This story is sponsored by North Blinds.

With so many styles of blinds and shades to choose from, finding the right one for your needs can sometimes feel a little overwhelming.

However, using their vast knowledge and expertise, Lucas and his business partner Chris can help you find the perfect window covering.

Since launching their business, North Blinds, in 2018, the team have commissioned and installed thousands of blinds.

Their unrivalled customer service has earned them hundreds of five star ratings on review sites including Google and Trustpilot.

Personal approach

This is thanks to their personal face-to-face approach, which includes bringing their unique ‘mobile showroom’ to customers’ homes.

Lucas said:

“We bring the showroom to customers, so they don’t need to leave the comfort of their homes.

“We, as an independent family business, have got large collections of books of different swatches and types of blinds, so they can see what the actual material or fitting is going to look like against the wall or against the furniture.

“This really helps customers to find what they are looking for.

“We are always friendly and our free no-obligation consultations are carried out in a relaxed way. We keep the best interest of our customers at heart.”

Lucas, from North Blinds.

Lucas, Chris and the team personally offer advice on what blinds would be suitable for customers’ needs.

For example, a heavy wooden blind might not necessarily be suitable for a large window and a motorised blind might be a more preferable option for a skylight.

Lucas said:

“Using our expertise and our experience, we advise them so they get the results they want. Sometimes as a customer, you have something in mind but you don’t know the full range or what options you have. So we can help solve this.”

Lifetime guarantee 

The company also offers a unique lifetime aftercare service. As well as a standard two-year warranty on all blinds, North Blinds stay on standby to help customers with any future issues.

Lucas said:

“Our lifetime aftercare helps you to keep your blinds in tip-top shape, even when they get accidentally damaged. So if your dog took too much of a liking to your bone print kitchen blinds, we will fix the damage for free. We only charge for replacement parts if needed. You can’t say fairer than that!

“We focus on the experience and the customer service so they feel they have got value for money. We want to take away all the stress of ordering blinds, fitting them and making sure they are ok.”

North Blinds is based in Skipton, however they offer their top-class service across the Harrogate district, including Knaresborough and Ripon.

The firm works with the best manufacturers to supply a complete range of blinds, including blackout blinds, motorised, ‘perfect fit’, pleated, Venetian, roller, day and night, conservatory, skylight Roman and vertical. As well as the huge variety window blinds on offer, the business also offers a wide range of curtains and shutters.

Lucas added:

“Customers expect excellent quality materials, a high-level of workmanship, professionalism and excellent customer service, and that’s exactly what we believe in too.”

To book a free, no-obligation quote with the team at North Blinds, click here, or call 01423 434049.

Two miniature paintings of Derby winners are to be auctioned in Ripon next month after lying unnoticed for 180 years.

The oil on metal paintings belonged to John Bowes, founder of the Bowes Museum and one of the greatest-ever racehorse owners.

They make up a set of four identically presented paintings depicting all of Mr Bowes’ Derby winners.

The other two are held by and are on view at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, and until recently art experts knew nothing about the whereabouts of the missing pair.

The two paintings show Mundig and Cotherstone, who won the Derby in 1835 and 1843 respectively.

They are being offered for sale by auction house Elstob & Elstob as part of its pictures and sculpture sale on November 30, together with a portrait of Issac Walker, who was head groomsman at the Streatlam Stud owned by Mr Bowes, who died in 1885.

Head groomsman, Issac Walker, with the two paintings.

Mr Elstob said:

“It is remarkable that these paintings have finally come to light.

“They have come forward from a client in Matlock, Derbyshire, who has had them in the family for as long as can be remembered.

“The family originated from Weardale in County Durham – close to the Bowes Museum – and the client remembers them hanging in his grandparents’ cottage in the village of Howden le Wear. His grandfather was friendly with Issac Walker’s family, which may explain how the paintings came to be in their hands.”

Read more:

• Ripon City Football Club reveals plans to relocate
• Hot Seat: the Ripon auctioneer bringing a modern edge to antiques

Each painting measures only 12.5cm x 13cm and are presented in horse shoe frames known as racing plates and would almost certainly have come from the Derby winners themselves.

The two paintings, together with the oil on board portrait of Issac Walker, carry a price estimate of £1,000 to £1,500.

It is not known who painted them but they are attributed to the circle of Henry Thomas Alken (1785-1851).

John Bowes and the four Derby winners

The paintings are particularly significant to the equestrian world due to John Bowes’ fame as one of the most successful racehorse owners this country has ever known.

