair and maintenance products worldwide. The job brought him to Harrogate 49 years ago.

MMP was acquired by US company ITW in 1998. Mr Mackenzie was a minority shareholder and stayed on for 10 years as business manager. He then became self-employed, “doing small things representing British manufacturers worldwide”.

A Conservative Party member for 40 years, he cut his political teeth as a Harrogate borough councillor in Pannal from 1987 to 1991 before a 15-year hiatus to concentrate on his career and raising his daughter, who would later become the agent for Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough. Who are his political heroes?

“I liked Mrs Thatcher but I don’t have any political heroes. I also liked David Cameron — I thought he was very good.”

He returned to serve three terms in Harrogate from 2006 to 2018, during which he became the cabinet member for planning and transport for three years — a role that included oversight of the creation of the original Local Plan — a document that outlines where planning can take part in the development.

Speaking at an online county council meeting.

The plan allocated 390 new homes a year in the district — a number that was rejected by the government’s Planning Inspectorate as too low and was eventually bumped up to around 700, leading to ongoing concerns about the number of new developments. He says:

“In hindsight 390 was a little low. Now it’s nearer 700. I don’t have a problem with 700 but recently it’s been much higher than that.”

Cllr Mackenzie was appointed executive member for public health at the county council in 2013 until council leader Carl Les moved him to his access portfolio in 2015.

It’s a bruising role but says the only time he gets real abuse is when he’s knocking on doors canvassing. It doesn’t seem to bother him — he likes a good argument. Or as he puts it:

“I can’t say I enjoy it but I wouldn’t shrink from it.

“I belong to that generation when a candidate didn’t rely on social media. I relied on public meetings. But there’s far less of that face-to-face stuff and that has led to a decline in behaviour because people think their behaviour doesn’t matter as much.”

Bird watching

Cllr Mackenzie, who is 72, doesn’t intend to retire. He has applied to become a non-executive director of a British public sector organisation and wants to keep busy.

“I wouldn’t like to think I didn’t start each day without an active programme ahead.”

He’s a keen bird watcher who engages in his hobby on family holidays in Norfolk. He doesn’t cycle but walks a lot. He often catches the bus or strolls into town from his home, near Leeds Road about a mile from the town centre. He says it’s too close to go by car.

He claims not to have any major regrets. What does he think his legacy will be?

“I would like people to think that whatever decision I took, I took with the best of motives and I thought the decision was right. I can’t claim to have got every decision right – but they were all taken with the best of intentions.”

With many of his schemes set to outlast him, his legacy will be felt in the district for years to come.

Public leisure centres in the Harrogate district are experiencing their greatest investment ever.

Harrogate Borough Council is spending more than £40m on new pools in Ripon and Knaresborough and on a major refurbishment of The Hydro in Harrogate.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, oversees 250 staff responsible for delivering services at these sites as well as several others.

Brimhams is the council-owned company set up last year to promote health and wellbeing in the district.

It operates swimming pools in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Starbeck. All of these sites, except the magnificent old Starbeck Baths and the soon-to-be-rebuilt Knaresborough Pool, also have leisure or fitness centres.

Mark Tweedie with Jack Laugher at the opening of Ripon’s new facility.

Brimhams also oversees Fairfax Wellbeing and Community Hub in Harrogate, Jennyfield Styan Community Centre, a children’s nursery and the Harrogate Turkish Baths.

Mr Tweedie, 54, a former PE teacher with considerable experience of the leisure sector, was hired by the council in November 2020 to support the creation of Brimhams before transferring to his current role in July last year.

He says he was attracted by the council’s vision of using leisure to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the district, backed by its willingness to invest serious money to make it happen.

Difficult start

It hasn’t been an easy ride. There have been costly delays at the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon due to sinkhole issues that long pre-date Mr Tweedie. A report due imminently will determine how much more work needs to be done before the site can fully open. He says:

“I’m absolutely confident it will be resolved. Yes, it’s been frustrating. I know customers have been desperate to come back since Spa Baths closed.”

There has been some discontent about the consultation and need for a new leisure centre in Knaresborough, where work is due to begin next month on a 65-week building programme due to finish in July next year.

How Knaresborough’s new pool will look.

Mr Tweedie says the transition from old to new site will be “seamless”, with the current facility operating until the new one opens — something that didn’t happen in Ripon, where the Spa Baths closed four months before the new pool opened due to delays.

Now there is the looming nine-month closure of The Hydro, which will leave Harrogate without a council-run pool.

