North Yorkshire Police has issued an appeal after receiving reports of a naked man performing a “lewd act” in Knaresborough.

Officers said the man was seen by a family walking who were through the grounds of Mother Shipton’s Cave at 4pm on Wednesday (August 12).

He was spotted by a member of the family standing on a hill and, seconds later, they realised he was performing a lewd act.

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• Police warn Knaresborough residents over security after suspicious incidents
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A police statement said:

“On realising he had been seen, the naked man walked off into some bushes.

“The man is described as white, aged in his 60s, around six foot tall, of slim build, and possibly had grey hair.

“Police are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or has any other information that could assist the investigation, to contact them.”

Anyone with information should call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for PC Stephen Bromley, or email Stephen.bromley@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

A group hoping to form the Knaresborough Business Improvement District (BID) is developing a business plan before moving into the campaign phase next year.

The group has its task force in place and now wants to engage more local businesses.

It has employed consultants to speak to businesses within the town in order to gain support for a ballot in March.

BID organisations work with funds collected from businesses – this is an additional levy to business rates. Knaresborough’s BID will use a band structure based on the rateable value of each business to determine how much they contribute.

Treasurer of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and BID representative, Bill Taylor, said:

“We’ve now got around two thirds of the money we need for the project. We currently have around 30 businesses who are supportive and we need approximately 100 businesses to support us to gain a majority.

“The business plan is based on needs of business but we want them to add to it – we want to give them the platform to express their opinions. Undersold and unknown were two of the words highlighted in a survey of Knaresborough businesses last year and we want to change that. We want to improve the public view of Knaresborough to increase visitors and then encourage business.”

Common themes adopted by BIDs include improving marketing, further support for businesses, support for visitors to boost trade and accessibility and sustainability within the town. All of these are being discussed by Knaresborough BID.

Read More:

• Council leader steps down from Harrogate BID. 
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Harrogate Borough Council has offered its support to the BID, and will be a large contributor. The BID also hopes to work closely with the Knaresborough Chamber of Trade.

Harrogate BID has faced criticism this year – four board members including the chair stepped down stating there was undue influence by the council. More recently the council leader Richard Cooper also stood down.

BIDs across the country can encounter issues when trying to find a common ground for the objectives within its business plan. Bill Taylor says Knaresborough’s size is an advantage:

“We have to be careful of getting fractured and disjointed which due to our small size we’re hoping to avoid.”

The members of Knot Another Choir in Knaresborough have been shortlisted for the local talent show after continuing to rehearse during the pandemic via video.

Prior to coronavirus the choir had plans to put on a charity concert for Yorkshire Cancer Research. Instead it has entered ‘Knaresborough’s Got Talent’ with a rendition of the Beatles song ‘With a little from my friends’.

Rehearsals have remained similar to those face to face, with choir leader Craig Lees committed to maintaining a high level of performance.

Choir leader, Craig Lees, said:

“From very early on in the pandemic it was clear to me that we had to find a way to stay connected, to foster positivity and try our best to feel normal in such an abnormal time.

Our online rehearsals have provided us a place to sing, laugh and get to know each other on a deeper level than we ever could during our usual manic rehearsal schedule. We have all battled through this together, and will continue to do so until such a time that we can all sing together in the same room.”

The talent videos will be released on feva festival’s Facebook page from Friday with the public deciding the winner.

The choir is excited to return to face to face rehearsals but is unable to confirm when this can be.

The 89 members aged from 24 to 93 began bulletins which included member profiles to encourage everyone to connect during lockdown.

Committee member, Julie Bradbury-Sharp, said:

“When we were told we had to lockdown it was difficult, but we started doing zoom sessions to keep it going. Its not the same as in our rehearsal room and giving someone a hug but we made it work.

“I think we’re a long way off being able to be in the same room again. There’s a lot of people in our choir who get a lot out of our rehearsals, and we want them to know we are still going!”

Read more:

• Theatres across the district have supported the ‘Red Alert’ campaign to highlight the struggling live entertainment industry. 
• Harrogate theatre announces it will remain closed until 2021. 

The other acts shortlisted for Knaresborough’s Got Talent are:

• Julie Wrightson singing ‘Andante Andante’
• Kellie Reed singing ‘Heart of Stone’
• Danielle Wilson accompanied by her cousin Emma Chatto on piano

An art teacher from Harrogate who has a terminal cancer diagnosis will use her last exhibition to raise money for the staff who tried to save her life.

Sharon Tinayre Carrick is well-known as a teacher at Rosset Adult Learning centre, where she gets students to use art to improve their wellbeing.

The bowel cancer diagnosis doctors gave her last year meant that she had no work to do so needed something to occupy her time. Sharon found that she needed to practice what she had taught.

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Months of treatment did not work for Sharon and resulted in her body rejecting anything the doctors at the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillian Centre would try to treat her with.

Mrs Carrick, who signs her work by her middle name Tinayre, used her experience with cancer and her bucket list and 50th birthday trip to Venice as inspiration.

Gallopers by Tinayre

The “Was I really there!” is a mixture of different mediums from the start of her cancer diagnosis leading up to Sharon’s trip to Venice.

Art in the Mill in Knaresborough will host the exhibition from August 28 to September 11. All profits will go towards the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillian Centre.

Sharon Carrick told the Stray Ferret while on treatment at St Michael’s Hospice:

“We had planned to hold the exhibition earlier in the year but had to postpone because of coronavirus, so that was really tough. My terminal diagnosis came on the same day that I got the date for my new exhibition. I hope that I can make it to the show.”

A high speed police chase in Harrogate last night ended in a crash and the arrest of a 19-year-old suspected burglar.

Earlier in the night, at around 2.45am, burglars entered a house on St Helen’s Road before fleeing in a Mercedes parked on the driveway.

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• Harrogate 16-year-old girl missing for five days
• Two teens arrested after burglaries in Harrogate and Knaresborough
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Just 15 minutes later North Yorkshire Police took a second report of a ‘two in one’ burglary on St Clement’s Road where another Mercedes was reported stolen.

The police started to chase the car which drove off at speed along Hookstone Chase and Forest Moor Road, causing damage to parked cars. It crashed on Thistle Hill in Knaresborough.

@NYPDogSection and @HarrogatePolice assist in area search. We continue patrol and find Male suspected to be involved. #arrested sus burglary and other offences. #OperationalSupport @teamnyp 2/2 pic.twitter.com/65QqOl486Y

— NYP Operational Support Unit (@NYPRoadCrime) August 10, 2020

Shortly after, the police arrested a 19-year-old man from the Harrogate area and took him into custody where he remains for questioning.

North Yorkshire Police has asked anyone with information or footage from last night to call them on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Use North Yorkshire Police reference numbers 12200137651 for the St Helen’s Road burglary and 12200137663 for the St Clement’s Road burglary,

A new micropub could soon open at Knaresborough’s train station to serve up real ale and gin.

The Track and Sleeper would take over a couple of vacant units at the station if the plans submitted to Harrogate Borough Council are approved.

Housed in a Grade II listed building dating back to 1865, there will be much interest in any redevelopment plans. The council document describes the alterations for the micropub as “sympathetic to both the external and internal aspects of the building”.

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This is what it could look like, according to plans submitted with the application

Knaresborough Civic Society wrote in support of the plans but raised concerns about drinking and smoking on the platform. It also requested that the pub restores the existing fireplace and uses it as an open fire, something the society said was more in keeping with the building.

The deadline for comments on the application is August 12. Find the plans on the Harrogate Borough Council website.

The feva festival in Knaresborough is going ahead online this weekend, with 10 days of performances posted online for audiences to enjoy.

Coronavirus restrictions have forced the festival to become virtual this year, beginning on Friday, August 14.

The itinerary includes a brand-new play, ‘Shake The City’, about the lives of female clothworkers in 1970, as well as music and poetry.

The festival has proved popular with people in Knaresborough and this year the committee is hoping for an even wider audience to view the acts online via the website.

Lucy Barrow, chair of the feva organising committee, said:

“Obviously, we haven’t been able to pay the acts as there is no prospect of money coming in. Despite this, many have been still willing to record something which they have sent in for the online version of feva.

“It means that our loyal audiences in and around Knaresborough who usually come to the festival will still get to enjoy a little of what the live 10-day event would have had to offer, with top-of-the bill attractions like Simon Armitage and Snake Davis. As word has started to spread, there has been a wonderful reaction from the public for the effort that we are making.”

Previous years have seen theatre companies perform at the festival. This year it has relied on acts filming themselves.