During his career he had four Derby winners, a feat matched by only five other breeders in the history of the race and only exceeded by the Aga Khan III with five

John Bowes earned a fortune from racing, which played a major part in funding the Bowes Museum; built in an elaborate French Chateaux style to house the art collection of John and Josephine Bowes and opened to the public after their deaths in 1892.

Mundig was the first of Bowes’ hugely successful horses. He was foaled in 1832, the year that John Bowes turned 21 and indeed Mundig is German for mature or ‘of age’.

He was in the first batch of horses that Bowes sent to trainer John Scott, known as ‘the wizard of the north’, who had the Whitewall training stables at Malton, near York.

When Mundig won the 1835 Derby, he became the first northern-bred horse ever to do so, despite relatively poor odds.

Cotherstone was another outstanding champion, again trained by John Scott and ridden by his brother William Scott to victory in the 1843 Derby. He won the Two Thousand Guineas and came second in the St Leger in the same year, earning Mr Bowes more than £12,000 (£1.2 million in today’s values), and securing his position as one of the most valuable horses in the country.

Issac Walker was head groomsman at the Streatlam Stud from 1833-1872.

Mr Elstob said:

“These paintings represent a snapshot of one of the most remarkable success stories in racing history and, together with the links to the renowned collection of art in the Bowes Museum, we are expecting them to attract worldwide interest from equestrian enthusiasts and art collectors alike.”

The sale will take place at Elstob & Elstob’s Ripon salerooms on November 30 at 10am, with viewing on November 29 between 10am and 7pm.

For further information, contact Rohan McCulloch on 01765 699200 or email: rohan@elstobandelstob.co.uk

Grantley Hall has appealed a council order to prevent it from using a helipad after an alleged planning breach.

Harrogate Borough Council issued an enforcement notice against the hotel for using the helipad for take off and landings without planning permission.

The luxury hotel, which is located five miles west of Ripon, withdrew plans to operate the helicopter landing pad in June 2021.

The authority then ordered the hotel to “cease the use of the land for the taking off and landing of helicopter flights” and remove the helipad from the land.

According to the notice, the helipad’s location causes damage to the area and the significance of a heritage asset in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The order adds:

“It fails to protect or enhance those features which contribute to the special architectural or historic interest of the heritage asset and does not make a positive contribution to the character of the area.”

A picture of the helipad in the Grantley Hall grounds submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

However, Grantley Hall has since appealed the order and requested that permission is granted for the helipad.

The hotel said that 70 flights took place at the hotel between October 2021 and September 2022, with visitors coming from Jersey, Bournemouth and Melrose in Scotland.

Read more:

• Grantley Hall withdraws helipad plan for third time

• 62 homes set to be built at council’s Harlow Nursery

It added that all the flights took place during the day time and it was “clear evidence for the demand for this facility”.

In documents submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with appeals, the hotel said it had met with the council in September 2022 and confirmed it had stopped taking helicopter bookings.

The hotel said it was happy for conditions to be placed on its proposals and was willing to meet with the council to discuss mitigation measures.

It said in its planning documents:

“The appellant is eager to work with Harrogate Borough Council to ensure that Grantley Hall’s ability to deliver a first-class service and contribution to the local and regional economy does not compromise the local amenity and setting and significance of Grantley Hall.”

The Stray Ferret approached Grantley Hall for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

Three planning withdrawals

The hotel withdrew plans for the helicopter landing pad for a third time in June 2021 after council officers recommended rejecting the proposal.

Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Grantley and Sawley Parish Council and several residents objected to the plans, with one local describing the application as “totally unnecessary” and “self-fulfilling”.

The hotel has withdrawn three applications and had another rejected since first asking for permission to use an existing helipad in 2018.

Grantley Hall opened as a hotel after a £70 million refurbishment in 2019.

It was once used by West Riding County Council between 1947 and 1974 as an adult education residential college, as well as a training and conference centre by North Yorkshire County Council.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

More than half the units under construction on a Ripon business park are now pre-let ahead of the project being completed.

Canalside Business Park, which was previously used by Econ Engineering to store its 900-strong gritter hire fleet, is looking to help redress the shortage of small-scale industrial units in the district.

Owned by Canalside Developments and being constructed by HACS, it is a 25,000 sq ft development located opposite Ripon racecourse, off Navigation Way opposite Travis Perkins, and is scheduled for completion in spring next year.

Jonathan Lupton, Canalside Developments director, said: 

“Canalside Business Park will help meet the growing demand for industrial units for start-ups and growing business in our district.

