Police are appealing for information after a car drove into a property on Duck Hill in Ripon.

The collision happened between 4am and 4.15am on Wednesday, December 30, when a blue BMW collided with a commercial property and failed to stop.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“The collision caused structural damage to the business and as a result it has had to close pending building works. The vehicle failed to stop and it is believed that it was being driven by a man with another man in the passenger seat at the time of the collision.”

Anyone who witnessed the collision or remembers seeing the car prior to the collision is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police as soon as possible to help with the investigation.

Call the force on 101, select option two and ask for Alastair Graham-Merrett, or email alastair.graham-merrett@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk, quoting North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200247651.

Walks around Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Harrogate are among those included in a new campaign to promote Yorkshire as the walking capital of the world.

The year-long initiative, known as Walkshire, began yesterday. It includes 365 walks in God’s own county — one for every day of the year.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, which is behind the campaign, hopes it will encourage more people to discover Yorkshire’s spectacular scenery and history on foot.

Routes in the Harrogate district include:

53 miles of the Nidderdale Way

14 miles Bramhope to Harrogate via Arthington viaduct

9 miles Ripon to Fountains Abbey

8 miles Hackfall woods near Masham

5 miles Thruscross reservoir

6.5 miles Burton Leonard, Copgrove and South Stainley

2 miles Ripon canal

The routes can be viewed here:

Arthington viaduct. Credit: Welcome to Yorkshire

James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:

“2020 has been a tricky year for all and certainly a time to reflect on the importance of health and well-being so what better way to start the new year and continue through 2021 than promoting walking in Yorkshire to the world and welcoming visitors to the most diverse of counties.”

The campaign features a daily walk and businesses can sponsor and nominate routes.

There are four big seasonal walks and special plans for Yorkshire Day on August 1, as well as a Tour de Walkshire to replace the postponed Tour de Yorkshire cycle race.

People are invited to participate in Walkshire by sharing their own favourite walks using the hashtag #Walkshire.

Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner of Walkshire.

The New Year Honours list has been published tonight and a number of residents in the Harrogate district have been recognised for their services to charity and the community.

OBE

Linda Grace Shears, from Harrogate, has been made an OBE for services to charity in her role as co-founder of the Shears Foundation.

The foundation is a charitable trust that providers grants for projects that develop arts and culture, educational opportunities and the protection of the natural environment, as well as other areas.

Since it was set up in 1996, the trust has awarded £12 million in grants.

Janet Sheriff, from Harrogate, has been made an OBE for services to education in West Yorkshire. Ms Sheriff is headteacher of Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley.

Ms Sheriff was appointed headteacher in 2009. She became the first female head in the school’s 400-year history and Leeds’ first BME secondary school headteacher.

Read more:

• Several local residents were awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year. 
• Community comes together to show its support for the Christmas Eve jingle.

BEM 

John Richmond, from Ripon, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in Ripon.

Mr Richmond is well known in the city after becoming the youngest person to be appointed mayor in 1975 at just 39 years old. He has also taken part in the city’s traditional hornblower ceremony.

Mary Chapman, from Great Ouseburn, has also been awarded a British Empire Medal for services to children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Ms Chapman founded the charity Nuzzlets, which gives children with special educational needs and life-threatening illnesses the chance to meet animals.

Nuzzlets now hosts about 200 visits each year and supports 4,000 young people. Ms Chapman and her volunteers carry out visits to hospitals, nursing homes and local community groups as well as hosting visits on the farm.

As 2020 draws to a close, the Stray Ferret looks back at the news stories that stood out among a year of extraordinary events. 

Today, we focus on the impact on businesses, from high street to hospitality.

For most business owners, it has been a very worrying and difficult year. From moving their staff to home working to switching to delivery or click and collect, businesses have adapted to constantly changing rules in order to survive the last 10 months. 

For some, though, it has been more challenging than others.  

Among the industries to suffer most in 2020 were events and hospitality. Bars and restaurants found themselves in and out of lockdown, posing huge problems for planning and ordering supplies.  

What made it all the more difficult was the continuing use of Harrogate Convention Centre as the NHS Nightingale. In a district economy which relies heavily on tourism and events, hospitality businesses found their income drastically below what it would usually be. 

Reopening ‘vital’

As the first lockdown eased, some of the district’s major employers were emphasising just how vital it would be for them to reopen and to receive support from the public. 

When news came that the Nightingale would remain in place, preventing events from being held even if restrictions were eased, it was a blow to the sector. 

Major events were postponed and called off for many months ahead, leaving businesses staring at a blank calendar for the foreseeable future. Among the casualties in hospitality were the Country Living St George Hotel, Ripon Spa Hotel, and The Old Deanery, which announced it will close its doors next summer. The Kimberley Hotel also announced its closure in December.