Staffing has also been difficult — Brimhams has been consistently operating with 20 to 30 vacancies. Opening hours have been affected. Mr Tweedie says:

“It’s been a significant challenge, and it’s shared across the sector nationally.”

Read more:

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But there is little doubt that when all the projects are completed, the district’s facilities will be significantly better than they were pre-Brimhams. He says:

“We are through the worst and back on track and people in the Harrogate district and our staff have got a lot to look forward to.”

Aim to nearly double membership 

The aim is to increase total membership at the sites in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough to 5,000 within six months of the new facilities opening. Membership totalled about 3,000 at its pre-covid peak so it would be a considerable achievement but Mr Tweedie is “very confident” of achieving it. He says 400 people joined the Ripon centre in the fortnight after it opened.

How the refurbished Hydro will look.

Brimhams’s current monthly rate is £38.95. Customers at The Hydro are being offered a reduced rate of £32 to use the other sites while it is being refurbished. They will also be able to take part in group exercise sessions at the nearby Jennyfield Styan Community Centre.

Large private gym chains such as Pure Gym and Coach Gyms, which offer membership at about £20 a month, have extended their tentacles into the district, which can’t make life easy for council-run alternatives, but Mr Tweedie insists they are serving different markets.

“The private sector is dealing with the 15% that want to join a gym. The question is, what happens to the other 85%? How do we use public facilities to reach out to them?”

He talks about Brimhams taking “a more holistic approach” that leads to a “deeper and more purposeful relationship” with customers. People won’t come just to use the pool or gym, he says, but also to access a wider range of service that are being developed, such as mental health support, nutritional advice and mindfulness. It’s no coincidence that two Brimhams Active sites now include ‘wellbeing’ in their names — it’s clearly the way ahead.

A new software system, due to go live at the end of the month, will enable online booking and a “better digital relationship with customers”, as well as capturing footfall data that Brimhams can use to improve services.

Will it consider 24-hour opening, as many private gyms are? Mr Tweedie says:

“We have no plans for 24/7. We feel we can deal with our customer base between the hours of 6.30am and 10pm.”

Starbeck Baths

The scale of the council’s investment in leisure leads Mr Tweedie to say confidently there are no plans to reduce services or close Starbeck Baths, which is a constant threat to such an ageing facility. He adds:

“What the commercial approach is not about is reducing wages and staff and providing the bare bones of a service.”

All change next year

But his reassurances are tempered by the fact that Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished next year and control of Brimhams will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Brimhams staff will have a new employer from April 1 and, in time, a new strategy run by different managers.

Mr Tweedie, who lives in Morpeth and divides his time working from home and in the Harrogate district, says it could take at least a couple of years to implement whatever model the new council introduces so his role could exist for some time yet. He says:

“I want to deliver our three-year strategic plan and I am already working with other district leisure service leaders and North Yorkshire colleagues to manage the transition to the unitary authority.”

The important thing, he adds, is that customers don’t notice any sudden changes next year and that frontline staff, such as lifeguards and receptionists, are looked after. He says:

“It’s business as usual for us. We have a vision. We have a strategy. We have a plan we will deliver on that with a high level of tenacity.

Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre in Pateley Bridge.

In 1982, Geoff Brown and four colleagues started a modest agricultural machinery business called Ripon Farm Services.

The firm, which took on John Deere and Land Rover franchises, began with 19 members of staff and budgeted to generate £1.1 million in its first year.

Now, as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary, it has 270 staff, 12 depots and recorded turnover of £117.2 million for the financial year ending January 31, 2021 — significantly up on the £106.4 million figure for the previous year.

Ripon Farm Services, which is based on Dallamires Lane in Ripon, has become one of the Harrogate district’s biggest and best known employers. It supplies a wide range of new and used equipment from franchises including John Deere, Kuhn, Bailey, Kramer and Stihl.

Mr Brown (left) and a colleague alongside a John Deere tractor.

Mr Brown, who was brought up on a farm and has lived in Burnt Yates all his life, has been at the helm throughout the company’s existence.

Now 76, he remains a director and is keen to drive the business forward for “a while yet”. He adds:

“While I’m OK I will carry on.”

Brexit and Prince Charles

The last 12 months have been hectic, dealing not only with covid but also the impact of Brexit, which has had major repercussions for agriculture.

He also met Prince Charles — not for the first time — at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show, where Ripon Farm Services always has a big presence.