“We are delighted by the fact that 65% of the units are now pre-let. Built to a modern specification, they will provide much-needed industrial space for micro businesses and SMEs.”

BID puts focus on Ripon Christmas windows

Ripon Business Improvement District is inviting businesses to enter their Christmas window competition, which has adopted a theme of peace and sanctuary.

The BID hopes as many businesses as possible get involved and make Ripon’s Christmas windows a magical spectacle.

A judging panel, consisting of the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon Councillor Sid and Mrs Linda Hawke, the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd. John Dobson and The Stray Ferret, will be judging all the windows during the week beginning November 21.

The winning window will receive £200 in advertising from one of the BID’s media partners.

Locals and visitors will be invited to vote via social media and will have the chance to win a Ripon Hamper Company hamper.

Read more:

• Business Breakfast: Harrogate developer completes £5.5m business park
• Business Breakfast: Harrogate event celebrates success of inclusion project

The BID will be running its Christmas marketing campaign using the #christmasinripon and will include video footage of the windows and festivities.

The Visit Ripon website will have a dedicated Christmas page highlighting the businesses Christmas windows, offers and events.

Businesses are asked to confirm whether they wish to enter by November 14 via info@riponbid.co.uk and be ready for judging by the panel during the week beginning November 21.

The Ripon Christmas brochure, whose production is being supported by the BID, will be available to businesses and the public both in print and online at the beginning of November and Seasonal music in Market Square will complement the BID’s ‘Free After Three’ car parking on Friday November 25, and on December 2, 9 and 16.

This article is sponsored by Craven-Holmes.

Boroughbridge estate agents Craven-Holmes has been named a finalist in one of the most prestigious awards in the UK property industry.

The independent family-run business is one of 38 agencies shortlisted in the Small Estate Agency of the Year category at The Negotiator Awards 2022.

The winner will be announced at a black-tie ceremony at London’s Grosvenor Hotel on Friday, November 25.

Owner Tracey Wrigglesworth, who bought the agency in 2018, said it was a huge honour to be nominated.

She said:

“The Negotiator Awards are like the Oscars of the industry. Just to be shortlisted is massive.

“The criteria is incredibly tough. You have got to prove your worth.

“When I got the email to say I’d been shortlisted, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear me screaming in Harrogate!”

Tracey, who has more than 20 years experience in the local property market, runs the business with her daughter Mahalah Mulholland. Her friend Pauline Wardman also works at the agency and her son also gets involved when needed.

The sales, lettings and property agency works across the region in the Boroughbridge, Ripon, Thirsk, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Bedale and Wetherby areas.

Tracey and her team have all lived and worked in the area for many years and therefore have an in-depth knowledge of the local market.

Tracey said:

“We pride ourselves on our relationships and our customer service, as well as trust and integrity. We are really proud of what we do.

“We are an independent on Boroughbridge High Street and we are very much a supporter of the local community.

“I’m so proud of what we have achieved. The support that I’ve had has just been lovely with continued repeat business and recommendations.”

Whether you’re buying, selling, renting or letting, Tracey and her team are ready to help. Get in touch by emailing sales@craven-holmes.co.uk or lettings@craven-holmes.co.uk

For more information, visit www.craven-holmes.co.uk

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

The Harrogate founder of a not-for-profit organisation has received a national award for his work.

John Longden OBE, chief executive of Pub is the Hub, was given the Industry Champion Award by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) at its annual dinner.

It was presented in recognition of his work to help pubs diversify and support local communities by providing essential local services.

So far, the organisation has helped more than 600 pubs to diversify, with almost 200 of those receiving help from its community services fund. Diversification can provide village shops, community cafes and libraries, as well as allotments and even cinemas.

Receiving his award, Mr Longden said:

“You have no idea how special this is. This is also for the family of Pub is The Hub and to our family of supporters.

“We all enjoy collaborating and helping publicans in their local areas. For every £1 invested in a shop, community café, village garden or play area it creates between £8 to £9 of social value. It is the social value that helps to bind us together in this wonderful industry.”

“We believe we can inspire 1,000 projects over the next three years and we have over 50 expressions of interest at this time.”

Emma McClarkin OBE, chief executive of the BBPA, added:

“This time last year we hoped we were done with ‘unprecedented times’ but here we are again after another year of surprises, challenges, and once-in-a-lifetime events.

“And throughout all of it our pubs and brewers have remained at the heart of villages, towns, and cities across the countries, providing a place of solace and community for so many and it’s why I am really proud to stand here tonight representing our brilliant industry.”