Restaurants were not immune to the challenges of the trading environment, with Harrogate’s Bistrot Pierre and Las Iguanas among the big names failing to reopen their doors.

It made one leading hotel manager’s prediction of ‘carnage’ in May look worryingly prescient – and with uncertainty still ahead, it’s likely we haven’t heard the last of the closures as the new year approaches.

Events industry

Events businesses, meanwhile, were unable to trade at all, spelling the end for one of Harrogate’s longest-established names. 

Joe Manby Ltd was well known for helping to stage events at the convention centre, as well as elsewhere around the country. Andrew Manby, a director of the family firm established in the 1970s, had warned repeatedly that more support was needed for companies unable to trade because of restrictions.  

In October, with no sign of improvement ahead, the company announced it would go into liquidation. 

Cambridge Street in Harrogate was looking busier in the run-up to Christmas

There were casualties on the high street, too, with several big-name brands announcing they would be closing branches in our district, along with long-standing independent businesses.  Among those lost were AP&K Stothard’s pet shop, The Bookstall newsagent at Harrogate railway station, Edinburgh Wooden Mill and Ponden Home in Ripon, Wren’s department store, and menswear shop Jon Barrie. 

Yet it wasn’t all bad news. For some determined entrepreneurs, the pandemic was no reason not to make their business dreams a reality – including a new taco business and a travel agent.

From music to clothes shops and even a pop-up bakery, Knaresborough seemed like the place to be in the second half of the year. It also saw a pop-up from popular Harrogate bakery Baltzersen’s. 

Nevertheless, uncertainty remained, and the second lockdown left owners desperate to know whether they would be able to reopen in time for Christmas. 

The district’s tier two restrictions meant they were able to do so in early December, aiming to make the most of the final few weeks of trading. Residents can only hope it was enough to get their favourite businesses through the coming weeks and months until the situation begins to improve. 

Read more:

• Looking back: Clap for carers and scrubbing up for key workers
• Looking back: Extraordinary effort to build a Nightingale hospital in Harrogate

In her Christmas Day column for the Stray Ferret, the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, reflects on all the things we’re missing this year – but that we can still have all we need, and fill that need for others too.

I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Oti Mabuse and Bill Bailey were crowned the winners of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition.

I have dipped in and out of this year’s series. I watched all of Bake Off and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here (which secured me a point in this year’s Ripon Runners’ Zoom Christmas Quiz: I knew that Jordan North was the runner up!), but Strictly has not really been on my viewing radar, and I’m going to have to catch up on that one.

But the sight of Oti and Bill rejoicing at their win and so much wanting to run around and hug the other contestants but not being able to do so was a poignant moment of joy and grief all in one.

Ripon Cathedral was reopened by the clergy in June, after the first lockdown was eased

I still haven’t been able to hug my parents. My dad completed his cancer treatment just before lockdown, but then both had to shield. They are in a tier 3 area, and so Christmas won’t be the same; we aren’t risking the opportunity to meet up indoors.

Out of lockdown and tiers, catch-ups have been in our garden. We celebrated their golden wedding anniversary back in October on a mercifully mild and sunny autumn day, a Bettys celebration iced fruit cake the delicious centre-piece of the distanced picnic-table spread.

‘Lives pulled apart’

Covid has impacted all of our lives, and while I have been uplifted at the stories of community care and resilience, it has been hard to hear about the pain of lives pulled apart, and of loneliness, isolation and struggles. This year Christmas isn’t the same, and we aren’t able to gather with friends and family.

I will miss the Boxing Day pilgrimage to Fountains Abbey, and blessing the City of Ripon at midnight from the Town Hall balcony with raucous crowds assembled below on the Market Square, and fireworks offering a rousing welcome to the new year. No, it’s just not the same at all.

Yet what is the same is the Christmas story. I shared a reflection on this at a recent Auction Mart drive-in carol service. Using a Christmas cracker, I spoke about how a cracker contains surprises: a joke or riddle, a paper crown, and a gift. The baby who was born over 2000 years ago was something of a surprise; he was the answer to the musings of prophets; he was a king unlike any other; and in his life all of humanity received a gift: God becoming one of us, experiencing our joys and sorrows and going ahead of us into the unknown.

Now, to some, that’s just daft, but this is a narrative of hope that has endured, and it’s a narrative that grounds everything that I try to do, say and be.

And you can see it at work all around us too: in the kindness of strangers, in the magnificent NHS, and in the process of the rapid development of the vaccine. Maybe you can think of your own example too?

