The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 are for businesses across all sectors in the Harrogate district.

In these final few days before entries close, we are revealing the last of what our judging panel is looking for when it comes to each of the 10 categories.

The final category up is the Best Digital Marketing Campaign Award, which is sponsored by Next Chapter.

Digital is clearly the way forward. This award recognises the work of businesses that have run incredible campaigns on purely digital campaigns.

Companies looking to enter need to provide information on the digital marketing plan, including its aims and objectives. Also provide statistical information on why the campaign was a success.

Does your business deserve to win the Best Digital Marketing Campaign Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards? Entries close at 12pm on January 16. It’s simple and quick, so enter today!

Click here or the banner below to enter for the Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis.

One of the most iconic rides at Lightwater Valley has been closed for good after its owners found they could not bring it up to “acceptable standards”.

Brighton Pier Group, which bought the park in 2021, said it had tried to find ways of bringing The Ultimate back into use after it last operated in the 2019 season.

However, the 30-year-old rollercoaster will now be removed from the park, which has shifted its emphasis towards younger children in recent years.

Anne Ackord, chief executive of Brighton Pier Group, said:

“We have devoted much time and effort considering the future of The Ultimate. The ride has been out of service for some years now and the process of assessing the viability of bringing it back into use was a long one.

“We are mindful of its nostalgic status and that many of our visitors have fond memories of riding the Ultimate Coaster.

“Nevertheless, given both the investment required to bring it up to acceptable standards of safety and the re-imagining of Lightwater Valley as a family-orientated adventure park, we have decided to close The Ultimate permanently and remove it from the park.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to the new-look Lightwater Valley as it develops and evolves into the north of England’s number one destination for family adventures.”

The Ultimate was opened in 1991 and at the time was the longest rollercoaster in the world. It has been at Lightwater Valley longer than any other remaining ride.

Along with the rest of the park, based in North Stainley, near Ripon, it was not opened in 2020 because of the covid pandemic, but unlike the other rides it has not been operational since.

When Brighton Pier Group bought the theme park, it indicated its commitment to keeping The Ultimate going. It also said it was aiming to develop and expand the whole park to create “the premier amusement destination across Yorkshire and the surrounding areas”.

Read more:

• Will Lightwater Valley ever reopen rollercoaster The Ultimate?
• Harewood House to close bird garden in face of ‘£4m bill’

Anglers in Ripon are worried that three years’ work may have been flushed away following a sewage leak on the River Ure. 

The local fishing club, Ripon Piscatorial Association (RPA), has been implementing a three-year programme to restock the river with fish, but a cracked pipe at the end of December sent gallons of raw sewage into the Ure at Sharow, and the club says it may have jeopardised the project. 

Nathan Proctor, match secretary of the RPA, which owns about a mile of the southern river bank downstream of the ruptured pipe, said:

“Where this leak has happened is right where we’ve been putting fish in. Any fry that hatched out this last year will be struggling. 

“We put some roach in the week before Christmas, and we were due to put some barbel in this month. They’re not cheap. As a club we’ve had to spend a lot of money to make sure we keep our members, but if this has killed the fish, we can’t afford another three-year restocking programme. We won’t find out how serious it is until the summer, when water levels are lower.” 

Yorkshire Water said it had isolated the broken pipe, which lies five metres below ground, within 45 minutes of first being told of the problem on December 30, and that no sewage has been released from it since. 

The company has been transporting sewage from the pipe in tankers to Ripon Wastewater Treatment Works while it replaces the section of pipe, but both tanking and repairs at the site on Sharow Lane have been halted in recent days by flooding. 

James Thornborough, a retiree who lives nearby, said Yorkshire Water had failed to keep local residents and stakeholders notified of the dangers or developments arising from the incident. 

Mr Thornborough, who was formerly world head of crisis and emergency management for oil companies including BP and Petronas, said:

“This is a textbook example of how not to respond to an emergency.

“I would grade this as a Category 2 incident according to the Environment Agency’s rating system – meaning it’s significant – and yet there’s been no joined-up response. There’s been no information shared.” 

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said:

“We have informed the Environment Agency of the situation, as required by law, but there is no mechanism in place for informing anyone else. That said, we will be in touch with the RPA. 

“If there was major pollution we would of course be in contact with them anyway, but this was minor, and the impact minimal.” 

Repair work on the pipe was expected before the weekend to last for a couple of weeks, but can now only resume once flood water levels have dropped enough to enable workers to access the site again. 

Read more:

• Ripon sewage leak: tree felled as repair work set to last two weeks
• Sewage discharged into River Ure near Ripon after pipe leaks
• Ripon angler among 57 fined in illegal fishing clampdown

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 are for businesses across all sectors in the Harrogate district.

In this final week before entries close, we are revealing the last of what our judging panel is looking for when it comes to each of the 10 categories.

Next up is the Best Employee Development Award, which is sponsored by Jones Myers, Family Law Solicitors.

This award is designed to highlight businesses that develop their employees, giving them the best start for a new career.

Those looking to enter this award need to give details of the business values and culture that lead to the creation of the training programme and highlight employee successes that came as a result.

Do you know a person that deserves to win the Best Employee Development Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards? Entries close on January 16. It’s simple and quick, so enter today!

Click here or the banner below to enter for the Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis.

Read more:

• Harrogate businessman spared jail for sexually assaulting woman in street
• Race to be Lib Dem candidate in Harrogate and Knaresborough down to final two

Firefighters called to rescue a horse trapped in floodwater discovered it was a metal sculpture in a field near Ripon.

Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted about the incident today.

He said:

“An officer trotted off to check out the situation and discovered a statue of a horse in the middle of the field.

“There was ‘neigh’ further assistance required on this occasion.”

The silhouette sculpture is situated in a field close to the River Ure, which has burst it banks after heavy rain yesterday.

