Knaresborough BID to be hot topic at business meeting this weekendKnaresborough land train trial derailed by funding deadlineElectric vehicle home charging help to be discussedBusiness Breakfast: Knaresborough chamber meeting brought forward

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Complete a corporate bulk order of over £250 and receive 15% discount from November 1 to 15 with the code ‘HGT15’.

The next meeting of Knaresborough and District Chamber has been brought forward to avoid congestion in the Christmas calendar. 

The meeting will take place from 7pm this Wednesday, November 29, downstairs at The Mitre pub.

The packed agenda will begin with North Yorkshire Council‘s Michaela Young taking a look at SME and business sustainability grants.

Banking in Knaresborough will also be covered, with news about the town’s new Banking Hub, and an update on the Onebanx initiative, with a video link to the Onebanx team.

The issue of electric vehicle parking spaces will be discussed, and there’ll be news about the Shared Prosperity Fund relating to the proposed cliff lift, connectivity, data intelligence and economic prosperity.

There will also be updates on double devolution progress and the marketplace from the town council, and on the Christmas Market, as well as news on other developments, including the Christmas Market; Henshaws Beer Festival sponsorship and 12 Days of Giving; the Christmas Day Dinner, which needs volunteers; the New Year Duck Race; and an update from the town crier.

Harrogate firm aims to beat southern rivals at awards

A Harrogate office supplies company will be battling it out against a field of firms from the south at an awards ceremony this week.

Supplies Web Ltd, which is based at Claro Court Business Centre, has been shortlisted for the dealer excellence award, for companies that turn over less than £5 million a year, at the national BOSS Awards.

The BOSS Awards are held annually by the BOSS Federation, which is the trade association for the business supplies industry.

Supplies Web is up against stiff competition from four other firms, all based in the South East and East Anglia; the most northerly competitor apart from Supplies Web is based in Lowestoft.

Paul Graves, director of Supplies Web, said:

“We are delighted to have been nominated for dealer excellence. BOSS is the authoritative body for the UK business supplies industry, and this is the biggest awards night in the calendar – like the BAFTAs of our industry!”

The winners of the BOSS Awards will be announced at a gala dinner held at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester this Thursday (November 30).

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Public meeting to be held about state of River Nidd

A public meeting is to be held in Knaresborough next month to discuss the campaign to improve water quality in the River Nidd.

The drop-in meeting will follow a similar format to the one held in March, which marked the start of the campaign.

Groups involved will give short presentations and talk to people on a one-to-one basis.

Topics will include the results of recent water sampling on the Nidd, which revealed high levels of faecal bacteria, the bid for bathing water status and Yorkshire Water’s business plan for 2025 to 2030.

Nidd Action Group, which includes Knaresborough town councillors, environmental campaigners, anglers, councillors and community groups, will again stage the event at the Centre-on-Gracious Street.

The meeting, titled ‘What do we know about the River Nidd and its tributaries – and what do we need to do?’ will take place on December 5 from 3pm to 6.30pm.

Stands and displays will enable visitors to familiarise themselves with the campaign, which was prompted by concerns about water quality and bathers at Knaresborough Lido suffering sickness and diarrhoea,

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, submitted the bid for bathing water status to rivers minister Rebecca Pow last week.

If successful, government agencies would be obliged to take action to improve water quality at the lido. This would also improve water quality on a much longer stretch of the river.

The bid has been backed by 33 organisations and businesses, including Knaresborough Town Council, North Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Bilton Conservation Group.

A decision is expected by the end of April next year.

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Pinewoods charity to meet Harrogate Spring Water to discuss expansion

Pinewoods Conservation Group is to meet representatives from Harrogate Spring Water to discuss the company’s plans to expand its bottling plant.

The French-owned firm announced last month it will revert to its original 2017 planning application, which involves felling trees in a section of the Pinewoods called Rotary Wood.

However, the number of trees felled would be less than contained in plans rejected last year by Harrogate Borough Council.

Harrogate Spring Water’s new application will propose how the lost trees will be compensated for.

The meeting is set to take place within the next few weeks. It will be the first time the charity, which protects the council-owned woodland, has met the company since it announced it was pressing ahead with the expansion.

Online platform

The charity has used online polling platform Harrogate District Consensus to find out what is and isn’t acceptable to residents with the new planning application.

At the time of publication, over 420 people have given their thoughts on issues such as how many trees the company should replant and plastic pollution and biodiversity loss.

Neil Hind, chair of Pinewoods Conservation Group, said it would bring some of the most popular statements that people have submitted to the meeting in the hopes of presenting a consensus.

