Firefighters using breathing equipment extinguished a car fire in a Harrogate district pub car park this afternoon.
On-call firefighters from Acomb were mobilised at 12.49pm this afternoon to the Alice Hawthorn Inn at Nun Monkton.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said a VW Golf was “well alight” on arrival. It added::
“Crews extinguished the fire and dampened down surrounding area using one hose reel jet and one breathing apparatus.
“Crews gave advice to the owner of the vehicle. The cause of the fire is believed to be due to an electrical fault.”
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Parish councils fear new Harrogate district town will be rushed and poor quality
Seven neighbouring parish councils have jointly raised concerns about the quality of the proposed new town in the Harrogate district.
Harrogate Borough Council is running a six-week consultation until November 14 on plans to create a new settlement called Maltkiln, which will be roughly the size of Thirsk. Up to 4,000 homes could be built.
The consultation sets out a 30-year vision and policy framework on how the site is designed and developed and proceeds any formal planning application.
Parish councils representing Moor Monkton, Nun Monkton, Tockwith, Whixley, Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton, Hunsingore, Great Ribston with Walshford and Cattal met last week to consider a joint response.
A summary of their response describes the documents residents are being urged to comment on as “technical and jargon-heavy”.
The summary acknowledges “major development is coming to the area” but adds Harrogate Borough Council’s development plan document “doesn’t provide a sound framework for delivering the ‘exemplar’ new settlement that’s required; nor does it address with sufficient care the implications for nearby villages”.
There are also concerns about the extent to which a genuine consultation is taking place for the new town, the name for which was chosen by developers Caddick without consultation with residents.
The summary says:
“Residents have raised concerns that the consultation process itself hasn’t been inclusive. Despite its far-reaching implications, there have been no in-person exhibition/public-hall meetings about the development plan document.
“The development plan document documents and response forms themselves are difficult to navigate, potentially preventing many residents from taking part.”
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Alex Smith, a spokesman for the councils, said:
“There are several important areas — the development framework itself, transport, flooding — where the development plan document offers a wish-list, not deliverable policies backed up by evidence.”
Mr Smith said the speed at which the development was being considered, five months before Harrogate Borough Council is abolished, had “added to the confusion” and the development plan document felt “premature”. He added:
“It’s about meeting a political objective and getting outline approval for the Caddick application before the council is disbanded on April 1 — not about making sure that we get the best possible development for the future generations who will live in, and near it.”
Concerns about transport, flooding and schools
Arnold Warneken
Arnold Warneken, a Green councillor who represents Ouseburn on North Yorkshire County Council, also attended the parish councils’ meeting.
He said many residents had concerns about issues such as transport, flooding and education and “a combined voice” was more powerful. Cllr Warneken added:
“The consultation process has been questioned by residents for lots of reasons wondering why it was so arms-length and not at all easy to understand or comment on by those residents not at ease with planning terminology and also those who struggle with computers and emails
“I think this coalition of councils is showing how a community can come together for the good of the wider community.”
National Open Gardens: Gardens taking part across the Harrogate district this summer
The temperatures have risen across the Harrogate district this week and that summer feeling has well and truly kicked in.
And what better time than to enjoy some of the stunning flora and fauna that our area has to offer.
There are lots of gorgeous gardens to explore over the next few months as part of the National Garden Scheme.
The initiative gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in the UK and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities. The scheme also promotes the physical and mental health benefits of gardens.
We have put together a list of the participating gardens in our district from now until August:
Birstwith Hall, Birstwith
When: Sunday, June 19, 2pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: A charming and varied four-acre garden nestling in a secluded Yorkshire dale.
A formal garden and ornamental orchard, as well as extensive lawns leading to a picturesque stream and a large pond. There is also a walled garden and Victorian greenhouse.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Yorke House and White Rose Cottage, Dacre Banks
When: Sunday, June 26, 11am-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: An award-winning English country garden in the heart of Nidderdale.
