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.

Two fire crews from Ripon and one from Boroughbridge rushed to Ripon city centre last night following reports of smoke in a launderette.

After being summoned at about 7.20pm, they extinguished a fire that had spread to a number of commercial washers and dryers.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera to tackle the blaze.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said:

“Crews then ventilated the heavily smoked logged building and gave advice to the owner.

“The cause of the fire was accidental.”

Read more:

• Firefighters put up poppies as Ripon prepares for services of Remembrance
• Man arrested after disturbance in Ripon city centre

A man has been arrested after a disturbance in Ripon city centre this afternoon.

North Yorkshire Police officers were called to Market Square just after 1pm following reports of a man acting aggressively.

An eye witness, who did not wish to be named, told the Stray Ferret two police vans appeared quickly after an altercation.

A police statement said:

“A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the incident and on suspicion of assaulting an emergency services worker. Investigations are ongoing.”

Anyone with information can contact the police, quoting reference number 12220191661.

Read more:

• Warning over waste after ‘fatberg’ found in Ripon sewer
• Firefighters put up poppies as Ripon prepares for services of Remembrance

This story is sponsored by Wolseley.

Ripon brothers Andy and Rich Hudson love working at Wolseley’s distribution centre in Melmerby.

Between them they have clocked up almost 40 years of service at the plumbing and heating merchants, which has its UK headquarters in Ripon and Warwick.

In fact it has been somewhat of a family affair, with their father and aunt also working for the firm until retirement.

Andy said:

“My Auntie Connie was with Wolseley for most of her working life and is still the telephone answer service when you ring head office.”

The company, which has a £1.8bn turnover, employs almost 5,000 staff in the UK, of which 270 are based in Ripon and 150 at the distribution centre in Melmerby.

It is Melmerby, a short ten-minute drive from Ripon, where the two brothers are based.

Twenty years of service

Andy said:

“I’m coming up to 20 years service. I started off as a general picker, packer.

“The advantage of working at Wolseley is there is always the opportunity to work somewhere new within the distribution centre and expand your knowledge base.

“I excelled at what I was doing in one area and then I moved into a different area.

“I’ve been trained on various manual handling equipment, fork trucks and more. There are about six or seven trucks I’m actually trained on. So Wolseley invest heavily in their employees to get the best out of them.”

Safety is key.

Varied work

Andy, who is currently working in the stock team, credits his long service to the variety of work.

He said:

“There are always different areas you can work in and different ways you can advance through the company.

“I’ve done various qualifications with Wolseley. I’ve done an NVQ in warehousing. I’ve also just completed a Wolseley Talent Booster and I’m about to start another course shortly through our Wolseley Talent Guild.

“This is in-house training and they have recently invested in the training suite at Ripon head office. So anybody can be put forward for this training by their manager. I’ve completed the training booster for Team Leader and I’m about to start training for manager level.”

Andy said there is always scope for growth at Wolseley.

Wolseley’s award-winning Talent Guild includes apprenticeship programmes, talent boosters and career ladders, right through to more technical qualifications and higher education programmes.

Wolseley is currently training more than 130 apprentices across the UK and boosting the skills of more than 150 existing employees.

Andy added:

“All the way through there is training and support from your managers. Everybody wants the best out of you.

“I feel very valued and it’s such a nice atmosphere to work in.

“Every day is different. There are no two days the same.”

How it began

Wolseley started life in a very different form in 1887, moving into the heating space in the 1960s. Wolseley moved into Ripon in 1971 as The Wolseley Hughes Group.

It was based on Boroughbridge Road, where it remains to this day, and was made up of three companies OBC, Yorkshire Heating Supplies and Granville Controls.

In 1985, the company expanded its site and by 1996 was known as Wolseley Centres.

Wolseley is a leading specialist provider of plumbing, heating, cooling, and utility products to trade customers. Trading under a number of leading brands including Wolseley Plumb & Parts, Wolseley Pipe, Wolseley Climate, William Wilson, Jointing Tech, Burdens, and Fusion Utilities. It has over 560 branches nationally, three centres of excellence in the utilities space, support centres in Warwick and Ripon, and four distribution centres.

Rich Hudson has worked for Wolseley for almost 18 years and is currently the warehouse Team Leader at Melmerby.

He said:

“There is plenty of variety and plenty of opportunities to keep you interested.

“There are different machines to learn to operate and different departments you can move into – it never gets stale.

“There are also a lot of learning opportunities. Wolseley is currently putting me through an NVQ qualification in leadership and management. They offer qualifications for any area you want to go into.

“I met my lovely wife, who also worked for Wolseley, so they must be doing something right!”

Now is the time to join Wolseley’s distribution centre in Melmerby as a Warehouse Operative. Earn up to £24,211 per annum with generous benefits. Apply today by clicking or tapping here.

A sewer in Ripon became completely blocked by congealed fats after people disposed of the wrong waste down their sinks.

It meant sewage was no longer able to flow through the 450mm sewer in Skellgarth towards the wastewater treatment works, potentially causing serious problems.

It has now been cleared by Yorkshire Water, which is now urging people not to pour fats and oils down their sinks.

Lee Pinder, regional operations manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

“The disposal of fats and greases down sinks can result in significant blockages within the network.

“This ‘fatberg’ was completely blocking the flow of sewage to the treatment works, leading it to back up in the network, with the potential to cause sewage flooding for nearby homes, businesses and the local environment.

“While pouring fats and greases down the drain may seem harmless, we know from experience that the build ups caused by frequent disposal of these liquids can have significant consequences. The fats and oils congeal in the network and can grow as more unflushables, such as wet wipes, attach to it.

“Thankfully, our team was able to identify this particular blockage and remove it before it had an impact on our customers. We’d urge everyone to help fight fatbergs in our sewers by disposing of fat and oils in the bin, and by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and (toilet) paper.”

Read more:

• Campaign launched to achieve bathing water status on River Nidd
• Yorkshire Water gives £70 account payments to low-income households