Local businesses will also continue to be involved with art shows available to visit in a number of locations. The venues include McQueen’s Café and The Atkinson Pet Store on the high street, Floral Decor and Tanacetum on Kirkgate, Cave and Castle on Castlegate, Ruebury Flowers in the Market Place and Briggate Art.

Read more:

• Knaresborough’s Frazer theatre will have to remain close due to difficulties surrounding social distancing. 
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The event is also hosting a Knaresborough’s Got Talent competition. Residents are being encouraged to send in videos of their act for shortlisting by the committee.

They will then be posted on the Facebook page and a public vote at the end of the 10 days will choose the winner.

For more information visit the feva festival Facebook page or visit feva.info. 

Police are warning Knaresborough residents to stay vigilant after a series of suspicious incidents, including three men approaching houses in the Aspin Avenue area last night.

The men were reported to be trying car doors and approaching houses around 12.30am. There have been no reports of thefts or burglaries.

Earlier in the evening, police received reports of a residential home on Manor Road being entered between 8.30pm and 9pm. It is unclear if anything was taken.

The combination of incidents has led police to warn residents in surrounding areas to take further precautions to ensure the safety of their valuables.

The police are warning residents to ensure their houses and valuables are secure.

North Yorkshire Police has offered advice to improve home safety:

• Keep all valuables, including car keys, out of sight and away from windows or letterboxes.
• Look at windows and their access points. Be aware of nearby bins and furniture that could be used to reach windows.
• Make sure there is a clear view at the front of your property. Burglars don’t want to be seen or heard and if they’re likely to be spotted they may move on.

Read more:

• Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with burglaries in Harrogate and Knaresborough. 
• Harrogate police has warned residents of a rise in fraudulent door to door sellers.

Local police have also ask residents to check any CCTV that they have of these areas overnight. Anything suspicious should be reported to police on 101, quoting the reference number 12200134639.

Knaresborough Civic Society has labelled the potential redevelopment of Conyngham Hall as “cultural vandalism”.

Harrogate Borough Council has identified the hall as one of four proposed options in the town for a new leisure centre.

Other options include the current leisure centre site, Hay-a-Park and Knaresborough House.

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The hall itself is an office space but its grounds are popular for leisure activities. Its potential redevelopment has been met with fierce opposition.

James Monaghan, chair of Knaresborough Civic Society, said:

“This is a proposed act of cultural vandalism by Harrogate Borough Council. Conyngham Hall is a grade two star listed building. Any development in the grounds will have a negative impact on the hall itself. Let alone the damage to the beautiful grounds and green space.”

The society is contacting regional and national heritage bodies urging them to oppose the proposal.

In a letter to the council’s chief executive, Wallace Sampson, the society calls on the local authority to remove Conyngham Hall from the list of sites under consideration.

It comes as Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats’ Hands Off Conyngham Hall Grounds petition passes 1000 signatures.

Matt Walker, the campaign’s spokesperson, said:

“We should be investing in our cherished green space, not needlessly building on it. There are far better alternatives which ought to be explored, with Conyngham Hall grounds taken off the table entirely.”

The council this month approved plans to overhaul its leisure centres by handing control to a new council-owned company.

A council spokesman said:

“We are just at the start of the process to build a new combined leisure centre for Knaresborough. It follows the decision to invest more than £26 million improving leisure facilities in Harrogate and Knaresborough. No decision has been taken.”

It is the end of an era for a Knaresborough fish and chips shop, as the family owners prepare to move on after 14 years.

John and Ellie Anderson plan to put in their last shift at Chain Lane Fisheries on August 22.

They have found a buyer to take on the shop, which has had just four owners since it opened in 1938.

Mrs Anderson explained to the Stray Ferret why they have decided to sell the business:

“The time is right for us to move on. We have thought about it a lot and we came to the decision during the coronavirus lockdown. We have loved it here. The customers are amazing.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough air pollution still illegal, despite Bond End changes
• Knaresborough business survey reveals the impact of coronavirus

Mr Anderson added it will be emotional to say goodbye to the shop after so many years:

“It is a lot of our life. It’s funny because our children are in their 20s now and they were nine and 11 when we started. We have been very busy during coronavirus. There were no pubs to compete with and the weather was lovely.”

The couple said they have been inundated with nice comments from customers since they announced they were moving on.