Coronavirus has forced a Knaresborough manufacturer to adapt its trolleys and racks for use in morgues, rather than catering venues.

Craven & Co has been in operation for more than 60 years, with 80% of its products used in the catering and hospitality industries.

During lockdown many of these orders dropped off, but the company’s previous work making medical supplies meant that it won a vital NHS contract.

It was tasked with making frontline medical equipment for the Nightingale hospitals, including 12,500 IV stands, which were transported across the country.

Wez Dance, its director, said this came as a “godsend” that led to further NHS work. The new contract also encouraged Craven & Co to move into the mortuary industry as it had previously planned.

Its existing products such as racks and trolleys can be easily adapted for mortuaries.

Mr Dance suspected the high numbers of catering and hospitality orders they received pre-lockdown would never return and that diversifying was necessary.

He said:

“The world changed last March and the impact on the hospitality industry was a massive, massive hit for us. We knew we had to diversify and go into new markets to survive.”

Read more:

• Ripley dog groomer misses out on vital covid grant at the last minute.
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The company appointed a new sales manager, Trevor Russ, with previous experience in the mortuary industry to help with the expansion.

Mr Dance added:

“We are delighted to welcome Trevor at such an exciting time in Craven & Co’s story. Over 60 years, we’ve become known for our high-quality British-made products, quick turnaround, competitive pricing and great customer service, not to mention our bespoke solutions. We’re hoping these elements, combined with Trevor’s knowledge and expertise, will help us break into a niche market.”

Banks are being urged to consider collaborating in North Yorkshire to create one-stop shops for their services on high streets.

The closure of banks has been keenly felt in the Harrogate district recently.

The Halifax closed in Knaresborough this month, leaving a town with a population of 15,000 without a bank.

This prompted Harrogate Borough Council to conduct a survey on what facilities Knaresborough people would like to see in the town.

Between 2015 and the end of this year a projected 340 bank and building society branches will have closed across Yorkshire, leaving 386 branches.

HSBC recently announced it would shut its branches in Northallerton and Richmond.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Richmondshire constituency committee heard a scarcity of banks was proving particularly challenging in rural areas, where people suffer with poor broadband and mobile coverage, and there are higher populations of older customers.

One resident, Georgie Sale, told the meeting the branch closures displayed “a lack of understanding in how rural communities work”.

She said as a result of the closures she had been left feeling “terribly vulnerable” while queuing for 30 minutes to pay in the proceeds from a village hall fundraiser at her local post office, which is now located at the back of WH Smiths.

Read more:

• Knaresborough’s last bank to close on Monday
• Harrogate police tell public not to visit banks for the ‘social aspect’

Councillors said customers wanting to use banking services faced horrendous queues in post offices as their staff had been overwhelmed since the banks closed.

The meeting heard how access to bank services for numerous communities was reliant on just one firm continuing to operate.

A council spokesman told the meeting although the council recognised the issues being highlighted and would continue to raise concerns, neither the authority nor the government had any power to stop bank closures.

Rural areas losing out

Following an inquiry into the issue by the authority’s corporate and partnerships scrutiny committee inquiry in 2019, the council carried out a review of sites where cash machines could be located.

However, Liberal Democrat councillor Bryn Griffiths said the issue was far wider than just cash machines and said places where people could deal with someone person to person, particularly for complex transactions, were needed.

He said:

“Not everybody wants to use or trusts IT. I think we should be encouraging banks to get together and knock their heads together and perhaps join up and provide some sort of banking services facility. I do feel we are losing out in the rural areas significantly.

“What we should be doing is encouraging banks to talk and work together to provide services to rural communities. It is clear they are just upping shop and walking away. It is not good enough.”

The meeting was told one-stop shop banks, offering not only personal banking services and loans, but also investment advice, investment vehicles and insurance policies, were common in other countries, such as Sweden, and the meeting heard calls for the county’s MPs to promote the concept to banks.

Conservative Upper Dales councillor Yvonne Peacock said local solutions were needed as every community was different. She added: “That is probably the only way forward. We can’t tell these big banks what to do unfortunately, that is their businesses.”

