Plans to convert Half Moon pub in Sharow into a homePlans have been submitted to convert the Half Moon pub in Sharow, near Ripon, into a four-bedroom home.
The village pub and restaurant, on Sharow Lane, opened in 1822 and closed four years ago.
Owner Mark Fitton was, until recently, advertising for a tenant to take on the pub.
He has now submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the premises.
A planning statement attached to the application claims three separate couples have run the pub in recent years but all suffered insolvency due to “a lack of custom”.
It reads:
“For at least 20 years everyone who has tried to run the Half Moon as a hospitality venue has found it to be extremely difficult.
“Since 2009 various people have tried to run it as a village pub or a high-quality restaurant, but all have failed due to a lack of custom.
“Three separate couples have, over the past 12 years, suffered insolvency as a result of trying to run the Half Moon as a commercial venture; none has managed to last beyond two years.”
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Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Sharow Parish Council clerk Nick Reed said the planning application was unpopular with villagers, and the parish council would submit a formal objection letter in the coming days.
The parish council previously said it was hoping to register the building as an asset of community value in the hope that it could re-open as a pub.
However, Mr Reed said Harrogate Borough Council has asked for more evidence if its bid is to be successful.
He said:
“They told us it would be unlikely to be granted in its current state, so we have been going around the village asking people what the pub means to people, what it could be in the future and what we are missing by not having it.”
Villagers in Sharow were encouraged last year when residents in Kirkby Malzeard raised more than £200,000 in a bid to prevent residential redevelopment of a site occupied by The Henry Jenkins Inn.
However, the campaign was dealt a hammer blow last month when The Planning Inspectorate, a government agency that deals with planning appeals, overturned Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for conversion of the eastern part of the site into a single dwelling.
Ripon gets sneak peek of ‘magic roundabouts’ idea
People in Ripon are being given an early taste of how illuminated trees could help to attract more visitors to the city.
Ripon City Council announced plans last week to create five lit-up ‘magic roundabouts’ on the bypass.
The lights could turn red on Valentine’s Day, green on St Patrick’s Day and red, white and blue for national celebrations, such as the Queen’s birthday.
Roundabouts on the stretch of bypass from the McDonald’s restaurant on Harrogate Road to the junction with Dishforth Road have been targeted for the scheme.
With this in mind, the council has kept festive lights from Christmas in place at two locations on Bedern Bank.
Trees on one of the roundabouts, which is a key gateway to Ripon Cathedral, are lit with white lights.
Nearby, a tree outside Ripon Community Hospital has golden lights in it.
The seasonal lighting is similar to that which illuminates trees along sections of Harrogate’s Stray.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“This is a way of making Ripon more attractive for residents at this rather gloomy time.
“As the vaccination programme continues and the covid lockdown eventually lifts, we hope that lighting, both in the city and along the bypass, will help to attract the visitor and tourist trade that is essential to Ripon’s economy.”
The city council voted unanimously to support plans which, if approved by highways authority North Yorkshire County Council, will see lighting that can change colour according to the occasion, installed on trees on bypass roundabouts.
One of the Ripon bypass roundabouts that could be lit up.
The council, which has an underspend available from its 2020-2021 budget, agreed to allocate £10,000 towards the bypass scheme.
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Ripon City Council spent an additional £65,000 on the city’s Christmas lights – diverting money from its events budget to pay for the scheme.
That funding became available because the money could not be spent on a series of community and civic events — such as celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day — due to covid.
Snow and ice warning for Harrogate districtThe Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice in the Harrogate district next week.
Weather forecasters predict the snow and ice will hit on Monday and continue until Wednesday.
There is also a yellow warning for ice in the north of the district, covering the likes of Ripon today and tomorrow.
The snow and ice warning is in place from 9pm on Monday until 11.45pm on Wednesday.
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Forecasters have said that snow, with a risk of widespread ice, is likely to push slowly northeast from late Monday.
