Government to build 800 homes in Harrogate and Ripon

The government’s housing agency, Homes England, announced today it will build over 800 homes in Harrogate and Ripon after the previous developers pulled out.

Homes England said it has bought the 450-home Bluecoat Park site off Otley Road in Harrogate and the 390-home West Lane site in Ripon.

It said the two developments had stalled for various reasons, including the “associated enabling costs” and that their planning permissions were due to lapse imminently.

Homes England now has a major presence in the district: it is already working on a 1,300 scheme at Ripon Barracks and 200 homes at the former Police Training Centre site on Yew Tree Lane, Harrogate.

Bluecoat Park, Harrogate – 450 homes

In February 2016, Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission to HTH Harrogate LLP to build the homes.

It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.

The site is off Otley Road, opposite Cardale Business Park and Harrogate Police Station.

The proposals included retail units, a new primary school and a village green.

However, the developer since put the site up for sale to potential developers.

With planning permission due to lapse, Homes England said the homes would not be built unless it stepped in. It plans to submit a new planning application later this year.

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West Lane, Ripon – 390 homes

In 2018, Harrogate Borough Council granted permission to Barratt Homes on appeal for the development.

It was previously rejected in 2017 for being a “substantial intrusion into the open countryside” and its impact on nearby Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey.

However, last summer Barratt Homes pulled out of the scheme.

The developer told The Stray Ferret that the decision was not related to the lockdown but in a year-end trading update, the company announced its revenue had fallen by 30% due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Fantastic news for Harrogate’

Both schemes are set to include 40% affordable housing, which Harrogate Borough Council asks developers to include in most developments.

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher said the acquisitions were “fantastic news” for the district.

“This is fantastic news for Harrogate and a realisation of this government’s mission to deliver quality, affordable homes, that are fit for future generations.”

Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture, Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“We welcome Homes England’s involvement in seeking to bring forward and unlock these stalled sites.

“They are important in helping to deliver our strategic objective to provide new homes that meet the needs of the district.”

Brexit and covid can’t halt Ripon company’s growth

Despite covid and “mountains of paperwork” caused by Brexit, Ripon Engineering Supplies is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary with further expansion.

Established in 1981 by Richard Lawrence, the company supplies engineering products to the trade and public.

It employs 13 staff at its new Camp Hill Close premises and plans to add to that number – despite the huge recent challenges.

Mr Lawrence, the managing director, told the Stray Ferret:

“Brexit has had a bigger negative effect on the business than covid.

“We’re just hoping it’s teething problems, as the UK adjusts to being out of Europe.

“It’s not looking too promising at present – and I’m sure we’re not alone in facing these issues, including the frustration of dealing with mountains of time-consuming paperwork.”

China-made products subject to tariffs 

Many products are manufactured in China and are subject to tariffs when they are transported through the channel ports.

Besides increasing costs, the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is also causing delays.

Daniel Smith, the company’s sales and marketing manger, said:

“Some items that we were able to order and receive the next day are now held up for weeks at the docks.”

However, the company, which stocks over 50,000 items ranging from a 4 mm nut costing a penny to large welding equipment costing £5,000, remains focused on the future.

Photo of storemen Zac and Joel at Ripon Engineering Supplies

Storemen Zac Garrington (left) and Joel Francis are among the locally recruited staff.

Healthy year-on-year growth of between 10 to 12 percent means Ripon Engineering Supplies is now operating from its fifth location in the city.

Each move to larger premises has been prompted by increased demand.

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Mobile shop launched

As part of its strategic plan, the company has launched a mobile shop serving North Yorkshire.

Its one-stop shop on wheels takes essential components and tools to customers, including food factories, famers, engineers, mechanics and local government departments.

As well as providing a rapid response service, the covid-secure Mercedes Sprinter van reduces the need for people to visit the Camp Hill Close premises while social distancing requirements remain in place.

Mr Lawrence started as a sole trader with a second-hand Transit van and three children to feed, selling nuts, bolts, tools and a myriad of other products.

Two of those children, Mark and Sam, now work for the business and provide a ready-made route to succession for the day when Mr Lawrence and his wife and fellow director Paula, decide to take life a little easier.

 

 

 

Plans for new discovery walks at Ripon wetlands

A new scheme to encourage residents to explore the beauty and heritage in their local area is heading to Ripon.

North Yorkshire County Council is expanding ‘Discoveries on Your Doorstep’ after the success of its walks in Scarborough and Selby.

They range from castle the canal towpaths and give local residents a glimpse at areas they might otherwise overlook.

Wetland walks is the title of the new scheme, which is due to be launched soon at Ripon City Wetlands.

It will focus on nature rather than the heritage theme of the two existing options elsewhere in the county.

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The county council has said it is trying to help areas which have been struggling with exercise since coronavirus struck.

