Police have confirmed that a missing Harrogate boy has been found.

The 12-year-old went missing from his home in Harrogate on Wednesday (June 21).

North Yorkshire Police has since confirmed that the boy has been found safe and well.

Read more:

• Search group set up for missing Harrogate boy
• Council spends £2m on consultants for Harrogate’s Station Gateway

The Track and Sleeper pub in Knaresborough has won the award for best newcomer awarded by the Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA branch.

The pub opened on Knaresborough train station’s platform two in 2021.

Renovations to the building earned the pub an urban heritage award from the National Railway Heritage Award scheme. Now the Campaign for Real Ale, which promotes real ales and cider, has also recognised its efforts.

Alan Gould, chairman of Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA, praised father and son duo Phil and Cameron Paling for navigating difficult trading conditions.

Alan Gould (centre) presents the award.

Mr Gould said:

“The award recognises the risks taken in establishing a new business especially in hospitality but the bar must serve cask beer of a consistent good quality to be considered.

“A number of newer venues in the Harrogate area don’t meet that criterion as they don’t serve any cask beer.”

Phil runs the family’s Mexborough brewery while Cameron manages the bar as well as another pub in Swinton.

Mr Gould also alluded to the idea of a new Rail Ale Trail – when pubs across a certain train line create a pub crawl with participants travelling between the stops on a train.

He suggested a Leeds to York trail could be created as a number of pubs have now opened along this route. The Track and Sleeper would definitely be an important stop on this possible route.

CAMRA has also recently given a number of awards to other pubs in the area. These include: Major Toms for Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year going to the Oatlands.

Read more:

• A-ha’s sound man opens record shop and bar in Harrogate
• Brew Bar owner opens new Harrogate coffee shop

The two local Conservative MPs voted in support of a report last night that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over lockdown parties.

The Commons backed the report by 354 votes to seven — however 225 MPs either abstained or did not turn up to vote, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Andrew Jones, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, and Julian Smith, who represents Skipton and Ripon, were among the 118 Tories who supported the report by parliament’s Privileges Committee.

Mr Smith tweeted afterwards “upholding the rules of parliament is key to our democracy”.

Tonight I voted to support the cross party privileges committee report. Boris Johnson did a number of positive things as Prime Minister, but upholding the rules of parliament is key to our democracy https://t.co/YFJIsOs1zU

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) June 19, 2023

Mr Jones indicated his intentions last week when he said:

The cross-party committee’s report found Mr Johnson committed repeated offences when he said covid rules had been followed at No 10 at all times.

The Selby and Ainsty constituency, which covers part of the Harrogate district, does not currently have an MP following Nigel Adams’ resignation.

A by-election will take place on July 20.

Read more:

• Tories select replacement candidate for Selby and Ainsty by-election
• Yorkshire Party mayoral candidate quit after ‘chicken policy disagreement’

Most of Ilke Homes‘ Knaresborough staff are expected to remain at home on full pay next week as the company continues to seek a buyer.

The Stray Ferret understands a small number of staff will be in the Flaxby factory to help complete some orders and send them to site.

They will be joined by managers, who have remained at the factory this week after the workers were told a week ago to stay at home while the company sought investment.

The business was put up for sale this week and a source told the Stray Ferret its owners were now in “advanced talks” with a potential buyer.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the company blamed market conditions for its current situation:

“In 2020, Ilke Homes launched its turnkey development offering, where the company acquires land, secures planning permission and develops the site. This has been complicated by uncertainty over planning policy and rising build costs.

“While having delivered strong contribution margins, Ilke Homes now requires new investment to meet overheads, achieve further scale and become cash flow positive.

“The wider UK housing market has been hit by rapidly rising interest rates, which has reduced demand and resulted in housing starts falling below pre-pandemic levels.

“Official government figures have also revealed that planning applications in England have fallen to their lowest level in at least 16 years, thanks to uncertainty over planning policy and heightened build costs, highlighting the scale of the challenge in improving housing delivery.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough housebuilder up for sale as operations paused
• Staff sent home as Knaresborough housebuilder seeks urgent investment

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has said he will vote to accept the recommendations of the parliamentary investigation into Boris Johnson.

The seven MPs on the House of Commons Privileges Committee today found the former Prime Minster deliberately misled parliament over lockdown parties.

The cross-party committee said the former PM had committed repeated offences and it would have recommended a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons had Mr Johnson not resigned as an MP last week.

MPs are expected to vote on Monday on whether to approve the committee’s recommendations.

Mr Jones said:

Speaking in a Commons debate on April 21 last year on the referral of Mr Johnson to the committee, Mr Jones said:

“When there are questions about the conduct of any Member in this place, it is right for the Committee of Privileges to take a look at that case. It is right for it to investigate, it is right for it to make a judgment and it is right for that to happen whoever the Member is.”