If the snow and ice does hit on Monday evening then expect travel delays, rural communities being cut off and power cuts.
This latest weather warning for the district comes just over a week after flooding and two weeks after heavy snow.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said this morning:
“A band of rain, locally heavy in places, is likely to push slowly northeast across Wales and England late Monday.
“As this rain comes into contact with cold air in place, it is likely to readily turn to snow across parts of Wales, the Midlands, and later parts of northern England.
“1-4 cm of snow is quite likely away from coasts, with 5-10 cm possible above about 150 metres.”
Call for volunteers to help Ripon vaccination siteVolunteers are needed to support the Ripon vaccination centre, which is expected to open next month.
Mashamshire Community Office, a charity which offers information and advice in the town, is looking for a team of marshals for the site, which will be at Ripon racecourse.
Health bosses confirmed the location of the vaccination site yesterday.
Volunteers are likely to be needed from the second week of February, a post on the Kirkby Malzeard and Masham Surgery website said.
The post said days may vary, but volunteers are likely to be required on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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Two sessions will be held at the site from 8am until 1.15pm and 1pm to 6pm. Ten volunteers will be needed per session.
All personal protective equipment and hi-vis will be provided and no DBS check is required.
Duties will include directing traffic and guiding people inside the site.
Anyone interested should contact Mashamshire Community Office on mco@visitmasham.com.
Ripon food poverty pioneer receives rare national awardRipon PE teacher Helen Mackenzie has received the British Citizen Award for outstanding work tackling food poverty and encouraging sport.
Ms Mackenzie, who works at Ripon Grammar School, overcame breast cancer after being diagnosed 11 years ago.
She is among a select group of 27 adults across the UK to be honoured with the award this year.
The British Citizen Awards are held twice a year to recognise individuals doing extraordinary work in their local community.
In November 2019, Ms Mackenzie and her friend Sarita McDermott, who owns the Realitea Cafe in North Street, Ripon set up the food charity Back to Basics.
Ms Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret:
“The idea is that we provide families who are struggling — usually those with kids on free school meals — with the ingredients for a delicious nutritious meal.”
A typical weekly Back to Basics food donation, which is given to families along with a recipe card.
She added:
“We are not a soup kitchen so we don’t provide the meal for them — we expect them to get ‘back to basics’ and cook with their family.”
Netball for all
Ms Mackenzie and Ms McDermott fundraise for the charity and have secured financial support from local businesses, as well as donations of goods from individuals.
This enables them to provide families with everything they need, from food ingredients to recipe cards, designed to help parents and children to work together in creating the meals.
In addition to her Back to Basics charity, Ms Mackenzie is also well-known in Ripon for encouraging sport.
She vowed to make competitive sport, which is normally the preserve of the ultra-fit and young, accessible to all after overcoming an aggressive form of stage three breast cancer.
In 2015 she started Ripon City Netball Club, which attracts not only girls but also seniors and people with varying levels of mobility, ability and sporting prowess.
Many mums — including Ms Mackenzie — play alongside their daughters. Nearly 100 people now take part.
‘Remarkable and inspirational’
Alec Lutton, who set up the first Ripon food bank, nominated Ms Mackenzie for the British Citizen Award.
He said:
“She is a remarkable and inspirational person with a can-do attitude and a determination to do help others in need of assistance or encouragement.”
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The nomination was supported by Ripon councillor and three-time former city mayor Pauline McHardy, who has known Ms Mackenzie for many years,
She said:
“Helen is the salt of the earth and her contribution to the community in Ripon is absolutely immense.”
Today her bespoke BCA medal with the inscription ‘For the Good of the Country’ was delivered by special courier to her Ripon home.
Ms Mackenzie and her husband, John, have two grown-up daughters, Laura and Amy, and from now on, she can call herself Helen Mackenzie BCA.
Julia Mulligan pledges to visit Ripon to hear crime fearsNorth Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan has promised to visit Ripon to hear people’s concerns about escalating crime.