A series of distinct areas flowing through two acres of ornamental garden. There are also colour-themed borders, as well as a natural pond and stream with delightful waterside plantings. Secluded seating areas and attractive views.
The adjacent cottage has a recently developed garden designed for wheelchair access. There is a large collection of hostas and an orchard picnic area.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Prospect House, Burton Leonard
When: Friday, June 24, 1-.30am-2pm
Admission: Adults £35, children go free
Booking: A limited number of tickets have been made available for this special event. Tickets must be booked in advance here
About: Following a welcome by the owner, there will be talks on the development of the garden, the creation of a cutting garden and colour-themed borders plus demonstration of cut flower arrangements in the potting shed. Buffet lunch included.
Prospect House features a one-acre walled, landscaped garden with ornamental pond, pergola, large oval lawned area, cutting and vegetable beds.
There is a colour-themed herbaceous long border, ‘hot’ borders, and a physic bed. There is also mature hedging, trees and seasonal interest throughout. Additional new planting areas are being established.
A renovated outhouse has been converted into a potting area used for garden workshops.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Cobble Cottage, Whixley
When: Sunday, July 3,11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £4, children go free
About: An imaginatively designed, constantly changing, small cottage garden full of decorative architectural plants and old family favourites.
There is an Interesting water garden, containers and use of natural materials. It also features a black and white courtyard garden and Japanese-style garden with growing willow screen.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Group openings – gardens that open on the same day
Grafton gardens, Marton-cum-Grafton
Well House.
When: Sunday, July 3,11am-5pm
Admission: Adults £6, children go free
About: These two gardens in adjacent rural villages are also connected by a public footpath.
Paddock House is on an elevated site with extensive views down a large sloping lawn to a wildlife pond. A plant lover’s garden where the house is encircled by a profusion of pots and extensive plant collections combining cottage gardening with the Mediterranean and Tropical. A curved terrace of Yorkshire stone and steps using gravel and wood sleepers leads to many seating areas culminating in a cutting garden and small greenhouse.
Well House, in Grafton, nestles under the hillside, with long views to the White Horse. This one-and-a-half acre garden was begun 40 years ago and is constantly changing. A traditional English cottage garden with herbaceous borders, climbing roses and ornamental shrubs with a variety of interesting species. Paths meander through the borders to an orchard with ducks. Refreshments are available at The Punch Bowl pub, a five-minute walk from Well House.
Dacre Banks and Summerbridge Gardens
Woodlands Cottage.
When: Sunday, July 10,12pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £10, children go free
About: Dacre Banks and Summerbridge Gardens are situated in the beautiful countryside of Nidderdale and designed to take advantage of the scenic Dales landscape.
The gardens are linked by attractive walks along the valley, but each may be accessed individually by car.
Low Hall has a romantic walled garden set on different levels around the historic C17 family home (not open) with herbaceous borders, shrubs, climbing roses and a tranquil water garden. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Riverside House is an atmospheric waterside garden on many levels, supporting shade-loving plants and features a Victorian folly, fernery, courtyard and naturalistic riverside plantings. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Woodlands Cottage is a garden of many rooms, with exquisite formal and informal plantings, and an attractive wildflower meadow which harmonises with mature woodland. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Yorke House has extensive colour-themed borders and water features with beautiful waterside plantings. The newly developed garden at White Rose Cottage is specifically designed for wheelchair users. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
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The Priory, Nun Monkton
When: Thursday, July 7,11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £6, children go free
About: A large country garden surrounding William and Mary house (not open), at the confluence of the River Nidd and River Ouse.
It features species trees, calm swathes of lawn, clipped yew, beech and box, formal rose garden and mixed borders.
There is a new area of soft perennial planting and informal parkland. There area also kitchen gardens with a greenhouse and swimming pool where teas will be served.
The Nun Monkton Ferryboat will be running a special service on this day, connecting Nun Monkton with Beningbrough and Moor Monkton, from the riverbank next to The Priory.
