Plans for a new Lidl supermarket at St Michael’s Retail Park in Ripon have been given the go-ahead.
Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today granted approval for the store, which the German retailer said will create up to 40 jobs and occupy three units at the £10m retail park.
Lidl also said the supermarket would represent a “multi-million-pound” investment into the Rotary Way site, which opened last year and is currently only occupied by Marks and Spencer.
Speaking at a meeting today, Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh said she was happy to support the development because of the hundreds of homes set to be built in the area over the coming years, including plans for 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks.
She said:
“This huge residential development is coming so there is a requirement to make sure that there is this kind of retail in Ripon.
“And what made me comfortable with this was the analysis of whether the store would impact on the city centre itself.
“Once that assured me it wouldn’t, I was very happy to support this to give the people of Ripon a choice in their shopping.”
Read more:
- First Lidl supermarket in Harrogate given go-ahead
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The Lidl plans were submitted to the council in May following a virtual consultation with the local community earlier in the year.
Today’s approval comes after separate plans for a Lidl store at the former Lookers car dealership on Harrogate’s Knaresborough Road were approved by the council last month.
Lidl previously said this store will also create up to 40 jobs once built.
Six months to save Ripon’s Spa Baths for community useRipon City Council is seeking a ‘constructive partnership’ with Harrogate Borough Council as it bids to keep Spa Baths as a community facility.
City councillors voted unanimously last night to adopt a two-pronged approach in their attempts to maintain the Grade II listed building for public use.
Their bid to prevent the site being sold for private development received a major boost last week.
Harrogate Borough Council confirmed the city council’s application to have the building listed as an Asset of Community Value had been successful.
This gives the local community six months to put together a bid to buy the building.
Councillor Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, will be invited to meet with the city council at the earliest opportunity to discuss matters.
In tandem with this, consultants will be invited to submit expressions of interest for drawing up a business plan and development brief looking at options for the building, which is part of the city’s Spa Quarter.
The Ripon Civic Society plaque underlines Spa Bath’s historic importance.
At last night’s meeting, city council leader Andrew Williams, said:
“Harrogate Borough Council was attempting to plough on with its plan to sell Spa Baths without any proper consultation.
“However, we now need to draw a line under this and move forward in a constructive partnership with them to decide what’s best for Ripon and the future of this city, with its growing population.
“Cllr Swift has indicated his willingness to meet with us and we welcome this and hope the meeting can be arranged as soon as possible.”
The 116-year-old Edwardian spa, whose use was converted to a public swimming pool in 1936, was put up for sale for an undisclosed price by Harrogate Borough Council in February.
It was deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ with a new swimming pool scheduled to open at Camp Close, off Dallamires Lane in November.
At last night’s meeting, Councillor Pauline McHardy, said:
“It’s sensible for us to have two strings to our bow — six months can quickly pass by and we need to act now.”
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A number of potential community uses for the building have already been put forward by members of the public and Councillor Stephen Craggs, added:
“Future use of the building should take into consideration the needs of young people in the city.”
‘The aim is to make Ripon a more attractive destination’
Ripon has a tremendous opportunity to enhance its reputation and attract more people from this country and abroad over the next five years.
That’s the view of Ripon Business Improvement District chairman Richard Compton.
In June, Ripon businesses voted in favour of creating a BID, which aims to increase footfall in the city.
Ripon BID will have an annual budget of £160,000 over the next five years to spend on projects that encourage visitors. A BID manager is being recruited.
In the meantime, Mr Compton points to a number of positive developments already taking place, including the refurbishment of the Spa Hotel, the reopening of The Old Deanery Hotel under new operators and the imminent opening of the Claro Lounge, on a high street where voids are steadily finding new occupiers.
Read More:
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Battle to save Ripon Spa Baths being sold for housing receives boost
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Ripon Curzon cinema to reopen this month with James Bond film
Longer-term he sees even greater opportunities.
He said next year’s 1,350th anniversary of St Wilfrid’s founding of the city’s cathedral could provide a springboard to future growth.
Mr Compton, the owner of Newby Hall, whose own family roots in the area go back centuries, sees heritage, history and tradition as cornerstones to build on.
Ripon Cathedral celebrates its 1,350th anniversary next year.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“If our magnificent cathedral was in the Cotswolds, it would attract wide international recognition.
“Next year’s landmark anniversary gives us the opportunity to put Ripon on the national and international map.”
Improve the appearance of the city
Mr Compton said the cathedral, combined with the city’s museums, the ancient Market Square, Fountains Abbey and Newby Hall, provided a package of heritage and visitor attractions that would benefit the wider local economy.