Ripon City Council wrote to Ms Mulligan last week asking to meet to discuss the “ongoing problem” of violence and anti-social behaviour in the city.
One councillor, Sid Hawke, said at a meeting last week the city was “sick of these yobbos”. Council leader Andrew Williams said some older people were too frightened to go onto Market Square.
In her written response, seen by the Stray Ferret, Ms Mulligan says she will meet councillors once she has been briefed by North Yorkshire Police.
She wrote:
“Once I have received this, I would be very willing to meet with you to hear your concerns first-hand.
“I will also arrange a public surgery for residents in Ripon, so that I can hear their views for myself.”
Ms Mulligan also said she will discuss the situation with Lisa Winward, North Yorkshire’s chief constable:
“Whilst the chief constable has control over her police officers, I will certainly raise this with her, with a view to looking at the options that might be available to resolve the problems.”
Cllr Williams welcomed the response and told the Stray Ferret he hoped to meet Ms Mulligan soon.
He said:
“I am pleased our concerns are being taken seriously and I hope we can all work together on this”.
Ripon Cathedral’s 500-year-old font set to be repaired and movedA 15th century font in Ripon Cathedral is set to be moved for the first time since 1722 to a more prominent spot.
The font, made of blue-grey English limestone, is currently located towards the western end of the south aisle.
The cathedral has applied to Harrogate Borough Council for planning permission to relocate the font to the western end of the nave, where it will be visible on entry from any of the west doors.
The minster also wants to fit the font into a new two-step stone plinth with bronze handrail and decorative polished marble finish.
The font, which is believed to date back to the mid-to-late 1400s, survived the Reformation although it is thought to have been damaged during the later English Civil War.
There is a record of the font being repaired by stonemason Henry Lawson for 10 shillings and six pence (52.5p in today’s currency) in 1662.
The proposed extension of Ripon Cathedral, as seen in this artist’s impression, is one of the main reasons for relocating the font.
It was last moved in 1772 when its current stepped base was constructed.
The proposed move is partly due to the planned extension of the cathedral which, if approved, will require the creation of a new entrance to the ancient building.
A document produced by York archaeologists FAS Heritage says:
“A feasibility study is being undertaken as part of the Ripon Cathedral Renewed project, to explore the possibility of providing a new access through the south aisle south wall of the church. The font is situated within the bay of the proposed access.”
Besides moving the font, the planning application sets out plans to carry out structural repairs on the item.
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It also proposes using York stone pavers to the south nave aisle to replace the font plinth, in keeping with the surrounding York stone paving.
The cathedral has a second 12th century font at the altar in St Peter’s Chapel.
Vaccination site to be opened at Ripon racecourseA vaccination site will be set up at Ripon racecourse, health bosses revealed this morning.
Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for NHS North Yorkshire CCG, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing the site will open next week.
No further details are available yet.
Jonathan Mullin, marketing manager at Ripon Races, told the Stray Ferret vaccinations would take place on separate days to race days and the course’s fixtures were unaffected by the news.
Ripon Races has 15 fixtures scheduled this year, starting on April 15.
Meetings took place behind closed doors last year and there is still no news on when people may be allowed to attend.
Last week Ripon City Council called for the city to get its own vaccination site and suggested the Hugh Ripley Hall would be a suitable location.
Days later, the Local Resilience Forum confirmed it intended to open a site in Ripon but hadn’t identified a location. Today it confirmed the racecourse had been chosen.
Health bosses also revealed at the meeting that 107,752 vaccinations have been carried out across North Yorkshire and York since the programme started in December.
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Nominations in for Ripon Community Diamond prizeThe Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and Bishop of Ripon the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley will shortly have the difficult task of selecting the city’s community diamond.
Nominations close at the end of January and the independent judges already have a very high calibre list of 17 nominees to choose from.
Over the next few days we will look at some of those who have been nominated by readers of the Stray Ferret for their outstanding service to the Ripon community.