The two men chatted amiably for some time. Mr Brown says:

“Somebody asked how did I make him laugh. I said I just talked to him. He knows a lot about farming and machinery. I met him previously at the Pateley show. He’s a very down to earth fella.”

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Mr Brown admits the company benefited from the backwind that British agriculture enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s but thriving over four decades is testimony to far more than luck. He says:

“It’s just been steady growth since we started.”

Ripon Farm Services at the Great Yorkshire Show

61-year career

Mr Brown’s working life spans a remarkable 61 years. He started in 1961 at Glovers of Ripon, a car and agricultural machinery dealer.

Glovers was taken over by Appleyards in 1965, which lost the Massey Ferguson franchise the following year and consequently took on one of the first John Deere dealerships in the UK.

In 1966 Mr Brown was promoted to John Deere demonstrator at Appleyards.

Geoff Brown at Ripon Farm Services’ New Year Show last month.

When Appleyards sold its agricultural business in 1982 — something Mr Brown heard about when he was setting up the stand at the Great Yorkshire Show — it paved the way for something new.

So by October than year Mr Brown, along with Maurice Hymas, Bill Houseman and two other directors, had set-up Ripon Farm Services.

Selling Land Rover

Regrets? Just a few. The company sold its Land Rover franchise in 2016. Mr Brown says:

“They wanted us to move to Harrogate or Knaresborough and sell Jaguars but I didn’t want to do either of those things and now, ironically, they have relented and dealers don’t have to sell Jaguars.”

Ripon Farm Services continues to be synonymous with the distinctive John Deere green. It’s a truly international set-up: a British firm, selling American machinery all around the world. Mr Brown says:

“We export a lot of tractors and combine harvesters. Our biggest overseas markets are Poland and Spain.”

He acknowledges Brexit has caused some bumps but “it hasn’t stopped us”.

British farmers still face uncertainty about what payments will replace the loss of EU subsidies but Mr Brown remains optimistic about the future for farmers:

“As long as the government looks after them and gets something in place of the grants I can’t see it being a problem. The good ones will still be around.”

It’s probably fair to say more parents dream of their children going to Oxford or Cambridge universities than Harrogate College.

But although an Oxford classics degree sounds impressive, a level 2 qualification in hairdressing or carpentry, or a motor vehicle diploma at the more humble Harrogate College could lead to a rewarding and better paid career.

The college, which has over 1,000 students, provides courses for 16 to 18-year-olds and adults in the Harrogate district as well as apprenticeships.

It specialises in vocational and technical training which, like the college itself, is enjoying a bit of a moment.

Many employers regard vocational training as the way to plug skills gaps in careers that are often well paid. As for the college, it has fresh impetus since it was acquired by Luminate Education Group two years ago.

Danny Wild, who became principal on the day Luminate took charge on August 1, 2019, says its £110 million turnover has injected vigour into the college. He adds:

“This was a college that had been unloved for a number of years in terms of its investment in people and resources.

“The most telling thing was the college had lost its connection with the community. There was a lack of understanding about what the college did and its purpose.”

Business links

The facilities on Hornbeam Park today are impressive. They include a professional kitchen, hair salon and beauty room and workshops for brick work, motor vehicles and welding.

The college caters for the Harrogate district and many local employers are desperate for staff in these areas.

Harrogate College

Twenty-six employers attended last month’s inaugural meeting of the college’s new employers’ network, which gives local firms the chance to discuss their training needs. Their feedback will enable the college to adapt its curriculum accordingly.

The district has many small, niche companies and Mr Wild says the college can provide the flexibility to meet their training needs. He talks about putting on courses for 10 to 12 people in areas where skills gaps exist. Companies could just send a single member of staff.

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He cites digital health care as an example. He says it is one of the fastest growing employment areas in the district but staff sometimes lack the softer skills to match their IT ability so the college could adapt its digital IT courses to include customer training.

Mr Wild says the two sectors that employ most people in the district are hospitality and the visitor economy and care. North Yorkshire, he says, is second only to Cornwall in visitor numbers and “we are so used to care we underestimate its value”.

This close understanding of the local labour market, and its trends, will enable the college and businesses to work fruitfully together, he adds.

Apprenticeships

The college provides courses for 16 to 18-year-olds and adults as well as apprenticeships.

Mr Wild also describes apprenticeships as a “real growth area in the Harrogate district”. He adds:

“The government has definitely raised the profile of vocational and technical education and is continuing to talk about its importance.

