Flood warnings remain active across the Harrogate district this morning after a wild night of weather that saw several trees fall.

The entire length of the River Nidd and its tributaries and the Lower River Ure are subject to flood alerts by the Environment Agency.

More severe flood warnings are in place at Hunsingore on the Nidd and on at Boroughbridge camping and caravanning site on the Ure.

Last night saw several trees crash down, including one outside Valley Gardens in Harrogate at the bottom of Valley Drive.

Helen Bagnall, who witnessed the incident, said:

“The tree has fallen on top of a car and is completely blocking the road, I tried to ring the police but there is nobody answering unless it’s an emergency. It just kept going round in circles, asking me if I wanted to report dog fouling.”

Grayston Plain Lane at Hampsthwaite was blocked next to the Northern Energy site due to a fallen tree.

A tree also came down at the Oval in Harrogate.

Last night saw firefighters rescue two people trapped in a car that got stuck in floodwater in Ripon shortly before 7pm.

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The Nidderdale Charity Tinsel Tractor Run, which took place around Ripon last weekend, raised more than £1,500 for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

17 tinsel-covered tractors departed from F Tate & Sons Garden Centre.

In sub-zero degree temperatures, drivers followed a 21-mile route which passed through Bishop Monkton, Roecliffe, Boroughbridge and Skelton-on-Ure before returning to Ripon Market Place at around 6pm.

Simon Dickinson, who founded the tractor run, said he “couldn’t have wished for it to go any better”, adding:

“It was just absolutely fantastic.

“People were stood in the middle of nowhere to watch and cheer.

“I was really nervous in the morning, thinking ‘will my tractor get stuck’ but it was great.”

Entry cost £15 per tractor and donations were collected at different points along the route, including Morrisons in Ripon and Boroughbridge.

Caffè Nero, in Ripon, also stayed open late to serve the drivers free hot drinks upon their return.

Mr Dickinson, who is from Ripon but now lives in Northallerton, founded the Nidderdale Charity Tractor Run last year.

It attracted more than 55 vehicles and raised more than £2,000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service in June this year.

Mr Dickinson, who is a member of the West Yorkshire Vintage Tractor & Engine Club, told the Stray Ferret he chose to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research this time after his brother-in-law had bladder cancer.

“Luckily, he’s in remission now, but so many of my customers have prostate cancer too.

“It’s just everywhere.”

Mr Dickinson said the event was a great success and he will “definitely do it again” next year.

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Eight flood alerts and warnings remain in place across the Harrogate district this morning after hours of persistent rain.

Many roads and large swathes of land were flooded last night, leading to treacherous conditions.

Last night also saw firefighters deployed sandbags at Killinghall Primary School after some of the building was flooded.

Driving on the A61 between Harrogate and Ripon was particularly dicey, with the bridge dividing Ripley and Killinghall deep in water.

Bishop Monkton, which is between the two locations, was among the worst hit areas as the beck flooded.

Bishop Monkton. Pic: Helen Bagnall 

Bishop Monkton is subject to a flood warning, which was updated by the Environment Agency at 1.30am this morning to say further rainfall is forecast this afternoon and over the weekend.

It added:

“We are monitoring rainfall and river levels and are checking rivers for blockages in the area. Plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers which may be flooded.”

Flood warnings, which are more severe than flood alerts because they indicate flooding is expected and people should act, are also in place on the River Ure at Boroughbridge camping and caravanning site and on the River Nidd at Hunsingore, which is between Cattal and Kirk Deighton.

The Hunsingore warning, updated at 2.20am this morning, says:

“Areas most at risk include The Old Cornmill at Hunsingore. Further rainfall is forecast over the weekend. We will continue to monitor levels closely. Residents are strongly urged to take action now. Remain safe and be aware of your surroundings.”

The Boroughbridge warning says:

“River levels are expected to remain high into the weekend, where further heavy showers are possible. We are closing locks and flood gates in the area.”