He said:
Ripon man left alone in bed for 12 hours a night due to care staff crisis“The aim is to promote and make Ripon more attractive as a retail and tourism destination and the BID can help in a number of ways.
“These range from improving the appearance of the city and making better use of Market Square as a public space, to enhancing car parking and lobbying for better wayfinding and signage.
“The signs are looking good and I’m feeling confident about the future.”
Acute staff shortages in the care sector are forcing a disabled Ripon man to miss meals and stay in bed for up to 12 hours a day.
Daniel Abel, 37, has cerebral palsy and requires full-time care to live independently.
Mr Abel was discharged by a private sector care provider recently due to staff shortages, which brought him under the care of North Yorkshire County Council‘s emergency reablement service.
Mr Abel said the county council told him he would be under its care for up to three weeks but almost four weeks have passed and there is still no sign of being moved to a new provider.
Under his current care plan, he has a carer for one hour in the morning, 45 minutes at lunch time and another hour at bed time. By contrast, he received four hours of care in the morning and four hours at night with his previous provider.
Because Mr Abel no longer receives care at teatime he goes without an evening meal because he is too scared he may hurt himself.
Can’t eat, drink or go to toilet
His final carer arrives at 8pm to put him to bed, where he remains for almost 12 hours unable to eat, drink or go to the toilet.
He said being in bed for this much time also contributed to skin problems. Mr Abel added:
“I am someone who wishes I didn’t need care but unfortunately I do. I feel like with my current care I can’t have a life.
“The bigger care crisis is not my problem. I have to rely on my dad, who is 60-odd, to come and change the bed at night. When I’m having to get friends and dad to come over to me it’s uncomfortable for them and for me.
“I just want care to get me up, washed and dressed and then left to get on with my life.”
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He said he has spoken with another Harrogate care provider, which said it can offer him care but it may take three more weeks because of recruitment problems.
1,000 job vacancies
Richard Webb, corporate director for health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:
“Adult social care is vitally important and we are pulling out all the stops to support the sector in every way possible during current challenges.
“On any given day across the county there are at least 1,000 jobs available. Never has the need for people to work in care been so great yet we are receiving 70% less applications for care jobs now then we were only a few months ago.
“These acute staffing shortages mean providers are handing back packages of care to us and our staff are going above and beyond to meet people’s needs.
“Reablement is a service we provide which is free of charge at the point of need and can last for up to six weeks and is aimed at supporting people to maximise their independence.
“In some circumstances our reablement service can continue to provide care at home until a new provider can be found and new care arrangements are put in place – where this happens, it becomes a charged-for service.”
A day to remember at Hickstead for Kirkby Malzeard schoolgirl
It took six-and-a-half hours to drive 10-year-old Tegan Ford and her pony from North Yorkshire to West Sussex for a one-minute ride, but it was well worth it.
The long journey was to Hickstead – home of the famous derby that attracts the world’s elite showjumpers – and mother, Sarah, didn’t want her daughter to miss the experience of taking part in the National Schools Equestrian Association event.
Tegan and her 18-year-old pony, called Lilly Hill Make My Day, had earned their place by winning a qualifying competition at Northallerton Equestrian Centre.
They represented Grewelthorpe Primary School in the county showjumping class over fences measuring 70-75cm.
Tegan and her mother Sarah, with ponies Sox and Leo in the background
The event, for riders up to the age of 12, attracted 30 entries and Tegan was the only representative from the north.
She and her bright bay pony with four nimble white feet, completed a clear round over 12 fences, but her left foot slipped out of the stirrup at the sixth obstacle and the lost seconds meant they finished a very creditable fourth.
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Tegan said:
“That was really annoying, but Sox [the stable name for her pony] kept balanced and her experience meant we cleared all of the fences.
“I was so proud of her, she is a lovely horse.”
As well as the journey down to Hickstead, there was another six and a half hour drive back to Yorkshire after an overnight stay down south.
Ms Ford, who drove the hired horsebox, told the Stray Ferret:
“When I discovered that Tegan and Sox had qualified for an event at Hickstead, I wanted to ensure that she could take part.
“It’s a long way to go to see a ride of only 60 seconds, but its something we will both remember for all our lives.”
Tegan has won more than 50 rosettes since she started riding at the age of six and last year collected a prize of £100 for winning a Show Cross competition at Richmond Equestrian Centre,
She was due to take part in the same event this weekend and her bright bay Sox, looks fit and raring to go.
Wellbeing Day to bring Ripon together after covid
A charity wellbeing and fitness event is being held in the grounds of Ripon Cathedral today to bring the community together after the pandemic and raise funds for the city’s YMCA branch.
Participants will be able to take part in yoga, meditation, dance fitness and Clubbercise, which will be led by local personal trainers and fitness instructors, who have given up their time for free, as well as enjoy head massages from Head to Toe Healing.
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- Ripon Curzon cinema to reopen this month with James Bond film
- Ripon Arts Hub re-opens with first performances
Wellbeing Day for the YMCA will take place in the Dean’s Garden from 2-4pm and currently has more than 40 people signed up.
Louise Jones, who owns Oliver’s Pantry, on North Street, and is one of the organisers, said:
“We are holding it to raise funds and awareness, our objective was to have some fun and bring people together and to also help some of our local yoga and PT instructors promote what they do.
“Also from a mental health and wellbeing aspect, these activities really do help so many people locally. So it’s about feeling great, having some fun, coming together and simply seeing people together – knowing after lockdown many have struggled with coming back out in to normality.”
Four 30-minute sessions will be provided by:
Nicola Lymer – yoga (Exhale Fitness)
Frayah Humphries – Essential Yoga with Frayah
Hayley Anderson Fitness – Clubbercise
Edina – dance fitness (M-Unity)
To book a place email events@riponymca.org The suggested donation is £20 and participants should bring a mat, blanket or towel, and a drink.
Thousands still without TV signal, says local electrical firmThousands of people in the Harrogate district are still without TV coverage after the Bilsdale transmitter fire, says the owner of a local electrical firm.
Stephen Craggs, managing director of G Craggs Ltd, which has stores in Ripon and Boroughbridge, told the Stray Ferret he was still receiving calls from people unable to get channels on their televisions.
Arqiva, the company which owns the transmitter, said this week its temporary mast at Sutton Bank had restored coverage to many areas, such as Masham and Ripon.
But, Mr Cragg said that was not what customers were telling him.
He said:
“We’re still getting phone calls every two minutes saying ‘I thought the transmitter was fixed?’”
Mr Cragg said the majority of people calling him were elderly who relied on television as a means of company.
G Craggs in Boroughbridge
He added that some did not own tablets and had no catch-up television.
Read more:
- Bilsdale fire: channels restored to Harrogate district — but problems remain
- Temporary Bilsdale transmitter replacement ‘could take months’
Following the temporary transmitter being built, a number of district residents told the Stray Ferret that retuning their TVs had brought back some channels but not all.
We are continuing to receive messages from readers saying they are without services. One woman in Ripon told us she would be happy to receive just one channel showing back-to-back repeats of Crossroads.
Many people have been unable to watch TV since the Bilsdale mast caught fire a month ago today.
Mr Cragg criticised Arqiva for appearing to have “no strategy” for dealing with the situation and described the past month as a “fiasco”.
“There is no back-up plan. They are just on one crisis to another.
“Meanwhile, there are thousands of people without TV. Not everybody has a smart TV or tablet.”
In the company’s latest update, Paul Donovan, chief executive of Arqiva, said on Wednesday:
Ripon man jailed for persistently breaching animal welfare order“This morning Freeview television services were restored for over 100,000 more homes in the region.
“However, this is a complex task and there is clearly a lot more to do, so we are working with our partners as quickly and safely as possible. I would like to extend a special thank you to all those people who have been supporting friends and neighbours who may not have access to the internet or other sources of information and entertainment. We will prioritise the most vulnerable people affected.”
A Ripon man has been jailed after pleading guilty to a string of animal welfare offences.
Michael Andrew Hawkswell, 45, of Nunwick near Ripon, appeared at York Magistrates Court on Wednesday, accused of breaching the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which forbids him from keeping animals.
Hawkswell, who is disqualified from keeping or owning animals, was charged with possessing 76 birds and five other offences.
His five other offences included buying and transporting two goats, possessing seven sheep in his trailer, possessing a duck, unloading poultry from a vehicle into sale pens at Highgate auctions in Rotherham and buying and selling poultry.
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Hawkswell was jailed for four weeks to be served consecutively for all six offences and given a further eight weeks for breaching a suspended sentence which was imposed in 2019.
He was handed a 32-week jail sentence in total.
The court also disqualified Hawkswell from owning or keeping goats, poultry, birds and sheep for a period of 10 years under the Animal Welfare Act.
Police examine crates of poultry after stopping Hawkswell in July last year. Picture: North Yorkshire Police.
Hawkswell was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 16 months.
Speaking after the sentencing, PC Mark Atkinson, of North Yorkshire Police’s rural task force, said:
“Michael Hawkswell knew full well that he wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with animals – with a court order in place to protect them from suffering at his hands.
“However, he has repeatedly shown a blatant disregard for that court order, and persistently breached it on a number of occasions.