“But if we are going to have a world-leading, highly skilled workforce that requires investment and we continue to lag behind the investment that gets put into school children.”

The college will also start offering new T-levels in health, education and childcare and digital and IT from September next year.

T Levels, which are equivalent to 3 A-levels, are two-year courses introduced last year to meet the needs of industry.

Mr Wild, who lives in Boroughbridge and has a degree in sport and geography, says T-Levels “will become an important part of what the college offers”.

Green ambitions

The college also aspires to become a green centre of excellence. It hosted the opening event of this year’s Harrogate District Climate Action Festival and wants to make its site a green centre of excellence.

The college attended the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow and was highly commended at the national Green Gown Awards for its work on sustainability. It is also delivering its first retro fit courses for homes in January.

The college also expects to hear from the Department for Education in the new year whether its application for funding to demolish its main block, which was built in the 1950s as offices, and build a new one on the site of the car park is successful.

Mr Wild, who previously worked at Leeds City College, another Luminate organisation. says the current building is not fit for purpose and the new one would be far more energy-efficient.

Away from work, he enjoys “all things food” and describes himself as an “outdoorsy person” who is often found walking his dogs on the North Yorkshire moors. His background is as a rugby coach.

But his focus now is on championing the college and the kind of education it provides.

“For people who are clear about what career they want to go into or have a strong interest in a particular sector you can follow that passion and study on a vocational or technical course.

“The most important thing for Harrogate College is that the reputation of the college continues to grow so people recognise it as the provider of vocational and technical education in the Harrogate district.”

Few major employees in the Harrogate district have experienced more turbulent times recently than Wolseley.

The plumbing and heating merchants, which has a £1.8bn turnover, employs almost 5,000 staff globally, of which 270 are based in Ripon and 150 at a distribution centre in Melmerby.

Besides covid, this year Wolseley has been at the sharp end of Brexit and been sold to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice for £308 million.

The man navigating the choppy waters is Simon Oakland, who has been chief executive of Wolseley UK since January last year.

Mr Oakland, who has a background in private equity, has been with the company in its various guises since 2012.

He doesn’t hide how difficult the last 18 months have been, particularly for staff in Ripon. The site, which opened in 1971, provides support functions, including accounts, payments, IT support and HR and have such felt the brunt of all the changes.

“As a business we have been through a lot of difficulties. There had been damaging cost cutting measures and we’ve been through a few strategic initiatives that haven’t been successful.”

The company, he says, lost customer focus when it integrated divisions in 2017. But a divisional restructure, completed in July last year, was the catalyst for recovery, he says.

The new suite at Ripon.

The figures back him up. In the financial year ending 31 July 2020, Wolseley lost £250 million of sales. Profit, forecast to be £60 million, came in at £6 million, partly due to covid.

But recently published accounts for the financial year ending 31 July 2021 show £75 million profit – considerably up on the pre-covid £54 million figure of 2019. Mr Oakland says:

“This is the first year of genuine growth since 2012.

“From August 1 last year we have had a strong recovery. The market is strong, but we’ve taken a lot of market share.”

He highlights the acquisition of 32 branches of Graham Plumbers in July as evidence of recovery.

Brexit blues

Brexit has not affected demand but it has disrupted the supply chain by making it harder for small European manufacturers to import into the UK.

It’s also created “real complexity” with exporting products to Northern Ireland, says Mr Oakland. The company now has to provide detailed certificate of origin forms and prove its products to Northern Ireland wont be moved on to the Republic of Ireland. He says:

“The process of importing from Europe is going to continue being a small stone in our shoe.

“The process of moving products to Northern Ireland is going to be very complex. Even with the number of exemptions in place now it’s incredibly complex. If those exemptions come off it will be even more complex.”

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Until this year Wolseley was part of a FTSE 100 company called Ferguson PLC, which operates in the US, Canada and the UK. But its demerger from Ferguson and sale to Clayton, Dubilier and Rice led to huge change.

“The demerger caused a lot of work and that significantly impacted teams in Ripon, especially finance and IT. We were fully integrated on IT with US and Canada and had to migrate.”

Private equity firms don’t have the best reputations but Mr Oakland says:

“I spent 20 years in private equity. I get private equity inside and out. There are different styles. Some buy defunct businesses and liquidate stock. At the other end you have firms that understand the sector and try to support and grow the business.”

Clayton, Dubilier and Rice fall into the latter camp, he says, and “bring real strategic insight”. But it wasn’t an easy sell to staff.

