A Nidderdale councillor has called for a children’s centre that is closing in Pateley Bridge to be repurposed by community organisation Nidd Plus.

Nidderdale Children’s Centre, based at St Cuthbert’s Primary School in the town, is one of five Sure Start centres North Yorkshire Council will close following a public consultation over spring.

The centre opened in opened September 2010 and was backed by £590,715 of taxpayers’ money but it did not reopen after the pandemic.

The council estimates it will save £13,400 a year in running costs by closing the building and North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive met yesterday to rubber-stamp a report that recommended the five closures.

Nidderdale Children’s Centre was based at St Cuthbert’s school.

However, during the meeting Andrew Murday, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale, intervened to tell councillors Nidd Plus has a plan to use the space for “multi-generational” support services.

Nidd Plus currently has a hub in the town which includes a small library, a desk for council and police matters and a tourist information point.

It also provides transport for residents so they can attend support centres outside of Nidderdale.

Cllr Murday said:

“The centre at St Cuthbert’s school is a very large room. I visited it last week. It’s not been used at the moment and nor will the school find any use for it in the future. There’s a facility there that could be used.”

The councillor said if Nidd Plus were to take over the space it could offer a much larger library for residents and it would also be able to offer some support services in the town without the need for residents to travel long distances.

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He added:

“We have the support of Nidd Plus to develop the centre. At the current time the library facility is tiny but this room and building offers opportunities to expand those services.

“Nidd Plus is providing transport for all sorts of people to go as far as Harrogate to access day centres. If we’re allowed to use this centre it would be a great opportunity to provide a daily multi-generational service. I commend Nidd Plus for bringing forward a plan to use this in a way that would benefit our community throughout Nidderdale.”

In response, the council’s corporate director of children and young people’s service,  Stuart Carlton, said the council would be “more than happy” to speak with Nidd Plus about the building’s future.

Michael Harrison, the Conservative executive councillor for health and adult services, said the closure of the children’s centre “shouldn’t prevent costed plans coming forward” about the future of the building.

Cllr Harrison added:

“I know from personal experience what a good community anchor organisation Nidd Plus are.

“I know the decision today doesn’t stop plans coming forward. They have to be robust but there’s nothing stopping them coming forward.”

The Yorkshire Party candidate to be North Yorkshire mayor next year quit the party after a disagreement over a policy to hand out free chickens.

Keith Tordoff, who is from Pateley Bridge, pledged in an interview to give three chickens to 20,000 households in North Yorkshire.

But the policy had not been discussed in detail with the Yorkshire Party and thus Mr Tordoff will now seek election as an independent candidate.

He announced his resignation from the party this week.

Other disagreements included the Yorkshire Party’s website ‘not being up to date’ and there not being enough volunteers.

Mr Tordoff said:

 “They don’t like stories like the chicken story.

“They really tried to clamp down and said that shouldn’t have been released.

“I’ve been contacted by one of the largest egg producers in the country saying they want to offer help.

“It stimulated the imagination of people but the Yorkshire Party leadership didn’t think it was appropriate and would make the party look a bit foolish or silly.”

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Mr Tordoff also said he recorded a promotional song based on the lyric in Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing ‘your chicks for free’.

He said:

“They didn’t want me to release that.

“It’s not going to diminish anything but unfortunately they couldn’t quite see through it.

“I don’t think they quite have the drive, the vision, the imagination, or my appeal to people to work on projects.”

Although he wished the Yorkshire Party the best, Mr Todoff said its leadership “went over the top” on their crackdown of his policy.

He said:

“They couldn’t grasp it.”

Yorkshire Party co-leader Bob Buxton said: 

“Keith is used to being independent.

“He came up with the chicken story and that perhaps took away the emphasis from more substantial policies.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad policy but I would have liked to have fleshed it out a bit more.

“He’s very autonomous.

“It was all very polite but he felt and we felt it was best to part ways.”

The party will field a different candidate following the by-election in Selby and Ainsty triggered by Boris Johnson ally Nigel Adams.

A Pateley Bridge man who was selected to stand for the Yorkshire Party for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has resigned from the party.