I’m struck by lots of images of Jesus’ birth, how the child radiates light illuminating the faces gazing upon him. All the light we need is that which can help us take the next step. We don’t need a floodlight.

Glimpses of hope, love, light and joy are everywhere, and if we don’t see it, perhaps we can be that light that someone needs today. Just enough to help us get to the next day, and the day after that. That’s what the Christmas story is about: not ‘me’ but ‘us’: God with us.

Happy Christmas!

The Mayor of Ripon has given a message of support and hope for residents of the city as 2020 draws to an end.

Councillor Eamon Parkin, whose mayoral year has been extended after a new mayor could not be appointed in May due to the pandemic, gave the following message to the Stray Ferret for Ripon:

It has been a year of darkness and light for the citizens of Ripon.

Few will be sorry to reach the last page in their 2020 diaries, after the nine months we have just endured.

As the joint owner of a public house, I know the pain that fellow publicans and other small businesses in the hospitality sector have experienced in this stop-start, lockdown year.

All traders classed as ‘non-essential’ have been losing out since March, with some struggling to keep their heads above water.

Against this backdrop of hardship and heartache, Ripon’s independent spirit has shone through. We turn into 2021 financially poorer, but richer in other respects.

Though the civic year has been severely curtailed by covid, I have either witnessed or been told of hundreds of acts of kindness across our proud and ancient city.

Mayor Councillor Eamon Parkin sees Ripon’s Christmas lights as a symbol of hope

People who worked late into the night on kitchen tables to produce vital protective equipment, joined neighbours on Thursday evenings to applaud the service of our hard-pressed frontline workers.

Restaurants and cafes closed because of coronavirus restrictions, made thousands of meals that were taken to elderly and vulnerable people stuck in self-isolation.

A Ripon butcher delivered free weekly meat packs to help hard-up families.

Read more:

• Ripon resident has winning Christmas decorations
• Major extension to Ripon’s Christmas lights

Pupils at our schools sent cards and messages to lift the spirits of care and nursing home residents and and donations of goods flooded into foodbanks.

Throughout our long history, Ripon has survived the Black Death, a Viking assault, the English Civil War and two World Wars, but an unseen, yet lethal enemy was at our gate in 2020.

It robbed us of loved ones and put our normal way of life and traditions on hold.

Our three hornblowers had to vacate Market Square – though their nightly ceremony, dating back 1134 years, has continued behind closed doors.

Celebrations of the 75th anniversary of VE Day in May had to be scaled back to home front gardens and August’s Saint Wilfrid procession was cancelled.

Despite the days of disappointment, Riponians decorated their properties, strung bunting across streets and greeted each other over fences and hedges, while joining in community singing to music played through loud speakers.

Some of the money that had been set aside for public and civic events that were either cancelled or scaled back, was used to extend our festive decorations to cover three miles of streets.

While there was criticism in some quarters about lighting a city centre where many shops and other businesses were closed, I believe that they provide a symbol of hope.

People make places and the spontaneous collaborative community effort I have seen across the city, during 2020, tells me that Ripon has a bright future.

I wish everybody a peaceful Christmas and a brighter New Year.

Ripon residents have raised safety fears about a section of unmarked road used “like a racetrack” by speeding motorists.

A 300 metre length of Kirkby Road did not have white lines replaced when resurfacing work was completed in August.

Ten nearby residents met the Stray Ferret to discuss their concerns.

Helen Mars, a teacher at Ripon Grammar School who has two young children, said:

“With the speed that some drivers come along this stretch, it’s like a racetrack – particularly at the weekends.

“As this is a road that it also used by very large lorries, we believe that it is dangerous without the white lines and an accident waiting to happen.”

Part of the 300-metre section of Kirkby Road that has no white lines. Many of the concerned residents live in homes on the left.

Read more:

• Who will be selected as Ripon’s Community Diamond?
• Could Ripon fish and chip shop become a place to live?

Residents are particularly concerned about the lack of a crossing patrol for Ripon Grammar School students, who use a path alongside the Kirkby Road allotments on their way to school.

Barbara Brodigan said:

“At least 100 children cross the road in the mornings and evenings on their way to and from school.

“Our previous requests for localised speed restrictions, a crossing and other traffic calming measures have fallen on deaf ears at North Yorkshire County Council.

“We’ve been told that a crossing can’t be introduced because the path alongside the allotments is not an officially recognised route to the grammar school.

“In effect, that means the students cross at their own peril – which is clearly unacceptable.”

Christina Thomson Jones added:

“I have lived on Kirkby Road for 29 years and the traffic issues appear to get worse and worse.

“One of my neighbours was killed while crossing the road in 1996 and nobody wants to see another fatality.”

