Zoe Metcalfe, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, is hoping to stand for election to become the county’s first mayor, the Stray Ferret understands.

A Conservative Party source has told the Stray Ferret that Ms Metcalfe had indicated she planned to launch a bid for the party’s nomination for next year’s mayoral election.

The mayor will oversee a significant budget for York and North Yorkshire and have the power to allocate funds to areas such as transport, education and housing.

He or she will also swallow up the commissioner’s role currently occupied by Ms Metcalfe.

Ms Metcalfe has strong local connections: she was born in Ripon, educated in Harrogate and lives near Boroughbridge.

A former Harrogate borough councillor, she was elected to her commissioner’s role in 2021 with 39.5% of the vote in a by-election caused by the resignation of fellow Conservative Philip Allott following comments he made about the murder of Sarah Everard.

Since taking up the role on a salary of £74,000, she has overseen the introduction of a Risk and Resource Model for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which sets out how resources will be deployed from 2022 to 2025.

The changes included reducing Harrogate Fire Station’s nighttime cover from two fire engines to one.

The commissioner’s role gives Ms Metcalfe a countywide profile that could enhance her prospects of winning the Conservative nomination for mayor — a new role being created as part of North Yorkshire devolution.

The Stray Ferret contacted the crime commissioner’s office asking whether Ms Metcalfe planned to stand but did not receive a response.

Read more:

• Knaresborough’s Zoe Metcalfe pledges to be ‘people’s commissioner’ in £74,000 crime role
• Long-awaited £1.2m refurbishment of Ripon’s police and fire station confirmed

A control room monitoring more than 200 CCTV cameras in the Harrogate district has not been manned at times over the last year due to staff shortages.

The control room, run by Harrogate Borough Council, oversees cameras operating 24 hours a day in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.

Control room staff are able to respond to police reports and track suspicious activity. Police can buy the footage to use as evidence in pursuing crimes.

Julia Stack, community safety and CCTV manager at the council, was asked by Councillor Victoria Oldham at a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny commission this week whether the room needed to be staffed.

Ms Stack replied the priority was to “man that service for 24 hours a day”, adding:

“I will be honest,. We have had some challenging issues in terms of recruitment within the last 12 months so there have been times when we have been unable to have the staff there but the cameras will be recording.”

Ms Stack added the team was now “almost at full complement of staff”.

Cllr Oldham, a Conservative who represents Washburn, replied:

“I’m aware of two incidents last week when it wasn’t manned and one of them could have been very embarrassing.”

Julia Stack speaking at the meeting

Ms Stack said the service worked closely with police but added:

“There’s always the risk we may be dealing with one location and there may be something happening in another one. That is down unfortunately to consistent funding cuts to the service.”

The long-term future of the service when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of this month and North Yorkshire Council takes over is unclear.

Scarborough and Northallerton also have CCTV control rooms in the county and Ms Stack the service overall was inconsistent and would be reviewed.

Cllr Windass speaking at the meeting

Councillor Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge, said Boroughbridge had been “kicked out” of Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV monitoring system years ago.

Cllr Windass said Boroughbridge Town Council now provided CCTV and, unlike Harrogate Borough Council, did not charge the police for accessing it. He said:

“If the police request footage for any crimes there is absolutely no charge because we consider it a valuable service we should provide and support to the police.”

Cllr Mike Chambers, the Conservative Cabinet member for housing and safer communities, replied:

“I agree it is a service that is valuable to the police. But we have a control room that has staff. If we don’t levy charges as many other departments within this council do then how do we pay for the staff?”

CCTV overlooking Harrogate’s Royal Hall

‘Limited resources’

After the meeting, the Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council about the control room staff situation and what will happen to the service when the council is abolished in four weeks.

A council spokesperson said:

“Our CCTV control room is in Harrogate and has five operators and one CCTV and business crime operations officer, as well as a small pool of casual staff who work alongside full-time officers, who are responsible for surveillance of cameras covering Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon and council buildings.

“They also undertake reviews and produce evidence for the police and other third parties, operate a RadioLink service and support a business crime partnership.

“Like ourselves, North Yorkshire Police have limited resources and even if the control room report an incident to the police, there is no guarantee that they are always in a position to respond straight away. Therefore, we ensure cameras record 24-hours a day, 365 days a year so that our staff can aim to get the best evidence to assist with any incidents.