Keith Tordoff announced his candidacy for the role just over a week ago.

However, in a statement, he said he had decided to resign from the Yorkshire Party “with immediate effect” in order to stand as an independent.

Mr Tordoff, a former police officer, detective and specialist fraud investigator who owns Tordoff Gallery in Pateley Bridge, said the move would allow for “freedom and flexibility” in his campaign.

His statement said:

“The freedom and flexibility of being an independent candidate allows for Keith to appeal to all sections of society and members of all political parties as well as deliver on all relevant issues affecting the people who live, work or visit North Yorkshire.”

The move comes after Mr Tordoff, 67, released a list of pledges last week, which included giving 2,000 households three chickens each.

He said this would save 100 tonnes of food waste each month and improve the health of poorer households.

Mr Tordoff also said his priorities would be to make North Yorkshire an economic powerhouse; improve transport links and connectivity, especially for rural communities; making North Yorkshire a safer place to live, work and visit and to make North Yorkshire a world leader in sustainability.

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The 67-year-old, who was born and raised in Leeds, was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to business and the community.

Mr Tordoff has also previously stood as an independent candidate in both 2021 North Yorkshire Police, Fire Crime Commissioner elections, finishing in third place.

Zoe Metcalfe, the current North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner who lives in Aldborough, has announced she hopes to be selected by the Conservatives in the mayoral election.

New parking arrangements at Nidderdale Showground in Pateley Bridge are due to be revealed “shortly”.

NIdderdale Agricultural Society, which owns the showground, ended a 21-year lease agreement with Harrogate Borough Council to operate the car park and appointed a private company last year.

The move was controversial because the car park was previously one of three covered by the annual £12 Pateley Bridge parking permit and some people unaware of the change were fined £60 by automatic number plate recognition cameras.

But the cameras are currently not working, and Pateley Bridge Town Council‘s monthly meeting last week heard the agricultural society was “desperately trying to get out of the contract” with the private company.

The parking meters at the showground are not currently working.

The council said it had received an email from the agricultural society saying “it had realised what they have done is wrong and has damaged their reputation” and they wanted “a more supportive approach” from the town council. The council sympathised with their situation and agreed.

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Speaking after the meeting Cllr Andrew Murday, a town councillor who also represents Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale on North Yorkshire Council, said it was “an unsatisfactory situation that I hope can be resolved” between the agricultural society and the private company.

A spokesperson for the agricultural society said:

“The current car park system has closed down and we will release a statement shortly with the new plans.”

The car park at the showground.

North Yorkshire Council looks set to press ahead with the close of a children’s centre in Pateley Bridge.

The authority has proposed to close five centres across the county as part of cost cutting measures.

Among them is Nidderdale Children’s Centre, which is based at St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge.

The council has recommended consulting on closure of the facility, which it says has not reopened since the covid pandemic.

Instead, officials have proposed giving the space back to the school in a bid to save the authority £13,400 a year.

Council officials launched a consultation back in March over the planned closure.

In a report due before the authority’s executive next week, the council said just one response was received in relation to the Pateley Bridge facility.

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The respondent did not agree with the closure and cited “lack of resources within the locality, requesting that the centre be retained for the development of groups to support children and their families”.

In response, council officials said:

“As evidenced in the report to exec member dated 7 March 2023 there was very little use of the building therefore it would not be financially viable to reopen this building. 

“Within the Nidderdale locality there are currently several groups that provide support for children and their families.”

The centre opened in September 2010 as a designated children’s centre. It was backed by £590,715 worth of Sure Start funding from the Department for Education.

The council said it does not anticipate that the government will request any of the money back.

Centres in Eastfield, South Craven, Kirbymoorside and Wensleydale will also be considered for closure.

Senior councillors will consider the proposal at a meeting on June 20.

Pateley Bridge Town Council is to investigate the possibility of installing speed bumps on High Street following a complaint by a resident.

The unnamed resident, who lives on Kings Court, wrote to the council calling for speed bumps at the top and bottom of the narrow street.

They said it would deter “speeding cyclists, motorbikes and boy racers”.

At their monthly meeting last night, town councillors agreed to look into the idea, although any final decision would be taken by North Yorkshire Council, which is the highways authority.