Less severe flood alerts are active on the Lower River Ure, the Upper River Nidd catchment area, the Middle River Nidd catchment area, the Lower River Nidd catchment area River Crimple.

Rain died out overnight but the wet weather is forecast to return this afternoon and tomorrow.

Let us know of flooding in your area, Please send updates and photos to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

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• Farmsion relaunches Ripon butchers shop

Premium meat retailer Farmison & Co relaunched its butchers shop in Ripon today.

Cut by Farmison, which is based at the firm’s headquarters on Bondgate Green, is now open every day of the week except Sundays from 9am to 6pm.

It previously opened on fewer days until 4pm.

The relaunch marked the latest phase in the company’s recovery since it was rescued from administration in April by a consortium led by ex-Asda chief executive Andy Clarke and Chilli Marketing owner Gareth Whittle.

Meat being prepared at Cut by Farmison.

Farmison also announced today it had reached an agreement to supply Harrods in London.

It has also entered the fish market through a partnership with online seafood business Fish for Thought.

It hopes the move to extend the opening hours of its Ripon shop will attract more shoppers from the city and nearby places such as Harrogate who are attracted to the company’s free range, grass-fed approach to butchery.

Farmison also plans to open more shops nationally to diversify from its online model, which currently accounts for 92% of its business.

Andy Adcock outside the Ripon shop today.

Chief executive Andy Adcock said:

“We have this fabulous factory in Ripon, which is at the front end of a huge craft butchery operation.

“We’ve not been maximising the retail capability and the potential of this shop for local people.

“The quality of the product here is not the same as what you will get anywhere else.”

Paul Minett, who has joined Farmison as a retail consultant, was in the store today for free tastings and to provide cooking advice.

Read more:

• Hot Seat: Bringing Ripon firm Farmison back to life
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Councillors have refused a plan to convert an outbuilding on the Henry Jenkins Inn site at Kirkby Malzeard.

Campaigners breathed a sigh of relief after the meeting and claimed the application was designed to shatter their hopes of ever reopening the former pub, which dates back to the 18th century but has been closed since 2011.

North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon’s planning committee met yesterday in Ripon to consider an application to convert a building next to the former pub into one holiday cottage.

However, there has been a dispute over whether the building was ever used by the pub, with pub owner David Fielder arguing it was instead used as a piggery for livestock.

Crucially, the application also includes a large grassy space behind the former pub which would be used as a car park for the holiday cottage.

But campaigners insisted this would mean any future pub would be unable to accept beer deliveries or hold any outdoor community events, leaving it unviable.

The Henry Jenkins Community Pub group has hopes of taking over the pub as a community-owned venue and has been locked in a bitter battle with Mr Fielder over the building’s future for several years.

The group has raised £220,000 in shares from local people and in September was awarded £330,000 grant from government to help them achieve their dream.

Mr Sadler told councillors the campaign to buy the pub is now at a “critical point” and the application to convert the outbuilding was a “tactic to scupper our plans”.

He said:

“How can anyone expect a pub to survive when it can’t get vehicles in for deliveries? It would be very hard to see how it can be viable again. That is the purpose of this application.”

David Fielder, who owns and operates several pubs in Yorkshire, bought the pub after it closed and has had several attempts to convert it into housing refused by Harrogate Borough Council.

A government inspector dismissed an appeal earlier this year and stated that running the pub as a community-run project was financially viable.

At the meeting yesterday, Mr Fielder rejected Mr Sadler’s claim that the outbuilding conversion was to harm the viability of the pub, thus making it easier to convert into housing.

He also insisted the outbuilding was used for pigs and historically has been unrelated to the pub. He added:

“The building doesn’t even have pedestrian doors, how could they possibly be used [by the pub]? They had pig traps in them.”

However, councillors were unconvinced by the merits of the application and refused it by three votes to one, with one abstention.

Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for Aire Valley said:

“If you have this as a holiday cottage there is no right remaining for delivery access and insufficient space for all the things planned for the community pub.

“If all they had was a vague idea [to reopen the pub] I’d be saying ‘forget it mush’ — but they’ve got £220,000 in pledges and government funding”.

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Holy Trinity Church of England School in Ripon raised £450 at an Elf Day held in memory of a former pupil.

Six-year-old Ihor Bartieniev, who was Ukrainian, died as a result of a collision on the A61 at South Stainley between Ripon and Harrogate in September.

Ihor’s mother Daria Bartienieva, 35, and stepsister Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, were also killed in the crash.

To commemorate his life, the school held an elf-themed day last Friday.

Pupils wore elf hats and costumes, or green and red non-uniform clothing, and brought in donations to fund a story-telling chair in Ihor’s memory.

Deputy headteacher Amanda Bell-Walker said:

“Friday, December 1 was a day of both joy and remembrance for the Holy Trinity community as we came together to celebrate the life of Ihor.

“The children and staff looked wonderful, dressed in an array of elf-themed costumes as they all participated in activities arranged and organised by the Year 6 pupils.

“The aim of the day was one of fun, joy and fond memories.”

The school hopes the story-telling chair will be enjoyed by pupils and keep Ihor’s memory alive.

His host family were also in attendance on the day and shared memories of the young boy’s life, Ms Bell-Walker added.

“The chair will move up through school with Ihor’s peers as a fond memory of him as an inquisitive and much-loved part of the Holy Trinity family.”

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St Wilfrid’s on Coltsgate Hill, Ripon, has received an amazing early Christmas gift  – an organ worth £350,000.

The Grade II listed church, which is among the city’s architectural gems and described as one of the finest Catholic parish churches in England, has taken delivery of a mechanical action pipe organ, formerly in use at the University of Huddersfield.

Built by JW Walker of Brandon in Suffolk for Castleford businessman Michael Phipps, the organ was subsequently donated by him to the university in 2008 and now, with the assistance of Dr John Rowntree, one of the UK’s foremost organ specialists, it has found a new home in Ripon.

Dr Rowntree, director of music at Douai Abbey in Berkshire, is chair of the British Institute of Organ Studies and the Committee for the Listing of Historic Organs,

Dr John Rowntree (left) and Canon Ian Smith, are pictured in St Wilfrid’s, where the organ will be installed in the loft at the back of the church

He told the Stray Ferret:

“This wonderful instrument is of Grade 1 class and, with its mechanical action, is particularly suitable for playing music from the Bach period.

“It will give a completeness to the restoration of this beautiful church and I look forward to being involved in its installation here in the New Year.”

Parish priest Canon Ian Smith, plays the organ and keenly awaits the day when he has the opportunity take to the keyboards and pedals.

He said:

“It’s a superb instrument and such a generous gift from Huddersfield University. We had to move quickly and, with invaluable advice from Dr Rowntree, all parts of the organ are now here and ready to be reassembled, once we have raised the necessary funding.”

Canon Smith added:

“In making the donation to us, the university had one proviso – saying that its students have the right to visit our church to play the organ. They will be made most welcome,”

Parishioner Barrie Price, who is chair of the church fundraising committee, which has raised £500,000 for an ongoing programme of restoration and development, pointed out:

“The organ is valued at £350,000  and would have originally cost considerably more.

“Its rebuilding and installation cost is quoted at £40,000 and the Leeds Diocese have agreed that we can go ahead for half this figure in the New Year, by loaning the parish the other half.

Mr Price, added:

“We have launched a special organ fund, which is separate  from the Restoration Appeal, which we hope will raise this first half over the Advent period so that it can be installed early in 2024.”

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is to raise money for a minibus for Dementia Forward in the Harrogate district. 

The appeal is kindly sponsored by Vida Healthcare.