He said:

“We know this is a very emotive subject, so we need a way to gather some more scientific based views from our members, visitors to the Pinewoods and Harrogate residents. This system allows people to agree or disagree with statements but also add new statements to express their own feeling on the subject.

“We hope that this will form a consensus of views and even some new thinking on this issue. We would really encourage people to get involved and make their views known. These views will then be shared with the Harrogate Spring Water and Danone management when we meet and will also be used as part of our submission to the consultation process.”

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Harrogate Spring Water’s new chief executive Richard Hall recently told the Stray Ferret the company would be “much more open” about its latest plans, which are yet to be submitted to Harrogate Borough Council.

A series of meetings with local stakeholder groups are planned and there will be an open consultation event next month.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water, whose headquarters is on Harlow Moor Road. said:

“We are starting our consultation process this month via meetings with community stakeholder groups prior to an open public consultation event which we plan to hold in July.

“We will announce details of this event shortly, but anyone who cannot come along can still have their say via a dedicated webpage at https://www.harrogatespring.com/facility-extension/”

Children’s author Hilary Robinson to give talk in Harrogate

Children’s author Hilary Robinson is set to give a special talk at the first meeting of Harrogate Children’s Book Group in 2022.

The event is free to attend. Those who are interested just need to register interest by sending an email here by January 24.

Hilary Robinson will give a presentation and sign copies of her Poppies series of books, which explores stories from the First World War and is now included on the reading list in Key Stage 2.

The meeting will take place at Woodlands Methodist Church Hall in Harrogate from 10.30am to 1pm on Saturday, January 29.

Fiona Brady, chair of Harrogate Children’s Book Group, said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming Hilary to our AGM. Her poetic books are touching tributes to the memories of war.

They celebrate the humanity and compassion that thrive even in the darkest of times, and explore difficult themes in a way that is perfect for younger readers.”

Ms Robinson is a radio producer and broadcaster who has written more than 70 picture books, including the Mixed Up Fairy Tales.

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Harrogate Children’s Book Group was first formed in 1980 and has since encouraged hundreds of local children to read for pleasure.

It is part of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, a charity that promotes enjoyment and interest in children’s books and reading.

The Federation organises the highly-regarded Children’s Book Award, which is the only national award voted for solely by children from start to finish.

Children at 11 primary schools and seven secondary schools in the Harrogate area take part in the voting process each year.

Fiona added:

“We are looking forward to resuming our regular storytelling events and author talks in 2022 and continuing to work with schools to provide books for pupils.

If anyone with a passion for encouraging reading among children is interested in getting involved in the group, we are always looking for volunteers to join.”

Starbeck Mums founder urges more parents to join in 2022

A Starbeck resident hopes to welcome more people into a community group she has set up for parents.

Elena Leeming moved to the area in May and enjoyed meeting other mums but felt there needed to be a hub for them to chat.

So she decided to set up Starbeck Mums, which has 90 members, including two dads.

While Ms Leeming is pleased with the progress she hopes to be able to double those numbers in the new year.

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Starbeck Mums is a Facebook group for mums who like chatting, making new friends and sharing information. Ms Leeming told the Stray Ferret:

“I am Russian-born and have been living in the UK with my husband for more than four years now after meeting him in Ireland.

“We found Starbeck and realised it had everything we needed like school, sports clubs, coffee shops, a train station and post office.

“But one thing it did not have was a group for mums. So far we have met up once in the park but we are hoping to organise more meetings next year.”

Residents invited to attend Jennyfields gas leak meeting

Residents are being invited to attend a meeting on December 2 to discuss the gas leak that affected 3,500 homes in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks has organised the meeting, which will take place at the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields.

The centre became an emergency hub from October 15 to 17 when NGN sub-contractors damaged an underground pipe on Ripon Road where roadworks were taking place.

Gas supply to homes in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 areas was cut off and thousands of electric heaters and food vouchers were handed out.

An NGN statement said:

“While incidents such as this are rare, it’s important that we reflect on what went well, and what we could have done better, so that we continually improve the service that we provide to our customers.

“During the session we’ll give a brief overview of how the incident unfolded, what support Northern Gas Networks provided to minimise disruption, and what we are now doing to make sure that an incident like this does not occur again.

“There will be then be an opportunity to discuss a number of key areas, including communication, support services and working with others.”

NGN said the meeting was aimed at residents, business owners, councillors, MPs, emergency workers and community groups.

To attend, you must register here by November 26.

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