Police commissioner candidate promises action on dog thefts

The Conservative candidate for the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections has pledged to take a tougher stance on dog theft.

Philip Allott, who lives in Knaresborough, believes many frustrated dog owners feel some police forces treat the crime as low priority.

Mr Allott highlighted a survey showing dog thefts increased by 250% last year due to gangs cashing in on the demand for puppies during lockdown.

Sought-after breeds, such as French bulldogs, can sell for more than £5,000 and a litter can fetch £35,000.

If elected, Mr Allott would not be able to change operational police policy but he pledged to lobby those who can.

Last week he discussed dog thefts on a group call with Home Secretary Priti Patel, who said she would consider further action.

Voters will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a successor to Julia Mulligan.

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election was delayed last year due to covid.

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Mr Allott told the Stray Ferret today:

“The rising prices of dogs have made them a target for criminals. Most would probably make more money stealing a dog than a wallet.

“Laws are now relatively robust with sentences up to five years but many criminals receive just a caution or a fine.

“PFCCs cannot change the law but we can make representations. I have already been on a call with the Home Secretary and I have also shared a survey on Twitter.”

The following candidates so far have announced they are standing for election as commissioner:

The final list of nominations will be published on April 9.

Knaresborough museum renews fundraising appeal

The deadline for a fundraising appeal to create a Knaresborough Museum has been extended after it failed to reach its target of £35,000.

Knaresborough Museum Association launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £35,000 in January.

It plans to open the first Knaresborough Town Museum in the former Castle Girls’ School in Castle Yard.

Archeology, geology and social history will be at the heart of the new museum. Exhibitions about the Trinitarian priory, World War Two and the dinosaur era are already planned.

But donations have so far raised only about £20,000, prompting the association to renew its appeal to local people to get on board. The crowdfunding appeal has generated about £11,500 but other donations have boosted the total to £20,000.

Association chair Kathy Allday said she was “very optimistic” the target would be reached but said if it wasn’t the project would still go ahead, albeit with amended plans.

The main works to the foyer would be affected, which might limit access for wheelchair users and people with mobility issue. Ms Allday assured people that, if this were the case, fundraising would continue to make the museum accessible for all as soon as possible.

Since plans for the opening began, association volunteers have been researching the town ahead of the launch of exhibitions, which has led to discoveries about the town’s priory.

The family of the late author and local historian, Arnold Kellet, has donated part of his archive of artefacts and research about the town to help with the exhibitions.

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Ms Allday said:

“I know the museum is something people want. Even if it’s just £10 it all helps.

“We extended the deadline to keep going and to raise money. We are dependent on the support of the community to donate and volunteer for this to be a success.”

The group still plans to make the project a reality by the end of the year.

 

 

Thieves rip Knaresborough ATM from wall

Thieves appear to have stolen an ATM machine at the Co-Op petrol station on Wetherby Road in Knaresborough.

The incident is believed to have taken place during the early hours of the morning today.

A resident who lives nearby posted on a Knaresborough Facebook group to say he was awoken by a loud bang at 3am.

It seems the thieves managed to ripped out the ATM and escape with the money.

The petrol station was taped off by police earlier today but is now back open.

The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Police for details but has not received a response.

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Two-thirds support Knaresborough leisure centre site

A total of 69 per cent of survey respondents “strongly agree” the new leisure centre should be built on the existing site.

Harrogate Borough Council chose the current site on King James Road as its preferred option in November.

The subsequent six-week consultation, which attracted 471 responses, found widespread agreement.

Conyngham Hall, Knaresborough House and Hay-a-Park were the other options.

A thousand residents signed a petition to save Conyngham Hall when it was named as a possible location.

Plans for the new leisure centre, which could be built by the end of 2023, include a 25-metre pool and a gym.

Several supportive comments said using the same site would protect green spaces elsewhere from development.

Another response described it as the “perfect location .. best location for this development …the site is already there”.

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Some people suggested other locations would better suit the development. They included the new housing developments on Boroughbridge Road and St James retail park.

Knaresborough Pool is set to remain closed for the foreseeable, despite new lockdown measures. The council has said engineers from Spain are unable to travel to the town to make the repairs.

How do you feel about the new leisure centre in Knaresborough? Do you agree with the preferred location or are changes needed? Let us know via contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Knaresborough vaccine site prepares to give 10,000 jabs a week

The company running Knaresborough’s new vaccination centre plans to administer 10,000 jabs a week from next month and create a “carnival atmosphere”.

The centre, which is run by Knaresborough-based Homecare Pharmacy Services, is made up of two modular units at the old Lidl site on York Road.

During Saturday’s opening day, which started at 8.30am and finished at 8.30pm, pharmacy staff got the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab in the arms of 850 people.

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However, many people turned up too early on the opening day, causing delays, and the company hopes that when such teething problems are overcome it will be able to inoculate more than 1,400 people a day.

That ambitious target is only just a little behind the mass vaccination site at the Great Yorkshire Showgrouund in Harrogate, which currently gives out 1,800 vaccines a day.

Homecare Pharmacy Services has urged people to turn up only a maximum of 5 minutes early and to also bring their NHS numbers to help speed up the process.

It was a sunny and warm day on Saturday for people queueing but the weather could easily worsen. Pharmacy boss Jason Baskind told the Stray Ferret about his plans to keep spirits up:

“We would like to create a bit of a carnival atmosphere for those waiting. We will of course control social distancing but we want some entertainment in the car park.

“The town choir and other musicians will come to the vaccine centre and hopefully that takes attention away from the queueing.

“We are told that vaccine supply will improve significantly by the end of March so by April we hope to be open every day and give out 10,000 jabs a week.”

Knaresborough vaccine centre opens at former supermarket

Knaresborough’s vaccine centre opened in the car park of a former supermarket today.