Markenfield Hall, Ripon
When: Tuesday, July 12, 2pm-3pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
Booking: By guided tour only (max 10 people). Tickets must be booked in advance here
About: The work of the hall’s owner Lady Deirdre Curteis and gardener Giles Gilbey.
Mature planting combines with newly designed areas, where walls with espaliered apricots and figs frame a mix of hardy perennials.
In 2018 the farmhouse border was replanted to eventually blend seamlessly with the hall’s main east border.
Goldsborough Hall, Goldsborough
When: Sunday, July 24, 11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: An historic 12-acre garden and formal landscaped grounds in parkland setting around Grade II*, 17th-century house, which was the former residence of HRH Princess Mary, daughter of George V and Queen Mary.
Goldsborough Hall boasts Gertrude Jekyll inspired 120ft double herbaceous borders, a rose garden and a woodland walk.
There is a large restored kitchen garden and glasshouse which produces fruit and vegetables for the hall’s commercial kitchens.
Greencroft, Littlethorpe, Ripon
When: Sunday, August 7, 12pm-4pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: A half-acre informal country garden created by the owners. It features long herbaceous borders packed with colourful late summer perennials, annuals and exotics culminating in a circular garden with views through to large wildlife pond and surrounding countryside.
Special ornamental features include a gazebo, temple pavilions, formal pool, stone wall with mullions and gate to pergola and cascade water feature.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Harrogate childrenswear brand to launch at Great Yorkshire ShowA new Harrogate based childrenswear brand is due to launch at the Great Yorkshire Show in July.
The high-end country style clothing store will be online, but will also have stands at various country events and shows.
It plans to sell a variety of sustainable products, from tweed coats to hand-knitted cashmere boots.
Eleanor Charles’ tweed range
Mum of two and former solicitor Katie Heptonstall started the plans for Eleanor Charles after the pandemic hit.
After moving from London back to Harrogate when her father-in-law suffered a heart attack, Mrs Heptonstall and her husband chose to stay in the town after the birth of their children, Elle and Charlie, who the business is named after.
She said:
“I am really excited to bring together everything we have been working so hard on over the last few months and to bring Eleanor Charles to life at the Great Yorkshire Show.
“It has been a complete change for me in my career, I have learnt so much over the last few months and I have enjoyed every second of it.”
The shop will launch at the Great Yorkshire Show , which runs from Tuesday, July 12 to Friday, July 15, where the clothing stand will also have a sofa for breastfeeding, a baby changing area, a colouring table and a photo wall.
The Alice Hawthorn pub wins three regional awards for architecture
The Alice Hawthorn pub in Nun Monkton has won three regional RIBA awards for Yorkshire, celebrating its architecture and sustainability.
The hotel and pub won the regional Yorkshire award, the Yorkshire sustainability award and the Yorkshire client of the year award at the ceremony held in London.
Twelve new guest bedrooms were recently designed by De Matos Ryan, with the aim of preventing the pub from closing.
Since four local taverns closed down, The Alice Hawthorn is the only remaining pub in the village.
The new timber frame buildings include the sheds, field barn, stables and tack room
De Matos Ryan director Angus Morrogh-Ryan said:
“We are delighted that this project has been recognised by the RIBA Yorkshire jury in this way.
“It has been an honour to collaborate with such a brilliant client and contractor team, and together ensure that this village pub will continue to sustainably service its community but also welcome visitors from afar.”
The ensuite bedrooms were designed with sustainable elements including timber frame buildings, low energy lighting and a heat pump for hot water and heating.
The Alice Hawthorn has now been shortlisted for the RIBA national awards, which will take place later this year.
Ouseburn councillor: ‘pause thoughtless Linton asylum centre’The new Green Party county councillor for Ouseburn, Arnold Warneken, has called for a pause in ‘thoughtless and careless’ plans to house 1,500 asylum seekers in Linton-on-Ouse.
The government is pushing forward with its plan to house 1,500 asylum seekers for up to six months in a ‘reception centre’ at Linton-on-Ouse.
The site closed in 2020 after being used by the RAF for almost a century.
