Two Knaresborough businesses have agreed to sponsor Knaresborough Celtics girls football team.
Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty and Huttons will sponsor the under 16s side this season.
It will see the businesses provide kit and training wear for the girls.
Kelly Teggin, owner of Kelly Teggin Hairdressers, said:
“Kelly Teggin hairdressing have sponsored the team for five years buying a kit every year so they can pass it down so all the age groups have a kit to play in moving forwards.
“Huttons have sponsored the training tops that the girls keep as they have their initials on and they will have them as a keep sake for all the hard work both the parents, team and coaches have put in over the last eight years.”
Pictured above (left to right) Kelly Young, Jaden Rigg, Issy Colbert, Lily Howliston , Lilly perry, Issy stobbs, Grace Denny, Amelia Trougton, Poppy Naylor, Poppy Johnson, Bella Richardson, Camilla Rishton ,Abigail Rushworth, Bella Bere, Freya Welbourne
Council awards Harrogate maintenance contract
North Yorkshire Council has awarded a contract for maintenance of public buildings in Harrogate to a Bingley company.
Europe Air Conditioning Ltd, which is based in Cottingley near Bingley, has been commissioned to cover “reactive call outs” in the area.
The contract is valued at £86,723.47, according to the council website.
It adds:
“This work forms part of legal compliance and is essential for the continuation of business and health and safety of our staff, occupants and public.”
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Knaresborough traders start electric vehicle parking petition
Knaresborough traders have started a petition calling for some town centre electric vehicle charging stations to be made available to all cars.
Ten parking bays in Chapel Street Car Park were set aside for electric vehicles at the end of last year.
Most are frequently empty — while there is often a scramble for non-electric vehicle parking spaces, especially on Wednesday market days and Saturdays.
The sight of cars circling for parking spaces while the majority of EV bays are empty has infuriated traders, who claim they are losing business due to customers giving up and going elsewhere.
Empty electric vehicle charging stations in Chapel Street car park.
They also say taxpayers are missing out on income the empty bays are failing to generate.
Hairdresser Kelly Teggin, who launched the petition today, said it aimed to get 500 signatures, which would require North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee to debate the matter.
Ms Teggin said:
“The council has not really been engaging with us and hopefully this petition will change that.
“Many of my clients are older and say they won’t walk from other car parks further away. I estimate it’s costing the town 500 to 1,000 shoppers a week.”
The petition calls for “North Yorkshire Council to enter into urgent dialogue to discuss a phased transition to full electric vehicle provision”.
Ms Teggin said the council had allocated enough EV charging stations in Knaresborough to meet its targets for 2038 and was ignoring the current reality on the ground. She added:
“We agree we need EV parking bays but we don’t need 10 now.”
Fellow Knaresborough businessman Steve Teggin said it wasn’t realistic to expect older people carrying shopping to walk from car parks further out of town.
It is still unclear whether non-EV vehicles parking in EV bays are getting fined.
Ms Teggin said the council had not engaged on the matter and no car park signage explains the situation.
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Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough West on North Yorkshire Council, has criticised the council’s approach.
Speaking last month, he said:
“The council needs to make sure these spaces can be used by people if they are not being used by people with electric vehicles.
“If they are sat empty it benefits nobody. Businesses are losing out on customers and the council is losing out on thousands of pounds of revenue.”
The petition can be signed in Sheer Bliss, Nottingham Jewellers, Hirsts Bakery, The School and Dance Shop and Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty in Knaresborough.
North Yorkshire Council has been approached for comment.
Knaresborough hairdresser wins legal battle after customer sues for catastrophic hair loss
A Knaresborough hairdresser accused of causing catastrophic hair loss to a customer has won a ground-breaking legal case.
Mother-of-two Kelly Teggin challenged the customer’s claims that large clumps of her hair had fallen out after bleaching, leaving her with a blistered scalp.
A two-day county court trial, which could have landed Ms Teggin with a bill of more than £100,000, including costs, and damaged her reputation, ruled in her favour.
Court documents summarising the case, which was heard in October last year, state:
“On the balance of probabilities, nothing untoward happened to the claimant in the salon that evening and no concerns were raised that night. It was accepted that the claimant was content when she left.”
Ms Teggin, of Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty in Knaresborough, has now spoken about the verdict publicly for the first time. She said:
“I was positive I had done nothing wrong and wanted to clear my name.”
Kelly Teggin (right) and assistant Penny Ledgeway
The Leeds County Court judge’s ruling in favour of Ms Teggin has been hailed as a breakthrough for hairdressers struggling to disprove claims that cost insurance companies millions of pounds every year.
‘Hair reduced to stubble in some places’
The claimant, from Boroughbridge, argued her hair started falling out on holiday, a few days after Ms Teggin bleached the roots in August 2019, and continued to fall out until she only had half her hair left, with it being reduced to stubble in some places.
The judge, Recorder Murray, said there was only evidence of minor breakage, which did not demonstrate there had been negligence.
Dismissing the claim, he also pointed out that UV light, heat and mechanical processes could damage bleached hair.
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Ms Teggin’s solicitor, Sarah Pether, said the case could have been settled at the outset for around £6,000 damages and costs. She added:
“Trials in such cases are rare as insurers usually consider it more cost effective to settle at an early stage and pay the low level fixed legal fees.