Fire crews were summoned twice in half an hour last night to two deliberate fires in the woods in Knaresborough.

The callouts were part of a busy night in the Harrogate district for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, which also attended two incidents in Harrogate.

The first woodland fire occurred at 6.55pm when bracken and tree branches were set alight at the bottom of Nidd Bank cul-de-sac, close to the River Nidd.

Less than half an hour later more branches were set ablaze on the other side of the river, opposite Conyngham Hall.

A crew from Knaresborough extinguished both fires using water backpacks.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“We can’t say for certain but it looks like the two fires were caused deliberately.”

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Crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough were then called to reports of a dishwasher emitting sparks in Rutland Road, Harrogate shortly after 11pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s incident summary says:

“The occupier of the property used a dry powder extinguisher before fire crews arrived.

“Crews disconnected the appliance from the mains and checked it over as well as giving advice. They used a thermal imaging camera only.

“The cause is believed to be an electrical fault.”

At 2.39am this morning, two crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough attended a small bag of rubbish set on fire in flats on Robert Street. A security guard had put out the flames by the time they arrived.

Police were also called to the scene.

People in Knaresborough are being asked to comment on a proposed 78-home housing development on the site of the now demolished Trelleborg factory on Halfpenny Lane.

Countryside Properties, which is part of the Pegasus Group, is behind the scheme. They are yet to submit a formal planning application but say comments will help inform the types of homes it will include.

The site is not allocated for housing in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, but it is included on the council’s Brownfield Land Register which identifies sites that are considered to be appropriate for redevelopment for residential use.

Read more:

• Plans in for 2,000-job business park near Knaresborough
• Plans for Knaresborough pool ‘catastrophic’ for environment

A website for the development claims the company specialises in homes that focus on “energy efficiency and green living, making people’s lives and the environment a better place to be.”

The consultation ends on April 7 and people can submit their comments here.

Meanwhile, work recently begun on a separate development on Halfpenny Lane where Persimmon Homes is building 74 homes. The first homes are expected to be completed this Autumn.

“Please be considerate of others who are desperately trying to get appointments in the area.”

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• More than half of Harrogate district population receive covid vaccine
• ‘Insult to injury’: Ripley dog groomer misses out on vital covid grant

Double, double toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. This hidden gem of a lockdown business inspired by witches has been brewing up a different kind of magic.

Coven Bakehouse, set up by friends Mark Gibson and James Paylor, started out of a small home kitchen in Harrogate earlier this year.

While a conventional oven is working for now they are keen to upgrade to a professional kitchen as soon as possible.

Orders are already picking up for their brownies and cookies – with more treats are on the way – so they now have an eye on a shop unit on Knaresborough’s High Street.

Both Mark and James, who are both 27 and met when they were 16, work in industries that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

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However, the pair hope to have the doors open to customers in Knaresborough by the end of summer.

Indulgence is the name of the game here. Coven has a limited collection of caramel egg brownies, chocolate orange brownies and various gooey cookies.

James Paylor, a graphic designer and co owner of Coven Bakehouse, told the Stray Ferret what inspired the branding:

“That came from my partner, she works at Mother Shipton’s Cave and she is obsessed with witches. You have to be to work there.

“We were throwing around lots of names and as soon as she said it we knew it was the right thing. From then things started to fit into place.

“So it would perfect to start out our first shop in Knaresborough.”

Mark Gibson, who is a chef by trade, also told the Stray Ferret:

“It was halfway through the first lockdown when we saw lots of businesses selling cakes and stuff.

“We were looking at what they were doing and knew we could do it a hell of a lot better.

“So we knew if we were going to ever start a business, which is what we have always wanted to do, then now was the perfect time.”

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series. We are trying to highlight small independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.

Harrogate and District Green Party has attacked “unforgivable” plans to build Knaresborough’s new leisure centre on a playing field popular with children and dog walkers.

