Business Breakfast: New partner appointed at Harrogate accountants

Harrogate accountancy firm Lithgow Perkins has promoted Stuart Abbott to partner.

Formerly the company’s trusts and tax manager, Mr Abbott will work alongside partner Joe Taylor on tax advice and planning for current and new clients.

Mr Taylor said:

“Stuart has outstanding knowledge and expertise in his specialist areas, and strong and trusted relationships with many of our clients. His promotion is thoroughly deserved.”

Local opticians recognised for sustainability

Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists has achieved net zero carbon status for its practices in Harrogate and Knaresborough after helping residents recycle their old eyewear and contact lenses.

The business was given the sustainability endorsement following an auditing by not-for-profit organisation Net Zero Eyecare.

Old glasses and cases, contact lenses, and packaging that cannot be disposed of in recycling bins at home can be recycled at each practice.

Megan Harper, sustainability manager at Bayfields, said:

“We’d urge anyone with an old pair of glasses to bring them into a practice and pop them in our recycling box to avoid them going into landfill and helping us contribute to a more sustainable future.”

Harrogate Chamber to focus on regeneration tonight

The May Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting will be held tonight (May 13) from 5.30pm- to 8pm at Cedar Court Hotel.

This month’s meeting will commence with the AGM, followed by guest speakers, Julian Rudd, head of regeneration (south) for North Yorkshire Council and Stuart Holland and Paul Hatherley from Harrogate Civic Society on the subject of a neighbourhood plan for Harrogate.

Harrogate care home residents celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Granby Resident Brian and his partner with Mexican musician, Rafael

Residents at Granby Care Home in Harrogate had a Mexican-themed party to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo festival.

It was the first stop on their ‘Cruise Around the World’ armchair travel activity which will see residents at Brighterkind care homes, experiencing the culture of other countries.

The care home’s magic moments coordinator, Lydia Jackson, said:

“It’s been a very exciting first port of call on our world cruise, none of us had been to Mexico before, so everyone enjoyed experiencing the culture and loved the food.”

Have some news to share about your business? Send it to us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

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Readers’ Letters: Does North Yorkshire Council not know how a drain works?

Readers’ Letters is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.  

The following three letters are in response to the extreme flooding in Knaresborough earlier this week. Roads were under water, homes were flooded and residents evacuated. The council denied the conditions of the drains played a part, but some residents feel otherwise.  

Does North Yorkshire Council not know what a drain is and how they work?

I think the Stray Ferret should take a stand on behalf of all Knaresborough folk and demand that they do something about it.

I live up Ripley Road and can tell you that the drains on High and Low Bond End and Ripley Road haven’t been cleaned out properly for at least 30 years.

Steve Newbould, Knaresborough

Here on Hambleton Close we had a near miss – although both our neighbours took on water.

I have consistently notified North Yorkshire County Council (that was) about the state of drainage in Knaresborough. Each time I receive hollow words of acknowledgement, but nothing is done.

The autumn leaf-fall and the failure to sweep the roads only added to this catastrophe.

What do we pay our council tax for?

Ralph Thrower, Knaresborough

We have reported the blocked drains for years and no works seems to have been done.

Last week we were down to one working drain on our street and we directly reported it to the council.

We have issues with Waterside becoming a river even with normal levels of rainfall.

We warned the council numerous times it would flood, as the water has nowhere else to go other than through the houses.

Mark Johnson, Knaresborough

Maybe Keane Duncan’s defeat means he will ‘finally fix our roads’

This story follows the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election last week. Labour’s David Skaith took home the crown, leaving Tory councillor Keane Duncan defeated.

Thank goodness for the mayoral result, which hopefully now means we are also done with Mr Keane’s tedious photo opportunities (hopefully!).

For months he’s courted the camera and delivered on little else. Even the well-hyped ‘100 days in Peggy’ went suspiciously quiet.

Maybe now he can finally concentrate on the job he has, including fixing our roads for starters.

He might want to take Peggy for a drive down Pannal Ash Road and sample the disgraceful state of a public highway.

Simon Ewing, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

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Pierce Brosnan ‘borrows screwdriver’ from Knaresborough optician

Staff and customers at a Knaresborough eyewear store had a surprise today when James Bond star Pierce Brosnan walked in.

Yorkshire Eyewear, on High Street, helped the 70-year-old film star after he came in with “a problem with his glasses”.

Meg Lazenby, who runs the store’s social media, told the Stray Ferret that Brosnan asked to “borrow a screwdriver” at about midday today.

She said:

“He sort of walked past and then came in. He said he had an issue with his glasses and asked to borrow our screwdriver to fix them. He didn’t buy anything though.”

Ms Lazenby said the star, who is rumoured to be filming a new biopic called Giant about Sheffield ex-boxer Naseem Hamed, was “lovely and very polite”.

He agreed to pose for a photo with a customer, telling them he was in the area because he “loves the Yorkshire scenery”.

During his trip to Knaresborough, the former 007 also stopped at Castle Creamery.

Owners Tim and Jane said he was “lovely and really charming”, adding he enjoyed his ice cream “outside with other customers”.

Tim added:

“He said he was working on a project in Leeds and was on a day off today”.

Pierce Brosnan with Castle Creamery owner Jane.

The Harrogate district seems to have stolen Pierce’s heart – much like he stole the hearts of many admirers when he played Bond four times. Three weeks ago he was spotted having a pint — rather than a martini — in the Fat Badger in Harrogate.

Shortly after his sighting, the elusive former frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey, another Harrogate regular, was photographed on Cut Throat Lane in Shaw Mills.

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Knaresborough pulls together to help flood victims

Dozens of homes in Knaresborough were flooded in the space of minutes on Monday night when there was an unexpected downpour.

In the days since then, the town has been rallying round to help those affected.

The Stray Ferret covered the immediate aftermath of the storm. But in the days since, charities, volunteers and councils have been working together to help people find accommodation and provide other practical support.

A community hub has been established at Chain Lane Community Centre where all those involved in the effort, including Knaresborough Town Council and North Yorkshire Council, are helping.

We visited this morning to find out more.

Sue Vasey, chief executive of the community centre, said people can receive financial and emotional support, insurance advice and guidance on the damage to their homes, as well as the opportunity to speak about alternative accommodation.

Ms Vasey said:

“We’re encouraging people to come forward.

“Our support is tailored to the needs of the individual. We can help with accommodation if people don’t have somewhere fit to live, and if an issue arises that we can’t directly help with we have people and the resources that can.

“Don’t suffer in silence. This was a freak event and our kettle is always on.”

Ms Vasey said 48 households have so far come forward seeking support after their homes were damaged by the flood, but she feels there are people still struggling alone.

The flooding on Monday.

She also praised the town and those involved in the recovery process for “stepping up”:

“I feel really proud of how Knaresborough has stepped up – everyone is really rallying together.

“We have 20 volunteers, local groups like the Lions and the Rotary Club are helping and local funders have also come forward to support people.”

Ms Vasey said the hub has also been assisted by North Yorkshire Council’s major incident response unit, adding it had been “absolutely amazing”.

After the flooding, questions were raised about the condition of the drainage systems in Knaresborough, with some people pointing the finger at the council.

When asked if she shared these concerns, Ms Vasey said:

“The council responded really positively to the incident. It was extreme weather and I don’t think the drains could’ve coped with that amount of water regardless.

“This is the first time we’ve done an emergency service response since the unitary authority formed and it’s a test bed. I think it’ll be good to come together with other services when things have started to calm down and we can learn from it going forward.”

Chain Lane Community Centre is open for free help until 6pm today (Friday, May 10).

It will resume normal working hours (9am to 1pm) next week, but Ms Vasey said people can still come forward to access support.

If you have been impacted by the flooding, you can visit the community centre on Chain Lane, call 01423 861066 or email info@chainlane.org to begin the support process.

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Heavy rain causes Starbeck church ceiling to collapse

The ceiling of a Starbeck church has collapsed after a severe rainstorm this week.

David Leonard, a treasurer at St Andrew’s Church, contacted the Stray Ferret on Wednesday after part of the ceiling of its Welcome Centre caved in on Monday evening (May 6).

Mr Leonard said the volume of rain was “too much” for the rooftop drains, which led to the damage.

The church also took to social media to say the Welcome Centre is “out of action” following a “severe ingress of water”.

Mr Leonard said the church has insurance, but would also apply to various charities for financial help to fix the ceiling.

He said:

“I don’t know exactly but I expect it’ll cost at least £5,000 to repair – if not more.

“I imagine the welcome centre will be out of action for around three months, but the repairs will take as long as they take.”

Mr Leonard did confirm, however, the church is still operating as usual and can be accessed via different doors.

It comes after an extreme rainstorm hit parts of Starbeck and Knaresborough on Monday.

Several Knaresborough roads were underwater, while homes were flooded and residents were forced to evacuate.

The damage raised questions about the ability of local drainage systems to cope, but North Yorkshire Council denied this was a factor.

Mr Leonard attributed the damage at St Andrew’s to “just a case of there being exceptional weather that day”.

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Knaresborough businessman denies £200,000 business scam

A man has appeared in court charged with an alleged £200,000 business scam involving covid loans and accounting records.

David Allon, 44, from Knaresborough, appeared at York Magistrates Court yesterday when he pleaded not guilty to nine separate allegations regarding two businesses he was allegedly running between June 2020 and August 2023.

They include two allegations of fraud by false representation in June 2020 in relation to applications for a ‘bounce-back’ covid business loan involving the two named companies he was said to be running, and one count of removing property as a company winds up, between June and December 2020.

He is also charged with failing to comply with the provisions of a piece of legislation regarding the keeping of accounting records between October 2020 and August 2023 and failing to deliver up company books to a liquidator between 2020 and 2023.

Deputy district judge Natalie Wortley told Mr Allon that the allegations were too serious to be dealt with at the magistrates’ court and that the case would be sent to the Crown Court.

Mr Allon, of Arkendale Road, Staveley, will next appear for a plea-and-trial preparation hearing at York Crown Court on June 10. He was granted bail until then.

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Knaresborough play area reopens

A new play area in Knaresborough has reopened after prolonged wet weather.

The playground at Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre opened in February but closed just days later due to flooding. It had remained closed since under puddles of water.

Three months later, the first dry spell of the year has led to its opening.

Cllr Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East, informed the Stray Ferret of the news after visiting the site today.

A cone is in place over a remaining wet section.

Cllr Gostlow and fellow Lib Dem Cllr Matt Walker, who represents Knaresborough West, have been seeking updates from North Yorkshire Council, which owns the site.

Cllr Walker gave an update last month in which he said there were still lots of snagging issues and concerns about inadequate drainage.

Cllr Walker at the site last month.

But the play area is finally open — at least while the dry spell persists.

The leisure centre, which is run by council-owned Brimhams Active, includes a six-lane 25-metre swimming pool and slide, a 60-station fitness suite, a sauna and steam room, and group fitness class studios.

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Halfpenny Lane closure extended in Knaresborough

Roadworks on a busy Knaresborough road have again been extended.

Northern Gas Networks is carrying out exploratory work to divert underground infrastructure at the railway bridge on Halfpenny Lane.

Work started on March 25 and was due to end in April but was extended until next week, May 17.

Northern Gas Networks, which is responsible for gas supply, said today work has been further delayed for six weeks, which means it is likely to continue for most of June.

The closure extending from the bridge to the roundabout next to Old Penny Gate will remain in place until additional works are complete and a signed diversion is in place.

Dominic Nevison, site manager at Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We have been working with other utilities to carefully plan this work to minimise the impact on road users and members of the public.

“Upon completion of our exploratory work we had originally planned to divert the sewer in the affected area of where our pipe is located. Unfortunately, this cannot be done due to the complexity of the work involved.

“We will therefore we need to divert the medium pressure gas main; this means that the work will need to continue and we are expecting this to take approximately six weeks to compete.

“We apologise for inconvenience caused and would like to reassure everyone that we will be working hard to complete the work so that we can reopen the road as soon as possible.”

The company said there would be no impact on the gas supplies to homes and businesses in the area.

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‘Our home is ruined’: residents face up to aftermath of Knaresborough floods

Residents in Knaresborough are facing up today to the aftermath of last night’s floods, which affected about 30 homes.

Firefighters battled for two hours to pump water from homes and some residents even used buckets to remove water from their houses.

We ran a live blog last night and have followed up concerns — denied by the council — that the state of the drains played a part.

Today, we visited Knaresborough to speak to some of those whose homes were flooded.

Outwardly, the town appeared to be back to normal, with little sign of the impact of the storm. But the homes of those affected tell a very different story.

‘It feels pretty desperate’

Ann and Richard Briscoe, who live in St Margaret’s Gardens, said the house they have lived in since 2007 had been ruined.

A holiday let attached to their home, which was being rented out, was also affected.

Ms Briscoe said the rain began around 5.30pm. She contacted her daughter about the “size of the rain drops” just before their garden and downstairs flooded.

She said:

“By around 6pm, the manhole cover in our garden started to lift and just three minutes later water was coming over the front door. By 6.30pm, our entire lounge was flooded.”

The tenants in the holiday cottage, who had to relocate to Scarborough, began piling chairs and sofas on top of tables to limit the damage as much as possible, the couple added.

The flooding at the door and outside their home.

Besides the inconvenience, the storm will have a considerable financial impact on the couple. Ms Briscoe said:

“The carpet is absolutely soddened, and I suspect it’s sewage water because a lot of the water came from the burst manhole.

“We’ve contacted our insurance company, but we’ll have to cancel a lot of our holiday let bookings. I don’t know how much it’ll be, but that will be a real loss of income for us.”

The couple said neighbours and family members rushed to their house to help, with some lifting furniture onto bricks to prevent it being soaked.

Firefighters arrived to assist the Briscoes, but the couple said “most of the water had dispersed at that point”.

They, along with many others, feel the state of Knaresborough’s drains was a key factor.