Please give generously to support local people and their families living with dementia. Let’s not forget who needs our help this Christmas.

Today, we talked to member of the young onset dementia group.

Before being diagnosed with young onset dementia, members of Dementia Forward‘s Time Out Together group were just like anyone else. One was the captain of Leeds Rhinos rugby, another a high-flying musician, and one a secretary for the Bank of England.

But everything changed before they reached the age of 65.

“We feel like a family – we are a family.”

This is how one member, Ally, described Time Out Together.

The group supports people living with young onset dementia – a form of the disease which affects people under the age of 65.

They meet every Wednesday and begin their day with coffee, cakes, and a catch-up. They laugh and chat and escape the evil disease they’re living with – even just temporarily.

Ally, who joined the group around nine months ago, said:

“I absolutely love it – it has changed my life.

“Everything we do is different – once we walked with llamas, and mine was named Gary!”

Time Out Together members visit the beach, nature reserves, play golf, visit art galleries, go on walking trips, go to the theatre and much more.

The purpose of the group is to socialise with people who understand them. The disease is robs these people of their former selves every day, but Dementia Forward works tirelessly to combat this.

Kev, the group’s volunteer bus-driver, said:

“It’s about laughing and joking together – we don’t judge here.”

Time Out Together is helping those living with young onset dementia and their carers every week, but the reality is that these people are fighting a downhill battle.

That’s why we need your help to ensure that the vital minibus service continues, and that people carry on receiving the care they need.

Dementia Forward’s current bus is old and urgently needs to be replaced. The charity would seriously struggle to afford a new one, which is why they need your help to keep this vital service going. Without it, many people living with dementia wouldn’t be able to access the help and support they need.

Every donation to our campaign will go directly to Dementia Forward, helping us hit our £30,000 target to buy the charity a new minibus and improving the lives of those living with dementia and the people around them.

Please give generously to those who need our help this Christmas. Click here to donate whatever you can – you never know when you, your family or a friend may be in need of Dementia Forward’s help too.

Thank you.

For those that need urgent help or have a dementia-related enquiry, call 03300578592 to speak to a helpline adviser.

Residents woke up yesterday morning to find Ripon wrapped in a white blanket, as the first significant snowfall of the winter covered the city.

The Stray Ferret was on hand to capture images from the Millfield play area at Bondgate Green, as parents and children played, to Spa Gardens, where Mick Burns’  striking Alice in Wonderland sculpture was transformed into Alice in Winterland.

Families braved the winter weather for some weekend fun at the Millfiled play area

Spa Gardens will become a focus of Christmas celebration from December15 to 17, when an array of illuminated decorations will light up the parkland area.

The free family-focused festive event, open from 2pm until 8pm on each of the three days, will offer entertainment and visual delights, with a number of displays, alongside Santa and his sleigh.

The wonderland sculpture which features Alice and other characters from her adventures, is a lasting reminder of the city’s link to the world-famous books of Lewis Carroll (AKA Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) whose father was a canon at Ripon Cathedral and the author was a chorister.

The artwork, unveiled  in 2013 and extended by Burns in 2014,  was caught in the winter chill yesterday, but will be bathed in light for the wonderland event.

A wintry Ripon Cathedral, viewed from Minster Gardens

In Market Square, the city’s Christmas tree and reindeer decoration, provided a fitting festive setting for Ripon Town Hall.

The stylish Georgian building (pictured) was built in 1799 as a townhouse for Mrs Elizabeth Allanson and assigned to the corporation in 1897 by her heir the first Marquess of Ripon, who served as the city’s mayor for two consecutive terms from 1895.

The life and work of George Frederick Samuel Robinson, Ripon’s most high profile politician, who also served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1880 to 1884, is celebrated with a statue in his honour in Spa Gardens (pictured below)

Yesterday, his towering figure could be seen in the Narnia-like setting of the gardens, surrounded by evergreen trees coated in snow.

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• See How Hill in the snow