Although located in Hambleton, the site is only about a mile from the Harrogate district, on the other side of the River Ouse.
It’s close to villages Great Ouseburn, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton, which are all part of Cllr Warneken’s new division.
The asylum seekers will not be prisoners and will be free to leave the centre. Cllr Warneken said he is concerned services in the villages will not be able to cope.
Cllr Warneken, who won his seat last week by over 700 votes, said:
“The plan needs to have the brakes put on it. Rural locations are losing shops, pubs and post offices.
“The government has not looked at what the asylum seekers need, whether that’s religious or cultural things or food. They are not prisoners, they are victims.
“The centre will be twice the size of Linton-on-Ouse, three times the size of Great Ouseburn and eight times the size of Little Ouseburn. It’s not been thought through and is careless.”
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Cllr Warneken said ‘99.9%’ of residents in the villages are “compassionate and understanding about the issue”.
But he fears the centre, which has been dubbed “Guantanamo-on-Ouse” by a Lib Dem councillor, could become a target for far-right protestors.
He added:
“I’ve been out talking to people who were concerned this week. They are saying it’s not right for the asylum seekers or the community.”
Migration crisis
The government has said it hopes the changes will help it crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
According to the BBC, 28,526 people are known to have crossed the channel in small boats in 2021, up from 8,404 in 2020.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:
Nun Monkton-Beningbrough Hall boat ride returns“The global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions. There are an estimated 80 million people displaced in the world and the global approach to asylum and migration is broken.
“Existing approaches have failed and there is no single solution to tackle these problems. Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.”
The ferry which links Nun Monkton to National Trust property Beningbrough Hall will open once again on good Friday.
It had been temporarily closed by the pandemic.
The boat crosses the River Ouse, making one stop on the Moor Monkton bank of the Ouse.
It will operate every weekend during the warmer weather, up until the end of September. The service remains open for business on Good Friday, Easter Monday, and other bank holidays.
Started up six years ago, the ride began as a charitable endeavour. Now, it is a paid-for service run by a team of volunteers and operates regularly from 11am to 4pm.
Volunteers are trained to drive the boat in preparation for the summer season.
Wally Grout, who has been leading the training, said:
“All the skippers and crew have been out on the water to prepare for the opening weekend.
“We’re a good, friendly team and there’s no better way of spending a morning or an afternoon pottering about on the River Ouse. At the same time, we’re providing a service that people really value and enjoy.”
At Beningbrough Hall, children can enjoy an Easter egg hunt and nature trail as part of the Easter celebrations. A collection of paintings from the National Portrait Gallery are also displayed at the Hall.
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Village on fringes of Harrogate district to house asylum seekers
The former RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse will be used to house asylum seekers, the government has announced today.
It’s part of a controversial Home Office plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed.
Before potentially being flown out to the African country, asylum seekers will be held in ‘reception centres’ across the UK for up to six months, with the first announced being at Linton-on-Ouse.
The site closed in 2020 after being used by the RAF for almost a century. It was most recently used as a jet training facility and Prince William trained there.
Although located in Hambleton, it is only about a mile from the Harrogate district, on the other side of the River Ouse. It’s close to villages Thorpe Underwood, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton.
Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said in a statement he had been assured by the immigration minister that the time limit for any asylum seekers to remain at the site will be 180 days
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The government said it hopes the changes will help it “crack down” on people-smuggling gangs.
According to the BBC, 28,526 people are known to have crossed the channel in small boats in 2021, up from 8,404 in 2020.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:
“The global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions. There are an estimated 80 million people displaced in the world and the global approach to asylum and migration is broken.
“Existing approaches have failed and there is no single solution to tackle these problems. Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.
The proposal has been criticised by human rights groups and opposition political parties.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the proposals a “shameful announcement meant to distract from Boris Johnson’s recent law-breaking”.
She added:
“It is an unworkable, unethical and extortionate policy that would cost the UK taxpayer billions of pounds during a cost of living crisis and would make it harder not easier to get fast and fair asylum decisions.”