Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith has described his own government’s decision to make swingeing tax cuts as “wrong”.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the biggest package of tax cuts in 50 years in his mini-budget yesterday.

He said the UK economy was entering a “new era” and the measures would stimulate growth.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said those with incomes in excess of £1 million will gain more than £40,000 a year each and that the overall measures didn’t include “even a semblance of an effort to make the public finance numbers add up”.

Mr Smith, who supported Rishi Sunak’s failed Conservative leadership bid, also expressed concerns on Twitter:

“In a statement with many positive enterprise measures this huge tax cut for the very rich at a time of national crisis and real fear and anxiety amongst low income workers and citizens is wrong.”

In a statement with many positive enterprise measures this huge tax cut for the very rich at a time of national crisis & real fear & anxiety amongst low income workers & citizens is wrong. https://t.co/EeRfAcNGzf

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) September 23, 2022

However, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough who also supported Mr Sunak, welcomed this week’s government measures.

Writing on his Community News website yesterday, Mr Jones said:

“I am pleased with the extra support for households and businesses with fuel bills through the energy price guarantee and also today’s surprise announcement of the reduction in the basic rate of income tax down to 19 per cent.

“There are a huge number of measures, many focused on our productivity and investment which are the platforms for future growth. So, plenty to be positive about here in Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

Read more:

• Harrogate district planning rules could be ‘radically streamlined’
• Harrogate district business groups cautiously welcome mini-budget

It feels like it creeps up on us earlier every year. Yes folks, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: it’s time to book your Santa visit.

Attractions across the Harrogate district have already started to release tickets.

And while Christmas might still be three months away, it’s advisable to act fast if you want to secure an audience with Mr Claus.

I’ve had the pleasure of taking my boys to meet him a few times over the years at various locations in the area.

Each experience has been excellent and we are definitely spoilt for choice. Santa is clearly a big fan of the Harrogate district.

To help you get organised, here are seven places to see Santa this year:

The Harrogate Father Christmas Experience – Cedar Court Hotel

It’s back and it has been hailed as “bigger and better than ever”.

Last year Father Christmas’s Chief Elf Tinsel, from Enchantica’s, delighted children and grown-ups alongside the big man himself at The Crown Hotel.

This Christmas you can join Santa, Tinsel and all of the Elves at a very magical Elf Village at the Cedar Court Hotel.

And those who are on the good elf list can book places to enjoy two shows this year:

• Elf Training Show – an immersive sing-along elf training experience for the whole family to enjoy.
  Or
• New for 2022 – Code Breakers Christmas show – for ages seven plus to adult – an escape room style family show wrapped up with magic, illusion and festive code breaking challenges to help save Christmas.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, September 27 and you can be among the first to get them by signing up to the mailing list here.

November 26 – December 24. Check here for show dates, times and availability.

Christmas at Mother Shipton’s, Knaresborough

Wander through the winter woodland to see the enchanted Christmas Village, festooned with festive delights and merry displays.

Chief Elf Chestnut will meet little visitors and lead them to see Santa Claus in his cosy Christmas grotto.

Children will be presented with a pack of festive activities and will also be able to listen to tales from Holly Berry, make reindeer food and post a letter to Santa at the North Pole Post Office.

November 26 – December 24. Click here to buy tickets. 

The Magical Christmas Experience – Birchfield Farm, Summerbridge

This hugely popular experience is making a welcome return following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Meet Mother Christmas in her sitting room to check in and collect your sleigh ride tickets.

Then head to the sleigh pick up point to be greeted by Buddy the Elf, who will help you board Santa’s sleigh for your magical sleigh ride .

You will arrive at father’s Christmas woodland grotto where you can sit by the fire and tell him your Christmas wishes.

November 26 – December 23. Click here to buy tickets.

Police have arrested a wanted Harrogate man.

Officers issued an appeal for the whereabouts of a 30-year-old man, who was believed to be in either the Harrogate or Knaresborough area.

The force has since confirmed that he has been arrested in the Blackpool area on suspicion of offences connected to a serious assault.

Read more:

• ‘Winter wonderland’ plans to boost Harrogate this Christmas
• County council home care service in Starbeck ‘requires improvement’

A 45-year-old man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a Knaresborough pub last year.

Stephen Pearson, of Pinhoe Road in Exeter, was charged with arson at Blind Jack’s pub on Market Place in the town on August 21 last year.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared before York Crown Court this morning.