Read more:

• Business Breakfast: Harrogate developer completes £5.5m business park
• Business Breakfast: Harrogate event celebrates success of inclusion project

Early festive plans as Ripon businesses join forces

A group of Ripon independent retailers are joining forces later this month to take part in a special Christmas event, where a gift hamper worth more than £100 will be won by a lucky shopper.

The businesses – seven of them on North Street and one on Fishergate – will be open from 10am until 8pm on Thursday November 17.

There will be discounts at selected stores and shoppers are invited to enjoy a glass of fizz and a festive treat while they browse the goods and services on offer.

The participating retailers are The Castle, The GreenHouse, Memorable Moments, Carlton Couture Bridal, Absolute Bliss Health & Beauty, Eastwick, St Michael’s Hospice Shop and Halls of Ripon.

Details about the discounts and how to enter the prize draw for the hamper can be found by clicking here.

A Ripon taxi driver has said plans for a single licensing policy for North Yorkshire will lead to “chaos”.

Under proposals just put forward, the new North Yorkshire Council would create a single licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the entire county.

It would mean drivers in Harrogate could operate anywhere in North Yorkshire whereas they are currently restricted to the Harrogate district.

Richard Fieldman, who has operated his cab in Ripon for 28 years, said the planned changes would see drivers “swamp” areas during the busiest times of day.

Mr Fieldman said the move would see quieter areas deprived of taxis during the busier times.

He said:

“It will mean that any taxi can work in any area.

“You are going to have swamps of taxis in busy areas at busy times. That in itself brings chaos.”

Mr Fieldman added that he feared the council could introduce a single fare rate for the county, which he said would make business “unviable” for drivers.

Read more:

• No increase in wheelchair accessible taxis in Harrogate district
• Harrogate and Knaresborough trains to Leeds to be reinstated in December
• New council plans single taxi licensing for North Yorkshire

The Stray Ferret has approached North Yorkshire County Council for comment.

County council officials said the planned policy would offer drivers “flexibility to operate across the county”.

The authority has launched a public consultation on the changes, which is set to last for 12 weeks.

A review of fare rates across the county will be carried out at a later date.

The council said in a statement:

“In accordance with the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance, it is proposed that the new council will operate one hackney carriage ‘zone’ for North Yorkshire.

“Thereby providing drivers with the flexibility to operate across the county, encouraging environmental efficiencies and creating a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“There are no plans to impose hackney carriage quantity restrictions on the creation of a new single zone. Hackney carriage fares and fees will also be reviewed at a later date.”

A consultation into the policy changes is open until January 19, 2023. You can have your say here.

An artist is set to hold an inaugural exhibition this month inspired by Ripon’s Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Sophie Roberts, 38, will display 40 pieces of her floral artwork for her debut exhibition, called Painting a Garden.

Sophie grew up in London and spent her life in the city, working in property.

Her career as an artist flourished after she married William Roberts, whose parents, Peter and Caroline, set up the Himalayan Gardens, which William now manages.

She said: 

“I met William in London on a blind date, and we’ve been together ever since. We married a couple of years after and he was always clear that Yorkshire was home. 

“I call him a homing pigeon, there was no doubt he would come back to Yorkshire.”

She moved to Yorkshire in 2018 while pregnant with twin girls and continued her calligraphy and illustration commissions.

However, when the covid lockdowns hit, the commercial commissions stopped and she turned to painting to fulfil her own creativity.

Sophie pictured painting in the gardens.

Sophie said: 

“I was excited to move to Yorkshire, as my grandparents had lived in Burn Bridge near Harrogate, so it was a big part of my childhood. As a child, when I wound the window down when we arrived in Yorkshire, I could just smell it, the fresh air – it felt like you’d arrived. So, to now live in this stunning area is amazing. Just going for a walk is an inspiration.

“I was completely drawn into trying to capture nature and my surroundings.”

Read more:

• Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards
• Display of 1,300 clay poppies takes over Himalayan Gardens

An open-air gallery with over 80 contemporary sculptures in a tranquil valley, the Himalayan Gardens cover 45 acres of woodlands, gardens and an arboretum, with three lakes.

Sophie kept her hand in botanical drawings, setting up workshops in the gardens for the public with artist Bridget Gillespie, a botanical illustrator for over 20 years. Before the era of photography, artists were depended on to share botanical drawings to scientists.

Sophie added:

“My paintings became much free-er.

“I started posting my paintings on Instagram and got traction with people asking to buy them, so it grew from there.”