Ms Briscoe said:

“I feel as though our home is ruined – I mean it feels pretty desperate.

“The drains are definitely an issue and whoever is going to fix them will get my vote.

“We just need help getting these drains sorted out. At our age, we can’t have this hanging over our head.”

Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents a part of Knaresborough, said he agreed the drains were a contributory factor — although the council has denied this.

Cllr Walker has also been part of a joint emergency response involving the emergency services, North Yorkshire Council and Knaresborough Town Council, which led to four people being found alternative accommodation. Welfare checks are being carried out today.

However, the couple said they did not receive any offers of alternative accommodation last night.

Ms Briscoe added:

“They can notify us that our bins will be emptied a day late, but where is the message offering us help in this situation?”

One of the flooded rooms.

‘Stuff was floating through our house’

Firefighters pump water from the home.

The Robinson family, who live on Dentdale Drive in the Eastfield area of the town, were forced to evacuate their home last night.

Nichola and Mark Robinson told the Stray Ferret they had gone to watch their son play cricket at Knaresborough Cricket Club yesterday afternoon.

The couple said there were “bright skies” until lightning halted play.

Ms Robinson said:

“We just sat in the car while there was lightning waiting for the coaches to say whether the match would go ahead. Then the rain came in at around 5.30pm and the match was called off, so we set off home.

“The rain was absolutely torrential – it was horrendous driving home.”

By the time they arrived home, the water was already above their ankles.

Ms Robinson said the rain was so heavy she could “barely see” it had run into their house. She added:

“Mark called to me, ‘the water is in the house’ and that’s when I realised it was already about a foot-high against the wall and garage door.

“The first thing we thought was the electricity, but luckily it been taken out by the storm.

“Mark went into the house and our lounge was just completely flooded. Stuff was floating through the house.”

The height at which the water reached is evident on the wall.

The couple said the fire brigade arrived at around 7pm to pump out water.

Ms Robinson also feels the state of Knaresborough’s drainage system and new housing developments could be to blame:

“Our home is destroyed. The smell is unbearable, and our furniture is ruined.

“There is an overarching problem with drainage infrastructure in Knaresborough. Everyone is saying the drains need sorting out.

“So many new homes have been built, I don’t think the drains can cope with the sheer amount of housing and no improved drainage systems. It worries me that it could be a potential cause of the problem.

“We have a new-build estate behind us and if there has been no improvement on drains, where is the water supposed to go? Water was bubbling up through the grass.

“The road was like a river. If a car came down, waves were forming.”

The couple also said they too were not offered alternative accommodation by the authorities and instead stayed with family nearby.

Mark and Nichola Robinson’s home after the flood.

Chain Lane drop-in session

North Yorkshire Council said in a statement this afternoon:

“The agencies involved in supporting the communities impacted by flash flooding in Knaresborough last night (Sunday) are out on the ground again today, including Knaresborough Town Council and North Yorkshire Council.

A range of help, advice and support is available via a community drop-in centre supported by Chain Lane Community Hub, Chain Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 08S.

“There are also highways crews out inspecting local drains to see what debris has been swept into them by the intense rainwater.

“Ready for Anything volunteers are also coming to help on site.”

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Grants totalling £1 million available for small businesses in North Yorkshire

Businesses in North Yorkshire have the chance to apply for £1 million in funding through a new package of capital grants.

Small and micro businesses can apply for the small business grant scheme, administered by North Yorkshire Council through thennational government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The scheme is focussed on increasing business growth, productivity and resilience. Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available.

This is the second round of funding, following the first round in the last financial year which saw £750,000 awarded to businesses across the county.

Micro businesses, with less than 10 employees, and small firms with less than 50, can access free support through the business advisory teams at the council and the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub, which provides business support.

There are more than 32,700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises alongside 90 large businesses in the county.

Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative council leader and the chair of the shared prosperity fund board in North Yorkshire, said sole traders, start-ups, home businesses and social enterprises, as well as landlords and people looking to diversify their farm businesses and limited companies, were among those welcome to apply.

He added:

“This time we have allocated an even larger funding pot to the scheme to enable it to be bigger and better and have used learning from last year to improve the application process.

“Our ambition is to see a broad range of applications which seek to make long-lasting improvements to our small and medium businesses across the county.”

To aid businesses with their applications, the growth hub with partners at the social enterprise Enterprise Cube has organised two webinars on writing a business plan and a cash flow forecast which will take place on May 16 and 17.

Carolyn Frank, development manager at the York and North Yorkshire Federation of Small Businesses, said:

“This scheme has provided a practical way that the local authorities have been able to work together with us and other partners to unlock government funding and get it directly to businesses in our area, to help them to innovate and grow.”

The closing date for applications is Friday July 12. To find out more click here.

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