He added he wanted to “see more focus on standards across parliament”.

Local Lib Dem says Tories in ‘full-blown civil war’

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said today voting against the committee’s recommendations  would be “an insult to bereaved families who grieved alone while Boris Johnson partied.”

Mr Gordon added:

“This report is completely unprecedented. Never before has a former British Prime Minister been found to have lied to parliament and treated the public with such contempt.

“The Conservative Party is now in a full-blown civil war, while people struggle to afford to pay their mortgage or get a GP appointment.”

Read more:

• Tories and Greens name candidates as local by-election looms
• Andrew Jones MP says new police powers will help tackle Traveller issues in Knaresborough

Selby and Ainsty Conservative MP Nigel Adams, a close ally of Mr Johnson, also resigned last week, triggering a by-election.

The Conservatives and Greens have named their candidates to fight the seat, which includes numerous villages close to Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge, including Spofforth, Follifoot, Kirkby Overblow, Goldsborough, Little Ouseburn, Nun Monkton, Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.

Labour is expected to name its candidate tonight.

North Yorkshire Council has refused a plan to build 18 holiday cabins in a woodland near Knaresborough.

The Hargreaves family submitted plans this year for the tourism business, which included wooden shepherds huts, cabins and pods nestled within a woodland just outside the village of Coneythorpe.

Documents submitted by the applicants said they wanted to create a “tranquil overnight accommodation scheme in a unique location” that would be a base for tourists to explore North Yorkshire.

A new footpath was also proposed to the village which it said would increase footfall to the Tiger Inn pub and support the social and economic wellbeing of Coneythorpe.

The plans received 14 comments with one in support and 13 objecting.

But with strict planning laws in the countryside, the council refused the plans this week saying the site is outside the development limits of the village and the proposal does not demonstrate that the scheme requires a rural location.

Planning officer Trevor Watson wrote that the huts would not be accessible to existing local services, public facilities or tourist attractions and the proposal would not promote sustainable travel.

There were also concerns about a loss of trees in the woodland with the applicants not proposing to replant them on a two-for-one basis.

Mr Watson wrote:

“The cumulative effect of the proposed cabins, pods, shepherd huts, office, accesses and car park together with the change in activity and associated tourism paraphernalia would result in a visually intrusive and detrimental change to the agricultural and woodland character of the site.

“The proposal would fail to protect, enhance and restore the landscape character of the site and would result in substantial harm to the character and appearance of the conservation area. There are no public benefits associated with the proposal that would outweigh the harm.”

The applicants can appeal the decision.

Read more:

• How the wheels came off Knaresborough’s bid to win bed race
• Knaresborough housebuilder up for sale as operations paused

About 30 Knaresborough residents and the town council have objected to plans to build nine flats on the site of one of the town’s oldest houses and its garden.

Paul Franklin has submitted plans to demolish the property and build the homes on land off Stockwell Road.

Mr Franklin said the scheme would “provide local people a quality and sustainable place to live and enjoy Knaresborough”.

But some 30 objections have been made to the North Yorkshire Council, which will approve or reject the application. The decision will either be made by the council’s planning committee, which consists of elected councillors, or by an individual planning officer.

The objectors include Knaresborough Town Council, which said in its submission the development would be “overbearing and will overlook neighbouring properties particularly gardens affecting other residents privacy”, create parking problems and increase congestion.

It added trees were removed from the site during nesting season and the application was “not sufficiently different from the previous one” refused in 2007.

Its concluded:

“Knaresborough Town Council ask that the application is strongly rejected and that it should go to the North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee for consideration.”

A group of residents recently asked to meet the Stray Ferret at the site to voice their concerns.

Estelle Green, whose garden on St Margaret’s Road has traditionally overlooked trees, now faces the prospect of neighbours being able to see into her home. She said:

“Our community is devastated, we are all standing together.”

The green area where the flats would be built.

Ann Briscoe agreed, adding:

“We would lose our privacy and the scheme is completely out of keeping with the area.”

Tony Sandland said traffic problems and pollution were major concerns, along with fears that concreting over the garden would increase the risk of flooding.

The objections submitted on the council website include concerns about the scheme worsening “gridlock across the railway bridge” on Stockwell Road, the “inadequate” number of parking places in a residential area close to the town centre, a GP surgery and schools.

There is also concern about the loss of the current stone building, which one objector says is “steeped in history, farming, once a bakery and many years ago a sweetshop”.

Another objection says the size of the proposed three-storey development, overlooking two-storey properties, “is completely out of proportion and would lead not only to a loss of privacy but to a significant loss in natural light”.