Pearson’s defence counsel told the court that he had “a number of difficulties” over the years and was currently seeing a clinical psychologist on a regular basis.

Read more:

• Arsonist sets fire to historic Knaresborough pub
• Murderer fell asleep after ‘brutally’ killing man in Harrogate

The defence requested that the case be adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Judge Simon Hickey adjourned sentencing Pearson until November 18.

He told him that he must “realise the consequences that may follow” when he appears before court again.

Blind Jack’s on Market Place, Knaresborough.

The pub was damaged in the blaze at around 4am on the morning of August 21, 2021.

Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were away at the time of the fire and nobody was injured.

The Grade II listed pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.

Harrogate rail passengers have been warned to expect significant disruption to LNER services from October 1 to 9.

Major engineering works in the Newcastle area by Network Rail will affect many services on the LNER route during this period.

LNER operates six daily direct trains from Harrogate to London.

An LNER spokesman said:

“Journeys between Newcastle and Edinburgh will be affected, with some services diverted via the West Coast Main Line or by coach replacement, resulting in longer travel times.

“LNER services to and from Harrogate, Bradford, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Hull, Selby, Brough and Sunderland will also be affected.

“Customers in these areas should use local services to connect with LNER services on the East Coast Main Line.”

Read more:

• Northern’s new timetable includes early Harrogate to Leeds trains
• Murderer fell asleep after ‘brutally’ killing man in Harrogate

Some LNER services will also be amended on Monday, October 10 when the work is completed.

Rail strikes are scheduled to take place on October 1 and 5, causing further disruption to passengers on the York to Leeds service, which passes through Harrogate and Knaresborough, among other places.

The LNER spokesman added:

“We are reviewing the impact of this proposed action but expect an extremely limited timetable to be in place.

“During this period, we are advising customers to check before they travel and ensure they have a  seat reservation  as we are expecting trains to be extremely busy.”

A new Greggs shop is set to open in Knaresborough this year, the high street bakery giant has confirmed.

Its location has yet to be officially announced, but it is believed to be at the former Fultons Foods unit on the High Street.

The building has remained empty since the frozen food store closed in March 2021.

The former Fultons Foods store, 32 High Street, Knaresborough.

A Greggs spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“Greggs is due to open a new shop in Knaresborough later this year. While we are unable to share any details at the moment, we will be sure to share further information in the coming months.”

Read more:

• Fultons Foods in Knaresborough closes today
• Sneak Peek: The Secret Bakery, Knaresborough

A staff recruitment advert seeking ‘retail team members’ for the new branch has been posted online.

It lists the location as 32-32B High Street, the unit formerly occupied by Fultons.

The advert says:

“Our shop will trade from 6:30am through to 6pm, Monday through Saturday, and 8am until 6pm on a Sunday.

“We are looking to build a team to support this new shop for us.”

A popular village pub near Knaresborough has been put on the market for the first time in almost three decades.

The freehold of The Malt Shovel at Brearton has been listed for sale on property website RightMove at £550,000.

Owners Charlotte and Les Mitchell have decided to sell up after 28 years, having leased the pub for the last 18 years before retiring to Cumbria in 2015. Ms Mitchell said:

“When Les and I moved from the Scottish Highlands with our young children, we chose The Malt Shovel because of its prime setting in a beautiful village, within the aptly named ‘golden triangle’ between Harrogate, York and North Leeds.

“We fell in love with the sizeable and atmospheric, yet always welcoming, bar and dining areas and the four-bedroom apartment upstairs was perfect for our family. In fact, Brearton and The Malt Shovel ticked all the boxes.

“That was back in 1994 and 28 years later that has not been altered. It is still a superb village to live and work in and the catchment area remains affluent, popular and aspirational.

“The current lease is coming to an end, and aged 74 and 62, we think it’s time to pass this iconic building and business on to a new enthusiastic owner who can take it forward.”

The leasehold of the pub was last sold in 2017 for £40,000.

The property is now being marketed by Christie & Co, including the four-bedroom flat, which the company said gave it “potential to become a residential dwelling” or for letting accommodation.

The particulars describe the pub as “character-filled” but “neither listed nor an asset of community value”. The turnover is listed as £467,000, with an annual rental income of £38,000 or 11% of turnover from the current tenants who plan to continue to run the pub until a sale completes.