“I have seen obvious cases of negligence before with ‘chewing gum’ hair, huge clumps falling out, hair turning green etc, where most people would accept the treatment was negligent and those cases should be settled to avoid court costs.
“However, a lot of claims now seem to be based on minor breakage which are not necessarily due to negligence, or do not prove there has been negligence, and with only £3,000 to £4,000 claimed each time the insurers have tended to settle them.”
‘Reputation on the line’
Ms Teggin said afterwards:
“I was putting my reputation on the line and risked losing my business if it all went wrong but I was never going to settle because the story simply didn’t stack up and I knew I had the evidence to prove it.
“I just hope this gives other hairdressers and the insurance industry in general the confidence to stand up against false claims, which are more common than people realise,” added Mrs Teggin.
Expert witness, forensic trichologist Prof Barry Stevens, welcomed the verdict, adding:
Knaresborough businesses oppose pedestrianisation plan“It will hopefully lead to a closer review of claims within the industry.”
Knaresborough businesses have said they would strongly oppose any moves to pedestrianise the town’s Market Place.
Knaresborough Town Council put forward an idea to pedestrianise a section of Market Place in a recent survey on the future of the town.
But businesses spoke out overwhelmingly against the proposal in a heated debate at a Knaresborough Chamber of Trade meeting last night.
They said the plans, which could see the area from the phone boxes to the market cross pedestrianised with the loss of 14 parking spaces, would damage trade.
Many said the loss of parking would encourage shoppers to go elsewhere and make deliveries more difficult.
Concerns have also been raised about how the area would look and who would manage the upkeep.
‘Massive impact on sales’
After the meeting, Stuart Pieri, who owns of The Wine Shop which looks out onto the car park, told the Stray Ferret:
“I already have people leaving boxes of wine at the door whilst they go and get their cars and park up outside on the double yellows so without those parking spaces in front it’ll be even worse. It’ll have a massive impact on sales for me. It would be the difference from people buying a box and a bottle.
“As a resident, it would be lovely to see it pedestrianised and done properly but from a business point of view it’s not as practical. Either way, of course I will adapt, but I’d rather not have to.”
Carole Bardon, owner of the Lavender Rooms, had similar opinions:
“It would make life really difficult, especially for deliveries. The idea of it is nice, more space for chairs outdoors, but it just hampers everything else. People wouldn’t be able to park out here, especially disabled people wouldn’t be able to get to us.”
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Kelly Teggin
‘Don’t fix what isn’t broken’
Kelly Teggin, owner of a hair salon on Castlegate said:
“I don’t think Knaresborough needs pedestrianising, we struggle for parking as it is. Those parking spaces are always being used so to lose them would have a huge impact, we’ll all lose customers if they don’t think they can get parking. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
“Also, it would need proper management and with the castle only a minute’s walk away pedestrians are already spoilt for choice. I think the idea is nice but the ripple effect on businesses and cost doesn’t add up.”
‘Time to come together’ for Knaresborough businesses after BID row
Knaresborough business owners say the town must come together and mend the divide following a row over setting up a town BID.
The voting down of a BID earlier this month, by 80 to 73, caused acrimony between businesses and led some to walk out of a Chamber of Trade AGM.
The Stray Ferret asked businesses where the town goes from here. The common message was one of “coming together to have their voices heard”.
Elaine Grinter, who has owned the Art in the Mill gallery with her husband Andy for 14 years, said:
“As a town we generally all get along and want the best for Knaresborough. Chamber is going through a period of turnover. Hopefully that experience of BID and all the acrimony will be put to one side and we’ll see a positive energy coming through.
“My query going forward is how we will be represented in the future with council changes. I think anything that sees us work together is a good idea.”
The upcoming devolution agreement is at the forefront of business owners minds with some saying without a BID representing them, like in Harrogate and Ripon, they will need to shout louder to make sure the town isn’t forgotten.
Businesses also raved of the “booming” summer of tourism experienced this year and are keen to keep the momentum high with a Christmas market, trees and window displays.
Kelly Teggin, owner of Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty, was on the BID taskforce before it had to be disbanded and is hoping some of the projects BID had planned for can still go ahead. She said:
“I think it’s going to take a few months to settle down but we do need to draw a line under this divide or the town will suffer. The BID was going to bring some amazing things to the town because it was a big pot of money.
“I would still like to see some of the things we’d planned, this is time to come together for the town.”
A number of other businesses agreed the town needed time to heal but were confident the community would come back together for the good of the town.
Chamber attempts to build bridges
Peter Lacey, membership secretary of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, agreed the town must move on and has said the chamber is taking forward suggestions from this month’s AGM.
Networking events, joining up with other community groups and improving links between the town centre and Waterside are all to be looked at.
Today, the Chamber sent a letter apologising for previous comments made by former Chamber president Steve Teggin who hit out at “anti-BID activists” in an open letter. The current Chamber board said it had not signed off on the letter and “apologised for the hurt”.
Mr Lacey said:
“I hope when we come together in January we can talk positively and constructively about Knaresborough’s future.”
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John Ashton has just opened his business on the high street, Jovial Antiques. He said he was aware from other businesses there was a divide:
“I have heard some talk about people feeling upset at the outcome of the BID. I’m new to the area but I can tell there is a great community feel, businesses on the high street were straight into the shop to welcome me.
“I voted for a BID but of course we didn’t get it. The one thing we need is parking but visitors aren’t going to stop coming it’ll always be a busy town.”