“Closures are kept to a minimum and shifts are extended with staff work overtime to ensure sufficient support for the CCTV control room.

“In recent months, we have seen a limited number of applicants to the roles available. And once appointed, each post is subject to police vetting which takes times to be thoroughly carried out, followed by a two-month training period.

“However, we can confirm that two new appointments have recently been made.

“From 1 April there will be no change to the service.”

The owners of the St George Hotel in Harrogate and the Spa Hotel in Ripon have confirmed the venues will be given new names and branding.

The properties, which are being refurbished, will be renamed The Harrogate Inn and The Ripon Inn.

The Harrogate Inn is due to re-open in early summer with 96 rooms — six more than previously. The Ripon Inn is expected to reopen in midsummer with 58 rooms — 15 more than previously.

The Harrogate Inn

The two hotels have also been given new coats of arms.

The new identities reflect the brand style of owners the Inn Collection Group, a Newcastle-based company that has historic venues across the north.

Inn Collection Group venues serve food and drink all day and are styled as pubs with rooms rather than hotels.

Its other venues include Knaresborough’s Dower House, which has been renamed The Knaresborough Inn.

Zoe Cooper, marketing manager for the Inn Collection Group, said:

“As with the new names we have unveiled for other sites recently, including The Knaresborough Inn, we have looked to embrace the history of the wider area and we hope the new look will create a talking point that serves as a link to the past while the site embarks on an exciting future.

“With both sites we have adopted the name of the locale for the property, which allows us to introduce its setting more easily for potential visitors who may be considering a stay, allowing them to look further into what all these fantastic places have to offer.”

The Ripon Inn

The refurbished guest accommodation at The Ripon Inn will provide a mix of double, twin and family bedrooms, accessible rooms, suites, and dog friendly rooms.

It will have an additional 15 en-suite rooms and the reconfigurated ground floor area will include a new bar and kitchen area.

The Harrogate Inn will see six new bedrooms added on the ground floor and a “complete transformation of the venue’s hospitality spaces”, according to the owners.

Coats of arms

The Ripon Inn, set in six acres of gardens, has been closed to guests since July 2020 for extensive internal and external works.

Its new coat of arms is made up of a shield flanked by a pair of stags, linking to the historical coat of arms of the Earl and Marquess or Ripon.

The left half of the shield contains a representation of the Ripon horn in recognition of the history of the city’s wakemen and hornblowers.

Sitting on a red background — a colour scheme and motif that appear in the city’s coat of arms – this is combined with a yellow chevron which is again informed by the Earl and Marquess of Ripon’s heraldry.

The right-hand side of the shield features a stylised illustration of the grade one listed Ripon Cathedral and its early English gothic west front, dating back to 1220 and regarded as one of the best examples of its type.

The Harrogate Inn closed in January for a 16-week refurbishment.

Its coat of arms sees the left half of the shield contain a red and white asymmetrical crossed pattern taken from the town’s original coat of arms, together with the white rose of Yorkshire.

The right-hand side of the shield features a lion ‘passant’ taken from the borough council’s arms, and this is bounded top and bottom by repeating wavy lines to represent the importance of springs in the town’s history.

Supporting the shield are a pair of griffins taken from the crest of the Slingsby family, who were instrumental in bringing prosperity to the town through Sir William Slingsby and his discovered of the first spring in Harrogate, the Tewitt Well, over three hundred years ago.

Read more:

• Harrogate hotel begins recruiting — three weeks after laying off 76 staff
• New name and coat of arms for Knaresborough hotel
• Stray Views: Memories of Harrogate’s St George Hotel

Taxi drivers in the Harrogate district have said a new system for regulating hackney carriages will be bad for customers and cause cabbies to go bust.

The current limit of 148 hackney carriages in the district will be abolished when North Yorkshire Council comes into existence on April 1, paving the way for a flood of new drivers.

At the same time, a new single taxi zone allowing drivers to operate countywide rather than stick to their local districts will begin, even though 52% opposed it in a consultation.

Drivers say the single zone will lead to some places being flooded by taxis at busy times while less popular rural areas will struggle to book cars.

They also say ending the cap on the number of hackney carriages means licence plates they paid thousands of pounds for are now effectively worthless.

Supporters of the new system say it incorporates Department for Transport best practice guidance and “any negative impacts tend to level out over time”.

‘Totally destroyed’

The Ripon cabbies in Harrogate this week

Six Ripon hackney carriage drivers, who are supported by colleagues from across the district, met the Stray Ferret this week to express anger at the changes.

Katie Johnstone, of Johnstone Family Hire, said lifting the limit on the number of vehicles would ruin many taxi firms.

She said until now, people like her had paid about £20,000 to buy a plate so they could operate one of only 148 hackney carriages in the Harrogate district.

Ms Johnstone said abolishing the limit meant the plates now had no sell-on value, leaving current plate holders a combined £3 million out of pocket.

She said she took out a five-year bank loan to buy her plate as part of a career change two years ago and “it’s not worth anything now”, adding:

“I’m a single parent — I worked on minimum wage for years. I’ve invested a lot of money to try to better myself and they have totally destroyed it.”

Read more:

• New taxi fares for North Yorkshire revealed
• Council considers North Yorkshire knowledge test for taxi drivers

‘The system has worked for 100 years’

Keith Snowden, whose family has operated taxis in Ripon since 1926, said:

“It’s a ludicrous situation. The system has worked for the last 100 years — why change it?”

All the cabbies predicted many private hire drivers will get hackney licences because it would enable them to make more money by picking up customers from ranks whereas they currently have to be booked in advance.

They said this would create hotspots as drivers battled for customers in busy times in the most lucrative areas, and ignored calls from less profitable rural customers.

Anne Smith, of ANB Taxis in Ripon, said:

“Everything we have put into these plates has been completely taken away from us.”

Ms Smith tried to enlist the support of Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, but said he had been “absolutely useless”. Mr Smith did not reply when the Stray Ferret asked for a response.

Paul Dodds, of JPD Taxis, said he feared he and other drivers would have to “pack in” because of the changes.

North Yorkshire Council will replace North Yorkshire County Council and seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, at the end of the month.

The drivers all said the new system was being introduced for the convenience of the council rather than for drivers because it was easier to manage than the current district-wide system.

Richard Fieldman

The taxi drivers said they would continue to oppose the changes until the new system begins next month.

Ripon cabbie Richard Fieldman criticised North Yorkshire County Council’s defence of the changes:

“They keep relating to Department for Transport best practice guide, but have chosen to leave bits of it out to suit them, ie it states that in areas where licence limits are in place, they should firstly conduct an unmet demand survey to see if there is any latent demand, before proceeding with the policy; they have failed to do that.

“The fact is, they have totally ignored the result of the consultation, which concluded 52% are against it.”

‘A coherent regulatory framework’

Cllr Derek Bastiman

Children at a school near Ripon were among thousands nationwide to dress up today for World Book Day.

Pupils and staff at Fountains Church of England Primary School, which is at Grantley, came to lessons dressed as their favourite characters from a range of books.

The children also swapped books with each other as part of the celebrations.

It comes as pupils across the district have celebrated the day, which aims to promote reading for pleasure among children.

Staff at the school get into the spirit.

Do you have any pictures from your school celebrating World Book Day? Send them to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or message us on Facebook.

Read more:

• Group estimates 1,000 Ripon children are in need of swimming lessons
• Plans approved for 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks

Aldi has included Harrogate on a list of 30 priority locations for new supermarkets.

The German giant wants to increase its number of UK stores from 990 to 1,200.  It currently has supermarkets in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough in the Harrogate district.

The company said in a press release today it “plans to invest more than £400 million in store development over the coming year” and published a list of 30 priority locations.

Harrogate and Scarborough were the only two North Yorkshire locations on the list.

Aldi already has a store on Oak Beck Road in Harrogate, close to the site where Tesco has planning permission to build a supermarket.

The company offers a finder’s fee for agents who recommend a site, which is either 1.5% of a freehold price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites.

It is looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-town sites that are around 1.5 acres and can accommodate a 20,000 sq foot store with about 100 parking spaces.

Giles Hurley, chief executive at Aldi UK, said:

“Demand for Aldi has never been higher here are still some towns and areas that either don’t have access to an Aldi or have capacity for additional stores.”

Harrogate was also included in a list of desired locations by Aldi last year.

Read more:

• Five take aways from Harrogate Tesco approval
• New Tesco supermarket would threaten future of Jennyfields Co-op, warns report

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In February, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a speech to MPs in the lead up to the first anniversary of the war with Russia. Major decisions were made on Kex Gill and Ripon Barracks. Meanwhile, concern was once again raised about sewage into rivers.

We asked Harrogate & Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

• On February 3, Andrew Jones visited Windsor House in Harrogate, which recently has undergone refurbishment.
• Mr Jones wrote to North Yorkshire Police chief constable, Lisa Winward, following a crash on Yew Tree Lane which saw two teenagers seriously injured. He called for traffic calming measures in the Pannal Ash area.
• He called for a debate in Parliament over access to grassroots sport after meeting with the Football Foundation and Pannal Ash Junior Football Club.
• Mr Jones urged greater cooperation between developers on February 10 after residents raised concerns over unfinished road surfaces, poor drainage and inadequate street lighting on new estates.
• On February 16, Mr Jones described criticism of his voting record on sewage as “ridiculous”. His comments came as concern was raised over the overflow of sewage into rivers.
• On February 27, Mr Jones asked ministers in the House of Commons what more could be done to remove barriers for adults deciding to restudy and update their skills.

Read more:

• MPs Watch: A new Prime Minister and government U-turns
• MPs Watch: ‘Wrong’ tax cuts and the death of the Queen

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith met with teachers from the UK parliament teacher ambassador programme on February 3.
• On February 8, Mr Smith attended a talk in Westminster Hall speech by Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr Smith described him as “the ultimate war leader”.
• On the same day, Mr Smith published a letter from the Ministry of Defence confirming that Claro Barracks in Ripon will remain operational until later 2026. Part of the barracks are subject to planning permission for new housing.
• Mr Smith made one spoken contribution in the House of Commons in February on the Northern Ireland protocol. He paid tribute to John Caldwell who was shot in Omagh.
• On February 23, Mr Smith welcomed the government’s decision to approve a final business case for the A59 Kex Gill realignment.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, he is what we found on Mr Adams:

• On February 7, Mr Adams described the appointment of Lee Anderson MP as the new Conservative Party chairman as a “clever appointment” by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
• Mr Adams tweeted on February 8 that planes should be supplied to Ukraine after a speech by President Zelenskyy
• Mr Adams posted no new updates on his website in February.
• He made no spoken contributions in the House of Commons during February.

North Yorkshire Police has confirmed that a refurbishment of Ripon’s shared police and fire station is underway.

The £1.2m project has been in the pipeline for several years after the force sold Ripon’s police station in 2014.

Officers have used facilities at the fire station since 2018 but the site on Stonebridgegate has been deemed not fit-for-purpose by North Yorkshire Police.

In summer 2021, former Conservative Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner Philip Allott unveiled plans for a major refurbishment of the building.

A report was prepared for councillors yesterday that said the works had now been approved and represented “the best value for money” for Ripon residents.

The works will include repurposing the ground floor for the police to interact with the public, changing the first floor to create better meeting spaces for the fire service and improving the windows and lighting of the building.

Additional facilities costing £90,000 will also be created in Ripon’s Town Hall on Market Place to improve the police’s presence in the city centre.

Councillors in Harrogate met last night and heard from North Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector Richard Ogden about the project. Construction work is estimated to take around 15 weeks.

Ch Insp Ogden said:

“It’s something that has been long-overdue. I’m really pleased we have a way forward. We’re not only going to have investment for the fire service but we’re going to have a footprint for our neighbourhood team in the city centre. It’s really exciting for Ripon.”

The police said there will be slight disruption during construction but work will be phased to reduce its impact.

Read more

• Group estimates 1,000 Ripon children are in need of swimming lessons
• Plans approved for 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks

Zoe Metcalfe

In a press statement released after the meeting, Conservative Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe said:

“The facilities in Ripon are out of date and not suitable for our modern and inclusive work force.

“This redevelopment is long overdue. As commissioner, I have listened to the community and staff, and want to create a safe environment for the fire and police services to work from and is fit for the future.

“I am also delighted that part of this investment enables us to put our local policing team right into the heart of the city in the Town Hall, being accessible and visible, helping people to be safe and feel safe and contributing towards economic growth.”