The pub has 65 covers inside and 35 outside, with parking for 15 cars. Christie & Co said it is currently fully booked for Christmas parties and there was potential to grow trade significantly outside the current opening hours of 12-3pm and 6-9pm Wednesday to Saturday, and noon until 6pm on Sunday, during which it is “trading exceptionally”.

Read more:

• Dacre Banks pub gives warning as it faces £65,000 energy bill
• Harrogate pub Christies reopens after refurb

The company highlighted the pub’s strong rating on TripAdvisor as well as its position in “one of the most desirable villages in North Yorkshire”.

Alex Rex, senior business agent in Christie & Co’s Pubs & Restaurants team, is handling the sale. He said:

“The sale of The Malt Shovel in Brearton offers an exciting opportunity for a new owner to carry on a highly reputable hospitality business or alternatively, acquire a great piece of real estate with potential for multiple uses, in a highly desirable village.

“There is a real shortage of good quality freehold, free of tie, properties on the market in North Yorkshire currently and the business is offered for a fantastic price, so we don’t expect it to be on the market for long.”

Harrogate’s The Secret Bakery has expanded and launched a second branch in Knaresborough.

The shop and cafe, in Market Place, sells baked goods, including artisan bread, cakes and sandwiches, which are all made at the Knaresborough Road site.

The new outlet, which also serves drinks, including coffee, is being run by the bakery’s co-owner Jane Spencer, a former teacher from Keighley.

She said:

“This shop used to be The Reading Room and we used to deliver bread here from our shop in Harrogate. When they decided to close, we thought it was a great opportunity for us to open in Knaresborough

“A lot of our Harrogate customers come from Knaresborough, so it’s nice that we can be here.

“I would say our most popular product is our bread, particularly our sourdough. People come from all over to buy it. Our cakes and scones are also really popular.”

Jane Spencer (right), co-owner of The Secret Bakery, Knaresborough and Aime McNaught in the new shop and cafe.

Opening hours are currently under review, but the aim is to eventually open seven days a week, from 8am until around 4pm and from 10am on a Sunday.

Read more:

• Hidden gem: Harrogate traditional bakery on the rise
• Red telephone box in Knaresborough transformed into tourist information hub

Mrs Spencer and her husband James bought The Secret Bakery in November 2020.

The business is continuing to grow, with work starting next week to develop the Harrogate site.

Mrs Spencer said:

“It will give us some more space in the back to make all the bread and cakes and everything.

“We are also going to be opening later from Thursday through to Sunday and offering things like bread and dips. We will also be serving alcohol.”

The cafe area at The Secret Bakery, Knaresborough.

A Porsche driver from Harrogate knocked down and killed a cyclist while scrolling through social media posts on his phone, it’s alleged.

James Bryan, 37, was rushing to get some shopping for his parents during the covid lockdown when his Porsche Carrera 911 ploughed into the back of a bicycle ridden by married father-of-two Andrew Jackson, 36, on the A168 between Wetherby and Boroughbridge, a jury at York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said that at the time of the collision, Mr Bryan’s Instagram and Facebook accounts were open.

She said Mr Bryan must have been looking at, scrolling through, or reading posts on social media in the moments before the crash at Allerton Park.

She said that Bryan had been taking cocaine and drinking at his friend’s house in Cheshire the night before the fatal collision at Rabbit Hill Park.

Although he wasn’t over the limit for either drink or drugs, there were traces of cocaine in his system.

Ms Richardson said that Bryan, who celebrated his 35^th birthday just two days before the fatal crash, would have been impaired by the drugs in his system and from being hungover and tired from the alcohol and festivities the night before.

‘Incredibly sad case’

Ms Richardson said that forensic analysis of Mr Bryan’s phone showed that at the time of the collision he had his Facebook and Instagram apps open.

He was on the way to drop some groceries off at his parents’ house. They were isolating during the covid lockdown when the accident occurred at about 1.40pm on May 10, 2020.

Mr Jackson was wearing a helmet on a straight stretch of road where visibility was good. Ms Richardson said:

“The front of the Porsche collided with the rear of Mr Jackson’s bike and Andrew Jackson came off his bike, went up in the air and hit his head on the windscreen and roof of the car, and landed on the road behind the car.”

“He was pronounced dead at the scene by an off-duty intensive-care consultant.

“This is an incredibly sad case. A young mother has lost her husband and father to two (very young) children. Her in-laws have lost their only son.”

Mr Bryan, of St Mary’s Avenue, Harrogate, has already admitted that he caused the death of Mr Jackson by careless driving in that he didn’t leave enough room to drive around the bicycle, but he denies causing death by dangerous driving on the grounds that he wasn’t using his phone at the time.