Andrew Murday, who is a town councillor and also the Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale on North Yorkshire Council, said he would look into the criteria for allowing speed bumps.

Cllr Mike Holt said the issue of speeding on High Street, which cyclists approach downhill in all directions, had been debated many times and speed bumps were the only realistic option, although he added the faded double yellow lines could be re-painted.

Cllr Neil Thompson said illegal parking on the street was the main problem, although it was mentioned that disabled people with Blue Badges were entitled to park on double yellow lines for up to three hours and this had to be taken into account.

Councillors agreed to consult on the idea before contacting North Yorkshire Council if the idea was viable.

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Poet laureate Simon Armitage has been commissioned to write a poem inspired by Brimham Rocks and the surrounding moorland.

The poem, called Balancing Act, will be carved in stone and placed on the moor.

Brimham Rocks is an outcrop of millstone grit rocks formed 325 million years ago near Pateley Bridge. The site, owned by the National Trust, was designated a site of special scientific interest in 1958.

Mr Armitage, who was born in Huddersfield, was appointed poet laureate in 2019. A former geography student at Portsmouth Polytechnic, his work often focuses on northern landscapes.

He appeared at arts festival Feva in Knaresborough and at Ripon Poetry Festival in 2021.

A National Trust representative is due to give a presentation about the poem at Pateley Bridge Town Council tonight.

A trust spokesperson said the poem will “create a permanent artwork and place for reflection” and will be debuted at an official launch on June 22.

Further details are expected next week.

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Police have arrested a second man in connection with an attempted arson in Pateley Bridge.

Officers say the incident happened between 1.45am and 2.45am on Sunday, May 14, at the Dales Market Corner petrol station in the town.

According to North Yorkshire Police, two men walked onto the forecourt, placed a backpack in the area and set it alight. The backpack then self-extinguished.

Police today confirmed a 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the incident.

He currently remains in police custody.

A 36-year-old man had previously been arrested on suspicion of arson and criminal damage on May 14. He was interviewed and later released on conditional bail.

The force said no charges have been issued at this stage and investigations continue.

Jill Cowling, detective inspector from Harrogate CID, said previously:

“We’re treating this incident as deliberate, and enquiries are continuing.  Thankfully no one was injured, but we will be increasing police activity in the area to provide additional reassurance to the public.

“As part of the ongoing police investigation I’m now appealing for people to come forward about any suspicious activity at the location on the night of Saturday 13 and in the early hours of Sunday 14 May 2023.”

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It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A sales manager is celebrating reaching a milestone 20 years working at a Harrogate district estate agents.

Alison Reilly has worked at the Pateley Bridge office of Dacre, Son & Hartley since 2003.

Since then, she has sold hundreds of properties throughout Nidderdale and is currently working on a £1.5m property which would be her most expensive to date.

Ms Reilly, who grew up and lives in Pateley Bridge, said:

“Over the years I have helped bring many amazing properties to the market, but the most memorable has to be The Temple at Glasshouses. 

“The tiny circular building with a pointed roof had planning consent to be converted into a one-bedroom holiday let. It was a stable at one point and sits beside the River Nidd, close to the weir on the footpath from Glasshouses to Pateley Bridge and it was unlike anything I had ever brought to the market before.”

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said: 

“Alison has her finger on the pulse of Pateley Bridge and is a real professional, who is dedicated to our business and our clients.”

Harrogate environmental firm appoints new director

A Harrogate environmental company has appointed a new director to the firm.

Adler and Allan, which is based off Station Parade, has announced Mike Williamson as managing director of its new water services division.

Mike Williamson, new director at Adler and Allan.

Mr Williamson joins the company from Severn Trent Services, the commercial arm of Severn Trent Plc, where he was managing director for four years.

On his new appointment, he said:

“I am delighted to be joining Adler and Allan at what feels like a critical moment.

“They have a rich history and are rightly respected as a premier provider of environmental services in certain sectors of the UK market. But they have also been transforming through acquisition over the last two years.

“We now have an exciting opportunity to bring all of this together to become the leading provider of environmental services across the water sector.”

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