“I took the decision in July 2020 to be totally open with colleagues and told them it was likely we would be sold to a private equity firm. They took a lot of confidence from the fact that I have been a partner in a private equity firm. That helped to defuse the uncertainty and the Chinese whispers.

“The real theme was that we would be able to tap into our independence.”

50 years in Ripon

Wolseley was founded in 1887, when Frederick York Wolseley launched the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine. The firm expanded into manufacturing and in 1899, the first Wolseley horseless carriage went on sale in the UK at £120.

It acquired a number of heating companies in the 1960s. Today plumbing and heating account for £1 billion of the £1.8 billion turnover. Your home’s boiler, pipework, bathroom fittings and gas and electricity meters could well have been made by Wolseley.

Part of the refurbished Ripon site.

The company opened its Ripon office on Boroughbridge Road in 1971. The site reopened this year after a £500,000 refurbishment, which included a new learning and development suite for training courses. Mr Oakland says:

“It’s completely transformed the business in Ripon. It was very tired inside.”

Mr Oakland was born in Dewsbury and his grandparents lived in Starbeck. He is based in Warwickshire and says he looks forward to his trips north:

“I love it. It takes me back to the places where I went to as a kid.”

He enjoys food and wine and tries to complete one or two triathlons each year. Training isn’t easy when you’re on the road three or four nights a week but after a period of upheaval, quieter times at Wolseley may be ahead. He says:

“The business is in a really good place now.”

Words like ‘e-commerce’ and ‘digital’ don’t sit naturally with a company steeped in tradition like Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate.

Bettys, which is probably the Harrogate district’s most famous brand, is known for its timeless tearoom experience that echoes of a past dating back to 1919.

But times have changed and when covid forced the closure of its shops the company found it could not meet the online demand for its products.

Samantha Sargison, head of digital and corporate at Bettys, says:

“We forecast ahead and over the pandemic there were times when we were topping out the capacity of the bakery. Customers could not purchase for the next four to six weeks.

“It was disappointing that we couldn’t be there for them when they wanted us but in a way it’s a nice problem to have when you are surpassing demand in that way.”

Bettys, which is still owned by the family of its founder, Fredrick Belmont, hired Brighton-born Ms Sargison to the newly created role in 2017 in recognition of the need to improve digitally.

She had previously worked in London for the likes of Kurt Geiger and De Beers so the transition from selling luxury handbags and diamonds to luxury cakes came naturally.

Bettys has made significant progress in the four years since she joined. Online sales have trebled since 2017 and are 34 per cent up this year already on the figure for all of 2020, despite lockdowns. Ms Sargison says:

“We have more customers than ever ordering online with us. Our e-commerce customer numbers are up 168 per cent versus 2019 and 220 per cent up since I joined in 2017.”

Read more:

• Recruitment crisis forces Bettys in Harrogate to close early
• Bettys in Harrogate ranked among UK’s top 20 coffee shops

With shops shut during lockdown, necessity became the mother of invention as the company attempted to fulfil demand for its treats in new ways.

It introduced takeaway afternoon teas for collection during lockdown and when the tearooms reopened it started offering ‘shop from your table’, which allows customers to place takeaway orders at their tables and have their gifts packaged when they leave.

There are, however, limits to what Bettys customers would expect. Ms Sargison says:

“Customers won’t be ordering by app like they do in McDonald’s any time soon.”

She’s also adamant that e-commerce will never replace its tearooms in Harrogate, York, Northallerton and Ilkley.

“The tearooms are the beating heart of Bettys. It’s just another means of reaching the customer further afield.”

Christmas hampers

In retail, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Bettys’ Christmas catalogues land on doorsteps at the start of October and the orders will then fly in faster than ever until Christmas Eve.

Hampers are the main Christmas product but tea and scones and the famous Fat Rascals are also big business. The speed of digital growth makes forecasting supply difficult for a business selling perishable goods.

Cakes are made early each day at the bakery in Starbeck and dispatched by 4pm for next day UK delivery. Because Bettys doesn’t add preservatives, some products aren’t sold online because they won’t be fresh on arrival. Others are too fragile to post. Ms Sargison says:

“In some ways we’ve made a rod for our own back by maintaining the tradition of not adding preservatives.”

Eighty-five per cent of online orders are gifts, often bought by tech savvy younger people for older relatives so Bettys’ online offering has to be sharp.