It is the first pharmacy-led site in the Harrogate district, which also has vaccine centres in Harrogate and Ripon.

This latest centre, which is run by Knaresborough-based Homecare Pharmacy Services, is made up of two modular units at the old Lidl on York Road, Knaresborough.

It can administer up to 1,200 jabs a day, depending on supply.

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The centre has the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, as it is easier to store.

Sarah Bennington, who was amongst the first through the doors, told the Stray Ferret after her jab:

“I feel a bit safer now, it has been a long wait. I would tell anyone who is a bit hesitant to go for it.

“The jab didn’t hurt at all.”

Jason Baskind, of Homecare Pharmacy Services, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have had our lives on hold for a long time now; this is absolutely saving lives.

“Just to be involved in getting people back on their feet again, I feel honoured to be part of it.”

Knaresborough pool stays closed with engineers stuck in Spain

Knaresborough swimming pool is set to remain closed for the coming months with engineers unable to travel due to covid restrictions.

Harrogate Borough Council said, in a residents’ newsletter released yesterday, that the equipment was in need of urgent repairs.

The council added that manufacturer, based in Spain, was unable to send engineers over to fix the equipment due to the current travel bans.

It has said the pool will remain closed until further notice.

Under the Prime Minister’s roadmap out of lockdown the ban on international travel is set to be reviewed in the third stage on May 17. This could leave Knaresborough residents without their pool for another three months.

In the meantime, the Hydro in Harrogate, Nidderdale leisure centre and pool and Ripon leisure centre will open on 12 April.

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The council has also said it won’t be able to reopen Ripon Spa or Starbeck Baths from April 12. This is because many of the staff have been redeployed to frontline services.

The council didn’t offer a further comment at the time of publication.

Knaresborough’s last bank to close on Monday

Knaresborough’s 15,000 population will be left without a bank on Monday when the final branch closes.

The Halifax said it was closing its Market Square branch because of changing customer habits.

The branch was meant to close in May but stayed open to support the town during the pandemic.

This decision means the nearest banks for townsfolk will be in Harrogate and Ripon, although they can withdraw money or check their balance, as well as pay in cheques and money, at the town’s High Street post office.

A Halifax spokesperson said:

“We have made the difficult decision to close Knaresborough on March 1 due to the changing ways customers choose to bank with us, which means the branch is being used less often.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”

News of the bank’s closure prompted 1,200 people to sign a petition to keep it open.

Kala Timson, who runs children’s shoe shop Stomp in the market place, said the closure would be a “big loss” to Knaresborough. She said:

“We don’t use that branch for the business but I use it for my personal banking. We now have to use the post office.

“It’s overstretched as it is and over the pandemic they’ve worked so hard but queues have been going down the street. It will affect an awful lot of people.”

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The Halifax cash machine will also be removed, leaving the town with only two other cash points in the town centre.

Harrogate Borough Council ran a consultation until January 7 to gather views on Knaresborough banking services. The results are yet to be published.

The outcome will inform discussions between the council, community leaders and banking providers.

Councillor Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said:

“Sadly, we can’t stop them closing and we can’t promise anything in the future, but what we can do is put pressure on banking providers and show them that there is a need in the town.”

Harrogate district vaccine boost as over 50s prepare for jab

The Harrogate district is to receive a vaccine boost this week, as inoculations are set to be rolled out to the over 50s.

A vaccination site in Knaresborough, which will be able to administer jabs to 1,000 people a week, is due to open in the town’s former Lidl on Saturday.

It means the district, which now has vaccination sites in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough, is on track to achieve the government target of offering all over 50s the jab by April 15.

The Knaresborough site is run by Homecare Pharmacy Services, which is based in the town.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said today it was likely other community pharmacies could start offering the vaccine in North Yorkshire as the rollout filters down to everyone over the age of 18 by the end of July.

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Speaking at a media briefing today. Ms Bloor said the Knaresborough site would administer 800 vaccines next week and had the capacity to give up to 1,000 jabs per week. She added:

“This is just part of the wider rollout across the country. I think it is likely other community pharmacies will start to come on stream.

“As of yesterday, North Yorkshire and York reached 249,000 first doses of the vaccines. So it’s significant progress and the teams are doing a fantastic job.

“We have moved further down the priority list, so we are working on the over 65s. There’s no need to contact your GP. You will be contacted directly.”

Council approves new footpaths for Conyngham Hall

Plans for new footpaths and signposts on the Conyngham Hall grounds in Knaresborough have been approved by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee.

A retrospective planning application was put before the committee this week to allow councillors to vote on the works done on the popular walking spot.

The works included the resurfacing of existing footpaths as well as the construction of a new footpath on the banks of the River Nidd. Timber steps were also put into a steep section of Collins Banks.

These renovations were done alongside local environmental groups and the parks department.

A retrospective application means most of the works have already been completed. They were carried out throughout last year using government funding from the Pocket Park Grant Funding. The total cost has been £27,000.

Conyngham Hall Knaresborough

The plans include new footpaths and signposts. Photograph: Harrogate Borough Council

The application was approved with 10 councillors voting for and two abstaining.

However, one Liberal Democrat councillor and a member of the public raised their concerns during the meeting.

Both said the size of the stones was too large. The member of the public added that the new footpath had created muddy and flooded surfaces.

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Cllr Pat Marsh said she had fallen on the new footpath twice and had heard other walkers had fallen too. She voted for the application but wanted to ensure smaller stones were used to cover these footpaths in the future.

She said:

“Initially they had to have signs put up to ask people to take care walking on the new footpaths. The bigger stone made it difficult to walk it some areas especially the steep sections. We need to ensure it’s safe for everyone.”

The council’s parks department added that further works are planned to “top up” some of the current works to improve the walkways.