County Councillor Mike Chambers, who represents Ripon North, said he was aware of the issues and sympathetic to calls for safety measures. He said:

“I have spoken with the county council’s traffic department about the need for a crossing, introduction of a 20 mph speed limit and even the possibility of having a one way system.

“I have another meeting with the department on January 6 and will raise these issues again and ask about replacement of the white lines, but at the end of the day, it’s down to budget availability.

“Installing a lights-controlled crossing costs up to £50,000.”

Although that money may not currently be available, Cllr Chambers is hopeful that safety measures could be funded as part of highway works to accommodate the Ripon Barracks housing development.

He said:

“The developer will have to make payments through a Section 106 agreement for works associated with the scheme and we may be able to get some of that money to address the safety issues on Kirkby Road.”

In the New Year, the Stray Ferret will begin the search for an outstanding individual who has gone the extra mile to help others during the coronavirus crisis, with an incredible prize from The Vintage Room in Ripon.

The winner will receive a 25 point diamond that they can have put in a gold or white gold setting to create their own customised piece of jewellery, a prize worth up to £1,000.

The Ripon Community Diamond Award was the idea of Mike and Liz Cooper, who run Red Buttons jewellers in Queen Street, Ripon, and supported by Hedley Hall, whose antiques and collectables business is run from the same Vintage Room premises.

Liz said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Stray Ferret in the search for the man or woman, living or working in Ripon, who has really made a difference through their selfless service to the community. Because of the community spirit that we know exists in Ripon, we are sure that there will be numerous suitable candidates who can be nominated for the award.”

Hedley pointed out:

“Since March, we have been reading, on a regular basis, stories on the Stray Ferret website about acts of kindness and compassion from people in the Ripon area who have come to the aid of those stuck in isolation, or in need of other kinds of assistance.”

Mike said:

“In the eight years that we have been in business in Ripon, we have seen its community spirit. We wanted to find a way to recognise those who are the beating heart of this city.”

Nominations for the Ripon Community Diamond Award will open in January.

A strong mum and daughter team with a keen eye for detail and flair for showstopping centrepieces are behind this hidden gem of florist.

Barbara Yates opened Flower Design on North Street in Ripon 35 years ago with the help of her young daughter, now Sarah Moore.

The pair may have been in the same spot for all those years but people are still stumbling across their shop, whether in person or online.

Over the years the business has changed. Since leaving the Interflora florist scheme, they say they have been able to design bouquets that are unique.

Read more:

• Little Ripon shop is a ‘hidden gem’ for book lovers
• Bespoke Harrogate jeweller is a ‘hidden gem’

Weddings have been a big part of Flower Design in recent years. The florist, in an ordinary year, would supply flowers for around 70 weddings.

That side of the business has been decimated in 2020, but the sales of house plants and wreaths have flourished.

Sarah Moore told the Stray Ferret what has kept her happy in the shop after more than three decades:

“It is the look on people’s faces actually. The feedback you get from people when they see the flowers, that’s a really big thing.

“You will find us on wedding days working as early 3am , it is a lot of work. We have to do a lot of prep work and we have to make the arches in situ.

“It can difficult living up to the expectations of brides but we enjoy it because it makes everything different.

“We have our differences as a mum and daughter team but we are lucky because we do gel quite well and we have our separate areas.”

While Sarah’s mum Barbara started the business 35 years ago she has another 25 years of experience under her belt. She added:

“It always need to be cold in here but people always come in and say how lovely the flowers smell. We can’t smell much because we’re used to it though.

“People say they can smell it down the road when we have the doors open in the summer. That’s how some find our shop.”

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series, highlighting small, independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.

The Jolly Fryer fish and chip shop in Ripon could be turned into flats after becoming a victim of coronavirus restrictions.

The business has been run by the same family for over 35 years, but has remained closed since the covid pandemic began in March.

A planning application submitted to Harrogate Borough Council said the restaurant “cannot viably” re-open due to its narrow size and social distancing guidelines.

The owner of the building wants to convert it into one one-bedroom and two two-bedroom flats.

Several businesses have announced closures in Ripon this year, blaming the pandemic, including Wrens department store, Leeds Building Society, and the Old Deanery hotel.

Read more:

• Ripon housing development on old industrial site refused

• Ripon should be ‘meeting place of choice’ says Civic Society

The Jolly Fryer building dates back to the early 18th century and is situated on Allhallowgate, which is one of the oldest streets in the town centre.

The street dates back even further to the earliest known pre-medieval urban settlements in Ripon, when the city was centred on a north-south thoroughfare connecting the minster with the now-demolished Celtic monastery.