There are fears the development will heighten parking difficulties on adjoining St Margaret’s Road.

‘Quality and sustainable places to live’

A design and access statement submitted as part of the planning process said the applicant has identified a need for housing in the specific area and “the proposals will have no detrimental effect to the surrounding properties”.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Franklin to respond to concerns. He said:

“For over 12 months we have been in consultation with the council. Under the guidance of external consultees, we have carefully designed a scheme to provide local people a quality and sustainable place to live and enjoy Knaresborough.

“Comments have been received from local residents mainly covering historically-recurring issues which need to be raised with the relevant bodies – Yorkshire Water, highways authority etc.

“Knaresborough has a rich history, but the site is not a historical asset or listed building and is beyond economical repair despite significant investment during ownership.

“Our garden was cleared of nettles, perennial weeds and thistles and four disease-ridden / choked trees over the past two years. Felling of diseased trees was done outside of nesting season, and no Tree Protection Orders were in place.

“For further comment, please see the responses made to individual commentators that will be submitted to the council as part of the consultation.”

Read more:

• How the wheels came off Knaresborough’s bid to win bed race
• Knaresborough housebuilder up for sale as operations paused

Knaresborough’s hopes of a home town bed race winner ended in bizarre fashion on Saturday when their bed malfunctioned early in the race.

The town has proudly hosted the whacky annual event since 1966 but its men’s running club, Knaresborough Striders, has never won.

The club’s fastest runners trained hard in the months leading up to the 2.4-mile race in the hope of putting that right.

They lined-up third on the grid behind defending champions GH Brooks and Ripon Runners, confident they could mount a challenge in what is a fiercely contested event amongst local running clubs.

But hardly had the team got out the traps at Conyngham Hall than its bed started wobbling and shortly afterwards a wheel seized up completely on Waterside.

As other teams raced by, their hopes of victory shattered, they ditched the bed, sprinted along Waterside to collect a spare bed one of the team had at their nearby home and rejoined the race.

They managed a remarkable 16 minutes and 12 seconds, which would have been good enough for 10th place, but it is not listed among the official results because the spare bed did not have a timing chip.

Guy Close, chairman of Knaresborough Striders, hailed the “incredible team spirit” shown at a time of crushing disappointment. He said:

“This was the first time a team has ever had to stop and then replaced its bed mid-race.

“We were all absolutely gutted because we hoped to challenge the top couple of teams, but these things happen.”

Read more:

• Gallery: Huge crowds bask in sun at Knaresborough bed race
• Crowdfunder launched to keep Knaresborough partying

A still from the bed camera showing the team marooned on Waterside.

This video shot by a camera on board the bed captured the team’s bad luck. Mr Close said:

“The bed broke almost immediately. You can hear from the link to the YouTube video that it wasn’t right from the start.

“We were all so determined and the support from the crowds was incredible.”

Full results of this year’s bed race are available here.

Bosses at Knaresborough-based Ilke Homes are “exploring a sale” of the company as hundreds of staff are sent home.

The company said in a statement today it required additional funding to fulfil a £1 billion order book and to protect jobs.

The firm added new investment was needed to build 4,200 homes.

It added it was looking to sell the firm at a time when “volatile macro-economic conditions and issues with the planning system complicate fundraising and housing delivery”.

The Stray Ferret reported on Friday that several hundred staff at its Flaxby factory close to the A1(M) were told not to come into work until further notice.

They have reportedly been told they will be paid, and will be called back in when the company finds an investor. Managers will continue to work in the 250,000 sq ft factory this week.

The company said in its statement that it operations had been paused “while a strategic review is ongoing”.

It added:

“In 2020, Ilke Homes launched its turnkey development offering, where the company acquires land, secures planning permission and develops the site. This has been complicated by uncertainty over planning policy and rising build costs.

“While having delivered strong contribution margins, Ilke Homes now requires new investment to meet overheads, achieve further scale and become cash flow positive.

“The wider UK housing market has been hit by rapidly rising interest rates, which has reduced demand and resulted in housing starts falling below pre-pandemic levels.

“Official government figures have also revealed that planning applications in England have fallen to their lowest level in at least 16 years, thanks to uncertainty over planning policy and heightened build costs, highlighting the scale of the challenge in improving housing delivery.”

Ilke Homes specialises in building modular homes.

The company builds the homes at its factory on Flaxby Moor Industrial Estate near Knaresborough. The homes are then delivered across the UK.

Read more:

• Knaresborough housebuilder denies contravening health and safety regulations
• Knaresborough housebuilder partners with housing association
• Staff sent home as Knaresborough housebuilder seeks urgent investment

Jake Sweeney