Many of the paintings in the exhibit at at Tennants in Leyburn from November 16 to December 18, feature flowers, such as magnolias and foxgloves from the Himalayan gardens.

Visitors will have a chance to meet the artist on November 17, when Sophie will be painting live in the gallery.

A gastro pub near Ripon has been granted an extension to its licensing hours until midnight.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, told the committee he had spent more than £1 million refurbishing the pub since he bought it 11 years ago as a retirement project.

Mr Manton, who previously ran several businesses in the Harrogate area, said the pub’s main activity was food.

“It’s a destination pub. The traditional boozer has disappeared.”

Customers, he said, “like to linger and that’s why we have put in the extension until 1am”.

Mr Manton addresses the meeting.

He added:

“That doesn’t mean we will stay open until 1am every night. Last night we closed at 9.30pm.”

Mr Manton, who lives on the Isle of Man, described the venue as “a summer pub”, adding there was “very, very little activity in winter and we close our gardens”.

He said besides diners, the pub attracted weekend walkers, visitors to Fountains Abbey and guests from nearby Grantley Hall, the opening of which he described as “a lifeline”.

Before the meeting, David Taylor, clerk to Grantley and Sawley Parish Council, had submitted an objection to the proposal raising “grave concerns”.  He said:

“The residents of the village are very likely to be disturbed by vehicles leaving the site at times that would extend beyond 1am.

“Although 1am is the requested extended time, there would be ‘drinking up time’ and staff leaving the premises, therefore it would be nearer to 2am when the last cars leave the site.”

Wan Malachi, a licensing enforcement officer at the council told the committee it had received no complaints about the venue.

Ed Darling, the Conservative councillor who chairs the licensing committee, told Mr Manton it had granted the extension on condition that it applied until midnight, seven days a week, rather than the 1am requested. Cllr Darling added:

“There is a right of appeal against this decision to Harrogate Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision notice.”

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In October, Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister after just 44 days. As a result, another Conservative leadership contest was held with Rishi Sunak beating Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson to enter 10 Downing Street.

The government also U-turned on most of its planned tax cuts amid mounting pressure from MPs and financial markets.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

• Mr Jones backed Rishi Sunak to be leader of the Conservative party. He said the former Chancellor “has the experience, ability and energy to tackle the problems facing our country”.
• On October 19, Mr Jones voted with the government on an opposition motion to introduce a bill to ban fracking in the UK. The vote proved controversial amid allegations of Conservative whips being aggressive with MPs in the voting lobby.
• Mr Jones announced he was launching a “non-political” fact checking service. He said his videos on Instagram will be ‘an occasional series where we just present facts — no politics’. His first video was on investment zones.
• In the second of his Instagram videos on October 21, Mr Jones denied he had voted in favour of fracking following the controversial vote in the House of Commons.
• On October 17, Mr Jones spoke in the House of Commons on investment zones where he said it was “far from the case” that the measure would harm the environment.
• On October 13, Mr Jones called for a debate on designated bathing areas in rivers. It came amid a campaign by Nidd Catchment Anglers Group to create designated areas on the River Nidd.
• On October 24, Mr Jones asked transport minister Kevin Foster MP to consider the role of the private sector in rail reform and to make York the headquarters of Great British Railways.
• On October 27, Mr Jones supported a Dogs Trust campaign to end puppy smuggling.

Read More:

• Consultation launched over £540m North Yorkshire devolution deal
• Levelling up council tax charges over two years is ‘best compromise’

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith also threw his support behind Richmond MP, Rishi Sunak, to become the next Prime Minister.
• On October 11, Mr Smith asked ministers to confirm that they would not “balance the forthcoming tax cuts on the backs of the poorest”.
• Mr Smith was a critic of the government’s plan to cut taxes earlier this month. On October 2, he tweeted that MPs “cannot clap for carers one month and cut tax for millionaires months later”.
• He later welcomed the government’s decision to backtrack on most of its tax cut pledges.
• He voted along with the government on the controversial fracking vote on October 19.
• On October 25, an article on Bloomberg said ‘dark arts specialist’ Mr Smith could be in line for a role in Mr Sunak’s government. As yet, nothing has transpired.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• Mr Adams, who is a close ally of Boris Johnson, backed the former Prime Minister in the Conservative leadership contest.
• Mr Adams has kept a low profile since Mr Johnson stepped down as Prime Minister. He made no spoken contributions in the House of Commons in October and only voted on two occasions.
• On October 18, Mr Adams tweeted his support for the Foreign Secretary’s decision to summon the Chinese Chargé d’Affaires to demand an explanation for scenes outside the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester.