Staff, volunteers and supporters of Ripon YMCA, gave up their warm beds to sleep outdoors on a cold, wet evening to highlight the issues of youth homelessness.

The Sleep Easy event staged at the weekend in the grounds of the city’s Workhouse Museum, carried the theme ‘Sleep out so others don’t have to’ and was designed to raise awareness and funds for the charity to help those who do not have a home of their own.

Jayne Shackleton, the YMCA’s community and development manager in Ripon, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is just a small taste of what it’s like for people who, for reasons such as family breakdown, find themselves with no roof over their head and no bed to sleep in.”

Her colleague, Bryony, who is a housing support worker, knows from personal experience about the crucial role that the charity plays in supporting the young and vulnerable who are facing difficult situations.

She said:

“At 16, I went to Ripon YMCA and over the two years that I lived there, I was given the encouragement to believe in myself, while providing the stability that I needed to put my life back on track.”

Bryony lived at Ripon YMCA for two years and now works for the charity

Bryony, added:

“I went on to study for a Youth and Community Work degree and with that qualification, I was proud to be able to return to Ripon to help people facing the same issues that I did when I was younger.”

Ripon Cathedral which, through its C3 Community Connections programme works closely with the YMCA , was represented at the Sleep Easy event.

Canon Matthew Pollard (pictured above, front centre), who joined the cathedral in the autumn, was among those who braved the elements.

He said:

“I have taken part in sleep outs for charities in Nottingham, Huddersfield and Bridlington, so this is my fourth.

“It is important to raise awareness of the YMCA as well as money to support the vital work that it does to support homeless people.”

In the past year the YMCA in Ripon has seen young people staying in cars, sleeping on a kitchen floor and in a shed, with many more ‘sofa surfing’.

The charity provides housing for 22 young people and  offers individual support, skills and training, designed to help them reach their full potential.

Anybody who would like to support Ripon YMCA,  can find out more here

One of the most spectacular properties in the Harrogate district has gone on the market for £8 million.

Studley Royal House is situated in the National Trust-owned Studley Royal deer park, with views across the park and beyond to Ripon Cathedral.

The park, which extends to about 800 acres, was modelled by Capability Brown and is part of the only UNESCO world heritage site in Yorkshire.

The house is in the deer park. Pic: Savills

Located close to Fountains Abbey, the grade two listed house has eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms and six reception rooms. The main bedroom has two en-suite bathrooms.

The house was originally the stables for the Aislabie family’s mansion on the Studley Royal estate. It was occupied by Queen Ethelburga’s College during the war.

The dining room. Pic: Savills

Crispin Holborow, of agents Savills, said:

“Studley Royal is a beautiful Palladian country house which lives up to its grade II* classification.

“It sits within a World Heritage site, giving it complete protection as well as the opportunity to enjoy Studley Royal Park without the burden of management.

“It is the perfect house for entertaining and requires minimum looking after.”

The drawing room. Pic: Savills

Read more:

• Ripon firm Farmison to trade again after buyout completed
• Ripon Grammar School rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

The Ripon-based online meat retailer Farmison & Co is to re-commence trading.

A consortium led by Andy Clarke, the former chief executive of Asda, today acquired the company from administration for an undisclosed sum.

John Pallagi who co-founded the business with Lee Simmons in 2011, is not listed as a consortium member.

The consortium said in a statement:

“Over the course of the coming weeks, the consortium intends to recommence operations at Farmison’s production facility in Ripon and return the business to being an important employer in the city.

“The consortium will work with the whole leadership team to firstly stabilise the company after a difficult year and then devise and implement a growth strategy.”

It is not known how many staff will be hired but a spokesman said a “substantial” number of positions will be created.

Mr Clarke, who was chief executive officer of Leeds-based Asda from 2010-16 will become executive chairman of Farmison.

Acknowledging the vision of Mr Pallagi, he said:

“While unable to navigate the economic difficulties of the last 12 months, John’s ‘eat better meat’ mission that sits at the heart of Farmison’s business, is one we believe has significant potential for growth.

“And as a retailer brought up on a farm in Yorkshire, I know how producers across the region appreciated Farmison’s commitment to the best producers who could provide the highest quality meat to customers.

“That’s why I’m very excited about Farmison’s prospects.  We have an opportunity to scale this business and further develop both its direct-to-consumer and wholesale plans, building on the ethos and values of what Farmison stands for.”

Read more:

• Consortium submits bid to bring back Ripon firm Farmison
• Assets to be sold at failed Ripon firm Farmison

But Mr Clarke added:

“Nevertheless, there is much work to do to get the business back on its feet and trading again — not least re-engaging with Farmison’s important network of farmers across the region and re-employing colleagues”.

“In the short-term, our goal is to bring financial stability to the business, and we’re committed to re-energising Farmison’s long-term vision so it can take advantage of the growth opportunities that are undoubtedly available to it.”

In the course of the coming weeks, the consortium expects to re-open Farmison’s website.

Farmison sells online directly to customers across the UK, and through wholesale channels such as Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Michelin star restaurants.

Other consortium members include former Farmison board member Gareth Whittle, founder and former managing director of Chilli Marketing.

Chilli Marketing’s Christian Barton and Kieron Barton are also involved with the consortium.

Arvindar Jit Singh, joint administrator and partner at FRP Advisory said:

“We are thrilled to have been able to secure a buyer for Farmison who is able to recommence trading and bring jobs back to Ripon.

“There had been significant interest in purchasing the business and assets of Farmison and a number of serious offers had been put forward in recent weeks, but the proposal from the consortium provides the best opportunity of both re-establishing the business and maximising returns to creditors.”

Lidl has declined to give an update on its plans for a Ripon supermarket — more than 18 months after it received planning permission.

The German retailer was given the go-ahead to build a supermarket alongside M&S Food at St Michael’s Retail Park in September 2021.

At the time Lidl said it would create up to 40 jobs and occupy three units at the £10m Rotary Way site, which opened in 2020.

But there have been no updates since, prompting the Stray Ferret to ask the company this week if it still planned to proceed with the scheme and, if so, when work would start.

The company has so far declined to respond.

Ripon Grammar School has been rated ‘good’ in its first Ofsted inspection for 11 years.

Government inspectors widely praised the 919-pupil school, and assessed its personal development and sixth form provision as ‘outstanding’.

But its overall ‘good’ grade is a notch down on the ‘outstanding’ it received in 2012.

Inspectors visited on January 25 and 26 and again on March 3. Their report has been sent to the school and is expected to be uploaded on the Ofsted website next week.

The report said leaders are ambitious for pupils and students “achieve very highly in their GCSE and A level examinations”. It added:

“Across the school, and particularly in the sixth form, teachers challenge pupils and students to stretch themselves academically and to take risks in their learning.

“Pupils benefit from the broad range of provision offered by clubs and societies, for example, in science, the arts, humanities and sport. Pupils are eager to seize the extensive opportunities presented to them.”

The report added the majority of pupils are happy and behave very well and staff deal with rare examples of bullying effectively.

Areas of improvement

It said support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities has been strengthened recently but “teaching and wider strategies used to support pupils with SEND vary across the school”.

Two other areas requiring improvement were highlighted.

The report said “a very small minority of staff do not speak to pupils in an appropriately encouraging manner” and recommends “leaders should continue to ensure that all staff are crystal clear about the responsibility on them to always speak appropriately to all pupils”.

It also said behaviour policy “is not always consistently applied” and “behaviour is weaker in a small minority of classrooms, particularly where a substitute teacher is leading the lesson”.

Read more: 

• Ripon Grammar named top northern secondary school again
• Hot Seat: ‘We are a proud school, independent-minded’

‘We are committed to continuous improvement’

A letter to parents signed by headteacher Jonathan Webb and chair of governors Elizabeth Jarvis, said:

“Overall, we are pleased with the headline conclusions that RGS is a school which offers students a culture of high expectations, an ambitious curriculum, high academic achievement, strong teaching, outstanding opportunities for personal development and strong community-based relations, as well as effective and secure safeguarding.

“The report identifies some areas for improvement – ensuring all students, whatever their abilities, talents and skills, are nurtured and supported to do their very best. This includes high quality SEN support, positive encouragement and behaviour expectations which are consistent and high.

“The governors and leadership team are committed to continuous improvement and development, adapting to demands and challenges of modern life.”

Ripon man given community order for making indecent images of children

A Ripon man received a community order yesterday for making indecent images of children.

Dilan Anwar, 20, pleaded guilty to two charges of making indecent photographs of a child at a hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court in March.

Both offences were in June 2021 when officers seized devices from his bedroom, including an iPhone, where a category B image and 12 category C images were found.

The prosecution told the court in March that the images were of females aged between 10 and 17.

Brian Nuttney, mitigating for Anwar, said the 20-year-old felt remorse for his actions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Anwar, of North Road, Ripon, appeared before York Magistrates Court yesterday for sentencing.

He was handed a 12-month community order requiring him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Read more:

• Man arrested after weapons and drugs found at Starbeck property
• Drug dealer jailed for second time for supplying cocaine in Harrogate

The 20-year-old was also ordered to undergo a rehabilitation programme for 34 days and made to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and court costs of £85.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

The magistrates court said Anwar’s early guilty plea was taken into consideration for his sentence.

The issue of homelessness and the hard times that go with it will be in focus on Friday night when Ripon YMCA holds its Sleep Easy event at the city’s Workhouse Museum.

Staff from the YMCA, along with volunteers, will be sleeping outside in the grounds of the former workhouse on Allhallowgate to raise awareness of youth homelessness, while raising money to support the charity’s work with young and vulnerable people.

Jayne Shackleton, community and development manager for Ripon YMCA, said:

“In the past year we have seen young people staying in cars, sleeping on a kitchen floor and in a shed, with many more ‘sofa surfing’.

“Homelessness is often hidden in society and small communities such as Ripon, where young people who have no fixed home will often find themselves sleeping at a friend’s house on a sofa or the floor.”

Ms Shackleton, pointed out:

“We provide housing for 22 young people and help enable them to be free from danger, hunger and isolation. We provide individual support, skills and training to help them lead an independent life and reach their potential.”

All fundraising or donations from the Sleep Easy event will go directly to Ripon YMCA to support its work.

Figures for England and Wales provided  by the YMCA, show that 47% of youth homelessness is caused through family breakdown.

A total  of 278,110 people were declared homeless or threatened with homelessness in 2021 and of these 56,080 were aged 16 to 24,

Anybody who would like to support Ripon YMCA,  can find out more here

Donations to the Sleep Easy event can be made via JustGiving here.

Newby Hall Estate near Ripon has tabled plans for a solar panel scheme to help generate renewable energy.

In proposals submitted to North Yorkshire Council, the estate has earmarked arable land outside the historic park and gardens for the project.

It would see four rows of solar panels installed which would generate 142,145kW hours per annum.

The estate estimates that the scheme could save 28.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

In documents submitted to the council, Carter Jonas, which is acting on behalf of Newby Hall, said the proposal was designed to complement the estate’s existing hydroelectric scheme in the River Ure.

It said:

“The proposed solar scheme is designed so that when the hydroelectric scheme isn’t generating as much energy in the summer, the solar panels will provide an additional renewable supply. 

“During summer, the water levels in the river typically reduced, meaning sometimes the hydro scheme does not run at all – this season is when the demand for the visitor attraction peaks and therefore the generation profile from solar will complement the hydroelectric scheme.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Read more:

• Plan for 32 solar panels on Coppice Valley school
• Harrogate district villagers demonstrate against 73-home scheme

Firefighters were called to Green Hammerton shortly after 8am this morning after a birds’ nest caused a freak fire.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log, the nest fell down the chimney of a boiler, which then caught fire when it was lit.

Firefighters used water to extinguish the fire, which was confined to the base of the boiler.

Crews also “gave advice to staff on site”, the incident log added.

It did not say precisely where the incident took place or whether any birds were harmed.

Today also saw firefighters extinguish a small fire in woodland in Ripon at 3.10pm. The fire is believed to have been caused deliberately by youths.

Read more:

• Firefighters rescue man retrieving his shoe in Knaresborough
• Firefighters called to Knaresborough pub

Ripon’s new city-wide bus service, which launched today, has guaranteed funding for the next four years and the prospect of more to follow.

From today, the current Ripon services – RS1 Lark Lane, RS2 Lead Lane and RS3 Gallows Lane – will increase in frequency and see routes extended, as well as operating on Saturdays.

A new route, numbered RS4, will serve North Bridge.

Andrew Williams, Independent city council leader and the North Yorkshire Council member for Minster and Moorside, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been able to make this happen with the support of the new unitary authority, in addition to section 106 monies from retail and residential developments in Ripon and money from the city council’s contingency fund.

“Looking beyond the first four years, we will be seeking further section 106 contributions to support the service as more residential schemes, such as West Lane, come on stream.”

The new service will be run using buses from Dales & District Travel and North Yorkshire Council.

Fellow Independent councillor Peter Horton, who chairs the city council’s transport committee, said:

“Ripon’s residents have been telling us for years that they want an improved inner-city bus service and after a great deal of detailed discussions, first with North Yorkshire County Council and now the new authority, it has come to fruition.

“We hope that people will become regular users of  this sustainable means of transport.”

Today’s changes

RS1 has a new timetable and route via Bishopton Lane, Ash Bank Road and Lark Lane which extends via the bus station to St Michael’s Retail Park for the M&S Food Store. It will depart hourly from 7.15am to 6.15pm with additional journeys between the bus station and St Michael’s Park twice hourly.

RS2 and RS3 have a new timetable with an earlier bus at 7.40am and a later bus at 5.35pm Monday to Friday. The daytime service has new times and will run Monday to Saturday.

RS4 is a new route from the bus station to North Bridge via North Street returning via Magdalen’s Road. There are three journeys per day Monday to Saturday.

The services will be run with buses from Dales & District Travel and North Yorkshire Council, with a single journey costing no more than £2 and pensioners with bus passes travelling free. More details are available from www.northyorks.gov.uk/businfo

Pic shows: Cllr Andrew Williams (centre) with his daughter Lilly-May, with Cllr Peter Horton (left) and Paul McMillan, one of the team of drivers providing the new service.

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• Months of roadworks ahead on Ripon to Harrogate road