A co-ordinator for the project, Josh Wood, said:

“Research suggests that for some people motivation for wanting to be outside and exercising was driven by discovering the local area, rather than wanting to be outdoors for health.

“Since the coronavirus pandemic struck, data suggests some communities are more affected than others by a lack of physical activity.

“So we think it is most appropriate to target the communities which have missed out most.”

“We want to leave people with fond memories of being outdoors while exercising and being active without that being the main reason for being outdoors.”

It is another boost for nature reserves near Ripon after the Nosterfield Nature Reserve won a £132,000 government grant to enhance wildlife.

Marshal at Harrogate UCI World Championships jailed for cocaine dealing

A traffic marshal at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate has been jailed after she was caught selling cocaine and ketamine on the side.

Ripon woman Monique Shiels, 25, was marshalling at the world championships when police responded to a tip-off and caught her red-handed.

When confronted by officers, Shiels said: “Who was it who dobbed me in?”

Prosecutor Matthew Collins told York Crown Court:

“Information had been received by police…that this defendant was dealing drugs whilst working as a traffic marshal for (the) UCI Cycling World Championships in Harrogate.

“Police (turned up at) the location where she was reported to be and found her standing near her vehicle. Her first response to officers was, ‘Who was it who dobbed me in?’”.

Officers found £333 cash on Shiels, as well as a “quantity of orange tablets and some powdered substance” in a black bag she was carrying.

They searched her car – which she used for traffic marshalling during the event – and found digital weighing scales and a mobile phone with text messages sent between Shiels and her customers discussing deals and amounts.

The drugs stash found inside the vehicle included about 8g of cocaine and 10g of ketamine, but Mr Collins said this was just a snapshot of Shiels’s drug-dealing activities, which text messages proved had been going on “for some length of time”.

Selling drugs as crowds gathered

The court heard that Shiels had been selling drugs as crowds gathered for the 92nd UCI World Championships, whose elite competitors vying for the champion’s jersey included Denmark’s Mads Pedersen, time-trial world champion Rohan Dennis and Holland’s Annemiek van Vleuten.

Shiels was arrested on the fourth day of the week-long event.

Mr Collins said Shiels had only been charged in relation to the drugs found on her at the time, which judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described as “bad prosecuting by the CPS”.

Shiels, of Water Skellgate, Ripon, was taken in for questioning following her arrest on September 25, 2019, but refused to answer police questions.She was charged with possessing cocaine, a Class A drug, and Class B ketamine, with intent to supply. She admitted both charges and appeared for sentence on Thursday.

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The court heard that Shiels had nine previous convictions for offences including violence, breaching court orders and possessing MDMA, an Ecstasy-type drug.
During conversations with the Probation Service following her arrest for the drug-supply offences in Harrogate, Shiels said she didn’t see anything wrong with dealing drugs.

Self-confessed drug user

Andrew Petterson, mitigating, said that Shiels, who worked as a sales adviser for a TV dealership, was a self-confessed drug user.

“Clearly, she is one of the misguided individuals in society that doesn’t see (drug-dealing) as a problem,” he added.

Judge Mr Morris told Shiels: “These courts hear stories of (drug-related) robberies and muggings and fights, burglaries, all to pay people like you…and that’s why you are going to prison.”

He said her offences were so serious and her previous breaches of community orders so many that anything other than an immediate prison sentence was out of the question.

Shiels was jailed for two years – a much-reduced sentence due to the delay in the case reaching the courts and the current covid pandemic that had affected living conditions in prisons.

The judge also ordered the confiscation of Shiels’s vehicle and made her pay a statutory surcharge.

Fultons Foods to close Ripon store on Sunday

Ripon will see one of its value retailers close on Sunday.

Fultons Foods, which has operated in The Arcade for many years, is shutting up shop.

It joins a list of retailers to close in Ripon since the first covid lockdown last March.

A Stray Ferret reader, who asked not to be named, said:

“This is very sad news. Many people with limited income have been shopping there.”

This week store staff were busy clearing shelves and emptying freezers ahead of the weekend closure.

The Yorkshire retailer has more than 100 stores in the north of England, including two in Harrogate and one in Knaresborough.

It is understood that only the Ripon Fultons store in the Harrogate district is closing.

Over the 50 years since the business was established, Fultons has sold branded goods, including frozen foods, groceries and chilled foods at bargain basement prices.

Photo of Wrens department store

Wren’s department store, which was home to more than 50 small independent retailers, closed at the end of November.

The Stray Ferret asked Frozen Value Ltd – which trades as Fultons Foods – what prompted its closure decision and what would happen to existing staff.

No response had been received at the time of going to press.

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Fultons’ soon-to-be vacant unit in The Arcade was previously occupied by a small Marks and Spencer food store.

M&S opened a purpose-built store in Rotary Way, Ripon last summer and could soon have Lidl as one of its neighbours at St Michael’s Retail Park.

If Lidl receives planning permission, it will bolster Ripon’s value retailer offering, alongside the Aldi in Stonebridgegate.

Fultons’ impending closure is the latest retail loss in Ripon city centre.

Other businesses to shut recently include Wrens, the city’s only department store, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Home and Jon Barrie menswear.

 

Ripon hospital patients moved after covid outbreak

Patients at Ripon Community Hospital have been transferred to Harrogate District Hospital after an outbreak of covid.

The Ripon hospital, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, has one 16-bed ward, called Trinity Ward.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We can confirm that following positive covid tests for some patients on the ward at Ripon Community Hospital, the ward has been closed for cleaning and covid-positive patients moved to Harrogate District Hospital to continue receiving care on dedicated covid wards.

“As we always do, appropriate actions have been taken and we are carrying out an investigation into the root cause.”

Harrogate District Hospital has also suffered from an increase in covid transmissions acquired in the hospital since Christmas.

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The trust has instigated extra measures, including more regular testing and ensuring windows are open for 10 minutes every hour, in response to the increase.

Harrogate hospital covid levels remain stubbornly high: North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents the agencies leading the fight against the pandemic, revealed at a press briefing yesterday it currently has 65 patients with the virus.

This is as high as at any point during the pandemic, even though the average rate of infection in the Harrogate district has been falling since January 8.

Police say ‘crackdown’ on Ripon crime is working

North Yorkshire Police has said a ‘crackdown’ on crime and antisocial behaviour in Ripon is already paying off.

Ripon has been blighted by crime for months, with five incidents in one three-hour spree earlier in February, including a robbery, thefts and reports of a man carrying a machete.

Since last week, North Yorkshire Police has begun to increase its presence in the city following complaints from residents about the number of officers on the streets.

Inspector Alex Langley, from North Yorkshire Police, said it had already achieved a “significant reduction” in incidents. He said:

“We also saw a reduction in the number of young people out on the streets across the weekend and would like to thank those parents and guardians who continue to support their young people and reinforce that stay home, stay safe message.

“We are actively patrolling. The dedicated operation has seen an increased police presence in and around the city, some more visible than others, and extra teams drafted in to help deter offenders, prevent crime and we continue to enforce where necessary.”

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Cllr Andrew Williams from Ripon City Council told the Stray Ferret the increased police presence was working.

He said:

“I will credit the police, as their profile is more visible. But Rome wasn’t built in a day and it will take a while to get on top of it.”

Earlier this week, a parents group called on the police to ensure the changes are permanent:

“While we welcome this, we want to ensure that it is not simply a cosmetic exercise.

“We need a long-term solution, not a short-term fix.”

£280,000 upgrade of Ripon business park begins

A £280,000 upgrade of Harrogate Borough Council-owned Phoenix Business Park in Ripon has begun.

The funding will help to create more space, refurbish the three units and install new electric vehicle charging points.

The council awarded Dalebuild Limited, a Harrogate-based construction firm, the contract for the work after a tender process.

This project follows a similar £500,000 investment at the council-owned Conyngham Hall business centre in Knaresborough, which was completed in October last year.

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The council believes, even with the shift to more home working, there continue to be demand for office spaces in the Harrogate district.

Councillor Graham Swift, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said:

“We want to ensure Harrogate district businesses have the space around them to grow and expand as their business does.

“This investment at Phoenix Business Park will do just that, by creating flexible spaces with leases designed around their needs. As well as providing them with modern, energy efficient accommodation with high-speed digital connectivity.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel updates

Good morning everyone and welcome back to our traffic and travel service for the Harrogate district.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update – 9am

Thanks to everyone who has been getting involved with this new traffic and travel service. Good to read that people are finding it helpful. I am moving over to the news desk now but will be back with renewed vigour tomorrow morning at 6.30am. Connor.

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Full update – 7.30am

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Ripon construction worker died from head injuries, inquest told

A construction worker who died on a building site in Ripon has been named at the opening of an inquest today.

Dean Christopher Myers, 56, died on January 13 at the site on the corner of Whitcliffe Avenue and Harrogate Road.

The inquest at Northallerton heard that Mr Myers, from Scotton, is suspected to have died from a severe head injury.

John Broadbridge, assistant coroner for North Yorkshire and York, said:

“While in the course of his work as a ground worker for a construction company, he was struck by a moving bucket on a digger.

“The cause of death, which is yet to be fully determined, was provisionally found to be a severe head injury and blunt force trauma.”

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The inquest, which will determine the cause of death, was adjourned until a later date.

North Yorkshire Police issued a brief statement the day after the incident saying:

“Police were called to a report of an industrial incident in Ripon at about 10.30am on Wednesday.

“A man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Enquiries are ongoing jointly with the Health and Safety Executive.”