Harrogate Borough Council, which is behind the plans for the new facility to replace the town’s existing swimming pool at Fysche Field, has begun drawing up designs after a survey showed just over 80% of respondents were in support of the site.

But some residents have criticised the consultation process and are mounting a campaign to protect the playing field next to the leisure centre from development.

They said the survey was poorly publicised and failed to attract enough responses – and now the Green Party has also accused the council of being “completely misleading” as it did not disclose the loss of green space during the consultation.

Shan Oakes, the party’s coordinator and former parliamentary candidate, said:

“This was either total incompetence from the council or them being disingenuous.

“The consultation should be null and void because the wording of the questions was completely misleading and only 471 people responded.”

Harrogate Borough Council previously defended the survey saying it was “well publicised” and that the comments submitted “will help shape the future of the facility”.

Read more:

• Plans for Knaresborough pool ‘catastrophic’ for environment
• Knaresborough farmers’ market returns this weekend

A spokesperson also said the amount of green space that could be lost has not yet been determined and would be subject to approval of a planning application.

As part of the consultation held over December and January, the council-owned Knaresborough House, Hay-a-Park and Conyngham Hall were also considered as potential sites for the new leisure centre.

‘Precious green space’

There was also a privately-owned site at Halfpenny Lane, which Shan Oakes said had won the support of the Green Party before it was discounted by the council. She said:

“We were in favour of this site because it is brownfield and in the right location. Fysche Field, however, should not be touched as it is a precious green space used by so many.

“The pandemic has shown that green spaces are so vital for our mental health and keeping people connected – and it is unforgivable that the council would even think about taking this away.

“Their so-called green credentials are actually a greenwash and we will fight these plans every step of the way.”

A council spokesman said:

“Although the existing site in Knaresborough has been recommended, we are still in the early stages and no formal plans have been submitted. Once submitted they will be subject to the normal planning application process.

“The current venue is nearing 30 years old, is operating at capacity, only provides a swimming pool and has a number of on-going maintenance issues which are not resolvable without significant investment.

“Once completed, the new leisure centre will provide energy efficient, state-of-the art facilities that will encourage a healthier and more active lifestyle for our residents and something they can be proud of.”

If the plans are approved, the new leisure centre will include a new 25-metre pool, a 66-station gym and two studio spaces, and could be built by the end of 2023.

People are being invited to comment on designs for three schemes to enhance walking and cycling in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire County Council has received £1,011,750 from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund for four schemes in the country, three of which are in the Harrogate district.

The Harrogate schemes are:

• A59 (Harrogate Road, Knaresborough) between Badger Mount and Maple Close;
• Oatlands Drive between Hookstone Road and Knaresborough Road;
• Victoria Avenue near the County Court, between the A61 (West Park) and Station Parade.

Following the first phase of consultation, North Yorkshire County Council removed a controversial one-way system for the Oatlands Drive scheme. It has been replaced with a 20 mph zone and traffic calming measures in the nearby Saints area.

NYCC says the results of the consultation will be used to develop the draft designs further before a decision is made on which schemes to progress.

Here is a look at the proposals:

Oatlands Drive

• A 20mph zone would be created from Hookstone Drive to York Place.
• Only bicycles would be allowed to enter St Hilda’s Road from Oatlands Drive.
• Motorists would be able to enter St Winifred’s Drive from Oatlands Drive but not exit. Anyone leaving would need to travel via St Hilda’s Road.
• New junction improvements would be created on Hookstone Drive and York Place.

A59 (Harrogate Road, Knaresborough)

• Two 1.5m cycle lanes would be created, which would be separated from the rest of the road by a double white line.
• The speed limit between Badger Mount and Maple Close would be reduced from 50mph to 40mph.
• Centre traffic islands would be removed.
• A crossing near Harrogate Golf Club would be improved for pedestrians and cyclists.