Anti-social behaviour in Ripon

Last week, police in Ripon urged residents to report instances of anti-social behaviour following reports in the Aismunderby Road and Ambrose Road areas and the area around the Jack Laugher Leisure Centre and nearby skate park.

Ch Insp Ogden told councillors last night that spikes in anti-social behaviour “comes and goes” in Ripon but that officers have worked to target offenders in the city. He said:

“There was considerable anti-social behaviour problems in Ripon 18 months ago. The neighbourhood team did a lot of proactive work and we dealt with a number of individuals and things seem to be in a good position.”

A group that unsuccessfully lobbied Harrogate Borough Council in a bid to have a learner pool built in Ripon estimates that up to 1,000 of the city’s children have yet to be taught how to swim.

In 2018, before planning permission was granted  for construction of the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, Ripon Pool Action Group (RPAG) called for a learner pool to be included in the multi-million pound development at Dallamires Lane.

Though that call was rejected, the group continues to highlight the need for families in Ripon to have public facilities available that are close at hand and affordable.

At the February meeting of Ripon City Council, RPAG secretary Tim Tribe and Andrea McAuslan presented the case for a learner pool to be included in any future plans that the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council, may have for the development of leisure facilities in the city.

Mr Tribe said:

“We recognise that there are currently serious pressures on public finances. We are not asking for a learner pool to be built now, but we want to ensure that the new unitary authority is properly briefed on this situation.

“Ripon is the only place of its size in North Yorkshire with no learner pool. Thirsk, Tadcaster, Northallerton, Stokesley and Skipton all have separate pools and we ask how far do you think our children should travel to learn such an important life skill, when we live in an area surrounded by water?”

Mr Tribe added:

“We carried out a survey using Survey Monkey and this showed that there are circa 1,000 children in Ripon in need of swimming lessons.”

Because of the lack of a public learner pool in Ripon, Andrea and Ian McAuslan have been taking their five-year-old twins to Thirsk.

Ms McAuslan said:

“We have been making the 22-mile round trip and are fortunate that we can afford to do this, but many other families are not so lucky.

“Seeing how our children reacted when they realised that they could go in the little pool at Thirsk was a real eye opener. It has been great to see their confidence grow as they learn to swim while they play in the shallow water.”

Ms McAuslan, who is also chair of the junior section of the Ripon-based NYP TriStars, triathlon club, added:

“Quite apart from the need to teach children to swim in a city that has three rivers, a canal and other areas of water, it is a skill that is fundamental to opening up other avenues for them.”

Teachers in the Harrogate district are set to go on strike tomorrow.

Members of the National Education Union will walk out on Tuesday in a dispute over pay and conditions.

The union argues a 5% pay rise in 2022 was insufficient to combat the impact of inflation at 10%, leaving many teachers effectively facing a pay cut.

The move will affect education across the district, with some pupils taking lessons remotely.

How Harrogate district schools are affected

Harrogate Grammar School pupils in years 10, 11 and 13 will be asked to attend school as normal.

However, those in years 7, 8, 9 and 12 will take lessons remotely where a teacher is not on strike.

Meanwhile, St Aidan’s Church of England High School has told parents it will “endeavour to provide their usual suite of lessons” for those who are required to attend school.

Years 8, 10 and 11 have been told they should take lessons at home, while years 7 and 9 should attend as normal.

The school has told year 12 pupils that while they are not “obliged to attend school”, a study area will be provided if they notify school that they wish to attend.

In a letter to parents, it added:

“These arrangements apply to both St Aidan’s and St John Fisher students in the Associated Sixth Form. Year 12 students should inform their home school of their intention to attend, should that be the case.”

Read more:

• ‘Parents must accept responsibility for feeding their children’, says councillor
• Lightwater Valley 10K to raise vital funds for local school

Elsewhere, Rossett School has informed parents that it intends to repeat the same arrangements as the last teachers strike.

The school said:

“As a leadership team, we have decided to repeat the arrangements from the last strike day of Year 7, 11, 12 & 13 in school and Year 8, 9, and 10 working remotely.”

St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate will remain open to year 7 and 13 only.

In Knaresborough, King James’s School has advised that school will be closed to all students, apart from year 11 and sixth form who should continue to attend.

Outwood Academy in Ripon will remain open to year 11 and vulnerable students. Other year groups will be expected to complete work from home.

Details of how other secondary schools are affected will be posted as we get them.