“Members of the farming community were aware of Hawkswell’s illegal activity, and came forward with crucial information, allowing us to arrest him and put him before the court. I would like to thank everyone who has spoken to the police in relation to Hawkswell’s activities – your assistance has been so vital and helped our team to put the strongest case together.”
North Yorkshire Police said it would now distribute posters highlighting Hawkswell’s banning order at livestock marts and other rural businesses.
Animal welfare charity the RSPCA tweeted that the sentence showed breaches of court orders “will not be ignored or tolerated”.
Breaches of court ordered disqualification (breach of ban) will not be ignored or tolerated. #teamwork with @NYorksPolice & @RSPCA_official has seen a successful few days in court #AnimalWelfare #farming #livestock #poultry https://t.co/KxpmumFvws
— RSPCA Frontline (@RSPCA_Frontline) September 9, 2021
Battle to save Ripon Spa Baths being sold for housing receives boost
The battle to prevent Ripon Spa Baths being sold for housing received a major boost today when the historic building was listed as an Asset of Community Value.
Harrogate Borough Council put the historic baths on the market in February, leading to concerns it could be sold to a private developer and turned into housing.
Ripon City Council, Ripon Civic Society and Ripon Together called for any sale not to be rushed through and applied for the 116-year-old Grade II listed building, which has a distinctive terracotta-clad frontage, to be listed as an asset of community value.
Ripon city council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret today the application had been accepted.
It means the local community now has six months to put together a bid to buy the building, which Harrogate Borough Council has said will be ‘surplus to requirements‘ when the new Ripon Leisure Centre opens this year.
Cllr Williams said he was “highly delighted” by today’s news. He added:
“I hope it means we can now guarantee a future for the site that doesn’t involve it being turned into expensive apartments.
“People across the community have been calling for it not to be housing. There has been very broad support for it remaining as a community asset.
“We now need to explore all the options open to the local community with proper professional advice, to secure the long-term use of the spa baths for community use.”
Read More:
Next steps
Cllr Williams said it seemed unlikely the baths would remain as a swimming pool and what happened next remained unclear.
“I’ll be talking to the full council on Monday, looking to appoint professional advisors on what can be done with the building and to create a development brief for how it can be used by the community.
“A new use needs to be found, and I doubt it will still be a swimming pool. But it does provide an exciting opportunity to reinvent the site and city as a whole”.
The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council for comment but has yet to receive a response.
What does Asset of Community Value status mean?
According to Harrogate Borough Council’s website, a building or land can be listed as an asset of community value if:
- current primary use of the building/land or use of the building/land in the recent past furthers the social well-being or social interests (cultural, recreational, or sporting) of the local community
- it’s realistic to think that now or in the next five years there could continue to be primary use of the building/land which will further the social well-being or social interests of the local community, whether or not in the same way as before
Once an asset is listed, owners can’t dispose of it without:
- letting the local authority know that they intend to sell the asset or grant a lease of more than 25 years
- waiting until the end of a six-week “interim moratorium” period if the local authority doesn’t receive a request from a community interest group to be treated as a potential bidder
- waiting until the end of a six-month “full moratorium” period if the local authority does receive a request from a community interest group to be treated as a potential bidder
The owner doesn’t have to sell the asset to the community group.
History of plans to sell Ripon Spa Baths
- 24 February: Ripon Spa Baths up for sale amid housing fears
- 8 March: For sale sign on Ripon’s Spa Baths
- 9 March: Ripon City Council unanimously agrees urged action to prevent sale
- 5 May: Harrogate Borough Council confirms plans to sell, saying “Selling the baths for redevelopment, subject to planning permission and listed building consents, would allow this local asset to be given a new lease of life, retain its key features and remain as a city landmark.”
Runners raise funds for all-weather track at Bishop Monkton school
A 10 kilometre race and fun run that raise money for a Harrogate district primary school is set to return this month.
The event, which was founded by race director Rebecca Owen, is called Beck Busters and helps Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School.
It hopes to generate £10,000 to get an all-weather track for the school field that children can use all year round.
Beck Busters didn’t take place last year because of lockdown restrictions but will return on September 19 for a fourth time.
Nina Swainston, one of the organisers, said:
“It’s a big local community event, anyone of all ages can take part.”
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Ms Swainston said runners were still welcome to enter. There are currently about 20 spaces for children out of a maximum entry of 150 and about 110 adult spaces out of a maximum entry of 330.
Entry costs £5 for children and £18 for adults (£16 for members of a running club).
The Beck Buster run is 10 kilometres, while the fun run is two kilometres.
Participants from clubs such as Ripon Runners and Harrogate Harriers have taken part.
In past years, the fundraiser has allowed the school to afford iPads for children, as well as save towards creating an all-weather track.
For more information see the Beck Busters website.