It has been there since 2018.

The ‘horse’ appears trapped in the distance. Pic: Bob Hoskins

Read more:

• Flooding ‘expected’ at caravan park in Harrogate district
• Charity shop to open in Ripon’s former Argos

The YMCA has confirmed it will open a shop in the former Argos unit on the Marshall Way retail park in Ripon.

A spokeswoman for the YMCA, which helps young people, said the shop would sell furniture and electrical goods as well as the usual charity items and donations “would be hugely appreciated”.

She added the opening date had yet-to-be confirmed but it was “looking like early February”.

The spokeswoman said:

“The store will employ a manager and two assistant managers initially and we are looking for volunteers for a variety of roles.

“We will start shop set up work from next week so things will start to happen.”

Argos relocated to the Sainsbury’s site on Market Place East after the covid lockdown was lifted.

Read more:

• Harrogate YMCA shop to close after just two years
• Ripon Salvation Army appeal helped hundreds across the Harrogate district

More than 500 bags of food and gifts were distributed to families across the Harrogate district after an annual Christmas appeal run by the Salvation Army in Ripon.

Each year the church and charity takes part in the nationwide Salvation Army appeal, which provides food and festive gifts anonymously to people recommended by agencies in the community.

Church leader Pat Clark said:

“This year, with the cost of living crisis, we faced a tsunami of need and we would like to say a big thank you on behalf of all the families supported by the appeal.”

Approximately 250 bags of gifts and 300 bags of food were provided, with each family member receiving a main present, chocolates and several small gifts. The food bags contained basic non-perishable foodstuffs and festive goods – mince pies, cake and puddings.

Ms Clark said:

“The huge effort was only made possible through the work of volunteer packers and sorters, donations from the public and other churches , schools and businesses.

“Planning for next Christmas is already underway, as arrangements have to be made to store cans and packets of food ready for the huge demand in December.”

Read more:

• Wildflower planting programme launched at Ripon nature reserve
• Plan to install donation point for upkeep of Ripon park

A pub near Ripon has submitted plans to extend in order to create a cafe and village shop.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council for the extension.

It would see a ground floor and first floor extension built at the pub on Lowgate Lane.

In documents submitted to the council by Leeds-based NJ-Architects on behalf of the pub, it said the extension would also provide more jobs for the local area.

It said:

“The proposed extensions incorporate our client’s criteria regarding the provision of additional local employment, providing a village shop, a café to serve the many visitors and locals, and environmental awareness whilst re-evaluating the local vernacular.

“We believe the design results in a extension that respects the character of the site, the village, the AONB and also achieves a contemporary, comfortable and understated destination.”

Read more:

• Sawley Arms granted midnight licence extension
• Firefighters rescue horse trapped in floodwater in Harrogate district

The authority will make a decision on the extension plans at a later date.

The move comes as the pub was recently granted an extension to its licensing hours.

In October, Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

A total of 76 staff at Harrogate’s St George Hotel face uncertain futures amid plans to close the building for refurbishment.

The Inn Collection Group, which bought the historic hotel a year ago, informed staff last week they were at risk of redundancy on January 30.

It plans to carry out a multi-million pound refurbishment that will transform the interior and increase the number of bedrooms from 90 to 96.

A spokesman for the Inn Collection Group, which also owns the Dower House in Knaresborough and Ripon Spa Hotel, said today:

“We currently have 76 colleagues at risk of redundancy as a result of a proposed closure on January 30, however we have started a consultation process to discuss this, to support our colleagues and seek ways in which to mitigate the need for redundancy.”

The spokesman said the refurbishment would include remedial work to some of the building’s systems and “bring it into the look and feel of The Inn Collection Group”, adding:

“The main focus on refurbishment though is centred around the transformation of the ground floor space, which will be brought into our model of hospitality.

“We are a pub with rooms operator rather than a hotel operator and the refurbishment will evolve the offering at Hotel St George into a space where they are made to feel welcome and are encouraged to join us for coffees, drinks and meals.

“There will also be significant improvements carried out to areas that support this such as the kitchens, allowing us to develop what we offer to our guests and residents of Harrogate and beyond.”

Read more:

• St George Hotel in Harrogate to close at end of month
• Roadworks to start on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road this week

The spokesman said the refurbishment was anticipated to take 16 weeks and was “intended to begin shortly following a consultation period with our teams at the site who will be impacted whilst the refurbishment takes place”.

Asked what will happen to customers who have booked accommodation or weddings, he said:

“Our teams are currently contacting these customers directly to discuss their bookings.  These discussions will centre around if they wish to retain their stay or event with us or if they wish to find an alternative venue, which we will work with them to accommodate.”

Dower House and Ripon Spa Hotel set for summer re-openings

The Inn Collection Group has properties across northern England, including Dower House and Ripon Spa Hotel, which are both closed for refurbishment.

The Dower House

Work at Dower House began in September last year. The spokesman said:

“Once complete, the Dower House will have grown from a 38-room establishment to a 57-room venue and as with Hotel St George will have enjoyed a significant renovation of its ground floor spaces to provide a space to be enjoyed by guests both staying with us and those visiting from the local area.

“The fabric of the building is requiring a great deal of care and attention as part of the refurbishment, and we are hopeful that works will be complete later this summer.”

The company has started advertising for a general manager at Ripon Spa Hotel but it is not expected to reopen for several months. The building is still surrounded by scaffolding.

Ripon Spa Hotel

The spokesman said:

“Works have been underway at Ripon Spa since summer last year and again have seen us undertake an extensive programme to maintain and enhance the fabric of the building.

“As at the Dower House, there will be an increase in the number of bedrooms for guest. Up from 43 to 59.

“We are again hopeful of launching the newly renovated venue later this summer.”