Head injuries

The prosecution insists that Mr Bryan’s driving was dangerous because he “wasn’t looking at the road ahead of him” as his car approached Mr Jackson. Ms Richardson said:

“If he had been (looking ahead of him) he would have had an uninterrupted view of the road (for) over 500 metres.”

Mr Bryan, who had been at a barbecue the night before to celebrate his birthday and set off for home early the following morning, called 999 moments after the accident and told a call operator he thought the cyclist was dead.

Other motorists, including the off-duty doctor and his medically trained wife, were on the scene in minutes and called police and an ambulance, but Mr Jackson had already died from head injuries.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested Mr Bryan, who was “very distressed” and appeared to be in shock.

A roadside drug-impairment test showed that Mr Bryan was positive for cocaine but not over the specified legal limit.

Read more:

• Cocaine dealer jailed for ‘peddling misery’ in Harrogate
• Man to appear in court charged with arson at Knaresborough pub

Subsequent forensic examination of his phone showed that it was unlocked in the moments before the crash and the Instagram and Facebook apps were open.

Mr Bryan was taken in for questioning and told police that after arriving back home from Cheshire he decided to do some shopping for his parents who were shielding because his father had cancer.

He said that Mr Jackson, who lived locally, “came out of nowhere” but then claimed the cyclist had veered into the middle of the road and that he had tried to overtake him, only for the cyclist to “swerve into my path”.

An accident investigator who carried out a reconstruction of the crash said that the bike was not in the middle of the road, but on the edge of the carriageway, near a grass verge, and that Mr Bryan had not tried to move around the bicycle.

Mr Bryan told police he had gone to Cheshire the day before to view a “potential development site” and that he wanted to become a property developer.

In one message found on his phone on the way back from Cheshire, Mr Bryan told a friend he was hungover from the night before and was “concerned about being late for his parents with their shopping”.

In another sent by Mr Bryan to a female friend while he was at the birthday party, he told her: “I’m so drunk I can’t see.”

‘Fit to drive’

Defence barrister Sophia Dower claimed that Mr Bryan was in a “fit and proper state” to drive and was not using his phone at the time of the crash.

She claimed that Mr Jackson’s bike had veered right from the edge of the road into the path of Mr Bryan’s black Porsche, and that her client “didn’t have enough time to react”.

Witnesses including the off-duty doctor and his wife said they saw the cyclist with torn clothes lying on his back in the road.

The doctor said that when he checked for a pulse there was none, and he certified him dead at the scene.

He said that when he told the Porsche driver the cyclist was dead, he “moved backwards, crouched down and put his hands on his head”.

He said Mr Jackson had suffered a serious head injury and his helmet was broken.

The trial continues.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

A Knaresborough-based energy company has been given the green light to develop New Zealand’s largest solar farm in Waikato.

Harmony Energy will create the development, which will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.

The country’s Environmental Protection Authority has approved Harmony’s proposal for the 147-megawatt solar farm to be installed on 182 hectares of a 260-hectare site at Te Aroha West, 140 kilometres south of Auckland.

Harmony Energy director, Pete Grogan, who is based in New Zealand, said: 

“We are thrilled this important renewable development can now proceed. Renewable energy is critical to mitigate the negative impact of climate change and help support New Zealand’s net zero ambition.

“One of the great advantages of solar power is that it accommodates dual use of land, allowing for energy generation alongside continued farming production, as will happen at Tauhei.

“This proposal creates opportunities for local businesses and employment and creates significant biodiversity gains. We will deliver an exceptional project that Waikato can be proud of.”

Read More: 

• Business Breakfast: Harrogate private hospital joins forces with Mumsnet
• Business Breakfast: Knaresborough firms to be quizzed on energy bills

Yorkshire estate agent introduces online auction

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley.

Harrogate district estate agents Dacre, Son & Hartley has introduced a new online auction service.

The service allows people to buy and sell land and property online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The company, which has offices in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge, partnered with Bamboo Auctions to launch the service.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said:

“This new service is specifically designed to make it quick, easy and straightforward to list and sell properties and vendors don’t have to wait to join other sellers in a collective auction catalogue.

“Buying and selling a property through this method provides each party with an additional degree of certainty, because once the auction ends, both the buyer and seller are legally bound to proceed with the transaction, in accordance with the published terms and conditions.”