Each of the nominees that we will feature is the potential winner of the Ripon Community Diamond Award and an incredible prize worth up to £1,000, donated by Red Buttons Jewellers and Hedley Hall.
Red Buttons, which shares The Vintage Room premises in Queen Street, Ripon, with Mr Hall and his antiques, collectables and vintage models business, will create, for the winner, a customised piece of jewellery, featuring the diamond in a gold or white gold setting.
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Sally Alcock
Sally is a cook at Ripon Cathedral C of E Primary School and has been nominated by her sister Tracey Harrison, who said:
“She goes out of her way to help anybody. For the children at the school she makes Christmas decorations, cards and provides gift bags with sweets in so that nobody misses out.
“I am disabled and so are my parents and since the first lockdown in March she has done our shopping and never missed a week.”
Lou Grant
Lou is co-owner. with her husband Tim of Oliver’s Pantry in Fishergate.
Nominator Diane Adkin said:
“Lou helps the homeless and YMCA in Ripon and her joy and vitality has helped many people to have the strength to go on each day.”
Known for being ‘amazingly positive,’ Lou has raised spirits and enabled many people cope throughout the Covid pandemic and lockdowns with upbeat messages, help and practical advice shared on social media.
Jade Kell
y
Jade works at the Navigation Inn in Canal Road and was nominated for answering a long-distance call for help
Kate Hopwood, who now lives in Australia, made the nomination and said:
“Jade saw a post I put on FaceBook after my 82-year-old mother was conned into buying £300 worth of fish from scammers.
“Jade immediately said she wanted to help to make her feel better, offering a donation from the pub. My mother is proud and didn’t want money, but loved the flowers Jade gave her.”
Annette Kite
Annette’s Ripon-based cleaning business has been affected by the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped her from helping others
Anthony Holdsworth, who put her name forward for the award, said:
“During the first lockdown and for many weeks afterwards, Annette prepared, cooked and delivered hundreds of meals for elderly and those in need.
“She also sourced and managed food donations from local businesses to aid her support programme. All this was done at her own home, with no expectation of reimbursement for her time or utility costs.”
More of your nominations will be revealed over the coming days, so keep following the Stray Ferret to find out who else has been put forward for this amazing prize.
Julian Smith MP takes second lucrative advisory roleSkipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith has been appointed as an external advisor to a green energy company at a rate of between £1,000 and £2,000 per hour.
The former Northern Ireland secretary will be paid £2,000 a month to advise Simply Blue Management for the next year and will work between one and two hours each month.
The company, whose head office is in Cork, describes itself as ‘the leading early stage developer of sustainable and transformative marine projects’.
Last year the Stray Ferret revealed Mr Smith would be paid £3,000 an hour for another external advisor role with low carbon transport company Ryse Hydrogen.
That contract was for 12 months, with Mr Smith being paid £60,000 for 20 hours work.
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As former Northern Ireland secretary until February last year, Mr Smith sought advice from the Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments about a potential conflict in taking the new role at Simply Blue Management.
In his response, committee chair Lord Eric Pickles warned Mr Smith there were “inherent risks’ with the appointment due to his previous position.
However, he was happy for Mr Smith to take up the role provided he doesn’t use any information gained during his time as a minister to benefit the business.
He also said the Ripon MP was not allowed to lobby the government on behalf of the business or advise on contracts with the UK government or the Northern Ireland executive for two years from the end of his appointment as secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
Lord Pickles wrote:
“As a former minister, there are also inherent risks with the contacts you have gained in office. However you have stated that you will not have contact with the government and this role will be advisory.
“The committee would draw your attention to the lobbying and bids and contracts bans below which makes it clear that it would be improper to make use of your contacts (directly or indirectly) to the unfair advantage of your employer, or advise on a bid or contract relating to the UK government or Northern Ireland executive.”
Neither Mr Smith nor Simply Blue Management responded to the Stray Ferret’s request for a comment on his appointment.