“There’s still a lot to do on improving the website itself. It has massively improved from five years ago but still has a way to go to be as efficient and easy to use as possible.

“Last summer we launched the afternoon tea box. We relaunched the checkout this year. It’s about making sure the service and experience customers get online is the same as they get in the tearooms — service with a smile and a welcoming tone to the copy.”

Starbeck bakery

After months of furlough and working from home, Bettys staff are beginning to return to the office.

For Ms Sargison, who leads a team of 10 staff responsible for business-to-business sales, digital, e-commerce and innovation, this means travelling to Starbeck from Skipton.

Working above the bakery and being entitled to free lunches has its perks but it’s a lot of travelling for a mother living in Skipton with two children.

But she says she feels valued at Bettys, which she describes as the northern equivalent of Fortnum and Mason.

“It’s a family business and you feel it from the moment you join. I have worked for companies where I’ve felt like a cog in the wheel but I certainly don’t feel that here.

“Bettys has got a big vision. The pace might not be the same as it is in London but it has that same drive and ambition.”

It’s a little known fact that 2,000 more people die of cancer each year in Yorkshire than the national average.

More smoking, less exercise, pockets of deprivation and variable screening rates are among the causes.

Dr Kathyrn Scott, chief executive of Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research, is leading the fightback:

“We currently have 14,000 deaths a year. It could be 12,000 if we just had better funding and infrastructure.

“”We’ve got this hidden tragedy happening in Yorkshire and we are determined to change it.”

Dr Scott, a scientist, joined Yorkshire Cancer Research in 2008 as an office junior and worked her way up to chief executive four years ago. She’s far from the archetypal scientist, laughing a lot and joking that “I actually like people”.

Yorkshire Cancer Research, which is the largest voluntary organisation in the Harrogate district, has had remarkable financial success in recent years: income has soared from £6.2 million in 2016 to £18.7 million in 2020 and is expected to increase again this year.

By contrast, covid has decimated many charities’ finances — cutting donations, cancelling fundraising events and closing charity shops.

New Harrogate headquarters with wellbeing centre

Yorkshire Cancer Research’s coffers are bearing the fruits of royalties from a drug called Lynparza that it funded Sheffield University to develop.

Royalty income alone increased from £6.7 million in 2019 to £12 million in 2020, which is enabling the charity to press ahead with plans to expand and tackle cancer.

It has opened more shops, employed more staff and is set to announce a move to new Harrogate headquarters, which will include a wellbeing centre where people with cancer can exercise as part of their recovery.

Read more:

• Yorkshire Cancer Research set to open new shop in Ripon
• Charity Corner: Two clothes charities provide lifeline for Harrogate families

Wellbeing has become a major focus of the charity’s work and it hopes to open similar exercise facilities across Yorkshire. Dr Scott says:

“For years people with cancer were told to rest, sit down and have a cup of tea and although there’s still a place for that you need to exercise. It can halve the chances of some some cancers coming back.”

The charity, which is currently based at Grove Park Court, expects to reveal its new headquarters in autumn. Dr Scott says:

“We’ve found the perfect site but it’s definitely a secret for now.”

Recruiting more staff and opening more shops

The number of staff has grown from about 40 when Dr Scott took charge to 53 now and is expected to rise to 65. From September, it will trial a hybrid system whereby employees work two-thirds of the week in the office and one-third from home.

The charity, which is the largest regional cancer research charity in England, opened its fourth charity shop in Ripon this year and hopes to have 20 shops within five years.

The charity’s strong financial position has also ensured it hasn’t had to cut funding to research programmes — unlike some other cancer charities during covid. It funds £10 million of cancer research each year.

But for all its success, Dr Scott admits Yorkshire Cancer Research’s overarching ambition to save 2,000 Yorkshire lives by 2025 might not happen on schedule because of the wider impact of covid on cancer services.

Hospital services have been scaled back and people who have discovered symptoms, such as blood in their poo, have felt less inclined to bother their GPs.

But she says people in the Harrogate district have been luckier than most in Yorkshire:

“Harrogate District Hospital has been one of the more resilient hospitals in the sense that it has got a lot of services up and running again quickly. It feels like it’s been an agile organisation.”

Dr Scott, who was born and bred in Bradford but has lived in Harrogate for about 20 years, is a keen cyclist who nominates Norwood Edge and Greenhow Hill as among her favourite rides.

They’re two of the most notorious climbs in the area — Dr Scott will be hoping the charity can continue to avoid such uphill struggles in the years ahead.