Read more:

• Half of responses ‘strongly oppose’ Oatlands Drive plan
• 1,000 sign petition calling for Oatlands cycling plans to be scrapped

Victoria Avenue, Harrogate

• 1.5m cycle lanes would be created on both sides of the road.
• New pedestrian and cycle crossings would be created.
• Modifications would be made on the West Park and Station Parade junctions.
• A possible staggered zebra crossing and floating bus stop would be created.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“We thank all those residents who took part in the first round of consultation on the outline proposals for these four schemes.

“We have listened to that and are trying to reach a broad consensus about the measures we put in place, given that these directly affect people’s movements and their property.

“We think we can come up with something that addresses most of the concerns raised, but that still provides significant benefits for people who are cycling and walking.

“We encourage residents to take part in this latest consultation. Your views are important to us and they will help shape the final designs of these four schemes.”

You can take part in the consultation, which ends on April 12, here. 

The developers behind a new business park near Knaresborough that could create up to 2,000 jobs have formally submitted proposals.

Opus North and Bridges Fund Management have sent plans to Harrogate Borough Council to transform a 45-acre site into a mixed-use development designed to support offices, logistics operators and tech firms.

The site – to be called Harrogate 47 – is located at Flaxby near junction 47 of the A1(M) and was acquired by the developers in October last year.

It is allocated as the main strategic employment site in the council’s Local Plan and already has existing planning permission for more than half a million square feet of employment space.

The new plans include up to 130,000 sq ft of office accommodation, about 75,000 sq ft of tech starter units and approximately 430,000 sq ft for logistics and warehouses.

A spokesperson for the developers said the existing planning permission allows for the commencement of the site’s enabling works so it can be made “oven-ready” for the main construction to start as soon as the new consent is granted.

Guy Bowden, a partner at Bridges Fund Management, added:

“As Harrogate 47 is such an important site with immense potential to make a significant economic contribution to the local area, we are keen to maintain momentum and as such are commencing preparatory works.

“The work being undertaken will ensure that the plots are ready for construction to begin, which could be as early as summer 2021, and our appointed agents are already in detailed discussions with potential occupiers who have expressed an interest in the scheme.”

The appointed industrial agents for Harrogate 47 are CBRE and Gent Visick, with the office enquiries directed to the office agency teams at CBRE.

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Oliver Freer, from CBRE’s northern planning team, which prepared the planning application, said:

“The new masterplan for Junction 47 responds to the market demand for employment accommodation for office, hi-tech/hybrid and logistics uses in this location, and is in accordance with the land allocation of the site.

“A successful consent would allow much-needed commercial space to be delivered, enabling local companies to stay and attracting new inward investment into the district, whilst unlocking the potential for some 2,000 new local jobs.”

Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, added:

“We have been working hard with our appointed consultancy team and key stakeholders since we acquired the site to progress a masterplan that would maximise the job-creating potential of the site whilst addressing current and anticipated regional demand for sustainable office and industrial accommodation.

“We are confident that our application captures these aspects and look forward to seeing the initial works start on site to facilitate development.”

Knaresborough farmers’ market is making a comeback on Saturday.

The monthly market will return with 12 food stalls selling everything from Indian treats to cakes and vegetables.

Stalls will be trading on the town’s Market Square at the usual time of 10am to 3pm.

The market will be the first in the Harrogate district run by Yorkshire Farmers’ Markets to reopen.

It has taken place several years, attracting many locals and visitors but the organisers expect the first one back this weekend may be quieter than usual.

Jane Chidley, market officer at Yorkshire Farmers’ Markets, said:

“We are thrilled to get back to it. All the stallholders were eager to get back as soon as they could.

“We are encouraging people to follow social distancing rules and won’t be offering tasters.”

Due to lockdown the market could only be held for a few months in 2020 and stopped again in January this year.

Ms Chidley said she was hopeful that this time the market, which will take place in Knaresborough on the third Saturday each month, will be “back for good”.

Read more:

• Betty’s is set to start reopening by the end of the month. 
• Knaresborough’s Fultons Foods store has now closed. 

The Harrogate farmers’ market will return on April 15. It is usually held on the second Thursday of each month on Cambridge Street but has been pushed back a week in April to coincide with shops reopening on April 12.