A consultation has revealed strong support for plans to create a sports village on the edge of Boroughbridge.

The Stray Ferret revealed last month local gym owner Darren Sadler and Boroughbridge Town Council were behind the scheme.

The 10-acre site at Aldborough Gate would include free to use community facilities, including a games field, a one kilometre running track, a sprint track and a multi-use games areas for team sports such as five-a-side football and netball, as well as a meeting room and a nature reserve.

There would also be a gym and functional strength training centre and a health food café run on a commercial basis by Mr Sadler, a former World’s Strongest Man competitor.

Of the 1,193 consultation responses so far, 93% either agree or strongly agree the facility would improve the health and wellbeing of the residents of Boroughbridge and neighbouring communities.

A total of 84% said physical activities were important to them with a fully equipped gym, exercise classes and outdoor games field generating the most support.

‘One of the biggest things we’ve ever done’

The proposal has been brought forward by Mr Sadler, the town council and Boroughbridge Sports Village, which is a newly formed charity.

The Stray Ferret met Cllr Sean Hynes, the mayor of Boroughbridge and Mr Sadler at his Absolute Fitness gym this week to find out more about the venture.

Mr Sadler is buying land off the town council to fund the commercial side of the operation.

Cllr Hynes said “all money we get from the sale of land will be put back into the project” to create free community facilities. He added:

“It’s one of the biggest things the town council has ever been involved in and we are pleased to have Darren and his team as a partner.

“We are all aware Boroughbridge is doubling in size but there are few places for young people to go.”

The sports village proposal revives previously failed town council plans to build sports facilities on the land, said Cllr Hynes. He added:

“The council is very excited about this. For a small town council it is a massive project and without Darren’s involvement, it would not get off the ground.”

‘We want to create a supergym’

Boroughbridge-born Mr Sadler no longer competes in strongman but over the last 10 years has had phenomenal success in the sport as a promoter.

He started off staging events in car parks and now organises World’s Strongest Man qualifying events under the Giants Live banner that regularly sell out huge arenas worldwide. Many of the biggest names in strongman regularly visit his gym.

His current schedule includes events at the Royal Albert Hall in London and in Las Vegas.

He said Absolute Fitness had outgrown its current site in Roecliffe and a new facility with a full equipped gym, including strength and functional training areas would enable the gym to help more people get fit, especially youngsters.

A map showing the location.

The proposed site

He added:

“We want to create a supergym and make it famous across the country. Every month I’d like to have special guests. I can get all the top strongmen to come, like Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall, but I want to bring in people from other sports as well.”

Mr Sadler said the extra space would also enable the gym to cater for martial arts, dance and a broader range of fitness classes.

A public consultation event at Boroughbridge Community Library this month.

A public consultation took place at Boroughbridge Community Library this month and people can still take part in the phase one consultation here. A planning application is expected to be submitted to North Yorkshire Council within the next month.

Cllr Hynes said there had already been “positive discussions” with the council about it but with a lengthy planning process ahead, neither party is willing to commit to a timeframe.

Mr Sadler said:

“We don’t want to rush. We want to get it right.”

Read more:

• Plans revealed to create Boroughbridge Sports Village
• Plans revealed to create Boroughbridge Sports Village
• Yemi’s Food Stories: Brunch at The Hideaway in Boroughbridge

This week’s photograph was taken by Pete Durkin, capturing an early morning sunrise in Roecliffe.

Pete Durkin

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

A village pub near Boroughbridge which was once well-known as a wedding venue and dining destination has been put up for sale.

The Crown Inn at Roecliffe has been listed by Christie & Co, with an alternative option for it to be let to “an experienced and credible operator”.

The pub, which has a function room seating 80 people as well as space for 80 covers in its restaurant and bar, is on the market for £875,000.

It includes five en-suite letting rooms as well as outside dining space and a car park, and the purchase would include “the majority” of its fixtures and fittings.

The description by Christie & Co says:

“The Crown Inn presents an excellent opportunity for an experienced operator to purchase a large, characterful hospitality property in an extremely desirable location. An established business which previously upheld a fantastic reputation.

“Historically, annual turnover was [circa] £1.2m (£25k per week net of VAT). In the hands of an experienced operator there is huge, tangible potential for The Crown Inn to re-establish itself as a bustling village pub, wedding/events venue and destination restaurant with rooms.”

The particulars say the owner’s preference is for it to be sold, but it could be rented for £60,000 per year on a 10- or 15-year agreement. A one-off payment of £15,000 would be required for the fixtures and fittings.

The Crown Inn has been closed for around a year, with the particulars saying this was down to “being underfunded and significantly impacted by the pandemic”.

Its lessee was Chris Hannon, who ran a number of pubs around the UK, and was last month reported by the Mirror to be facing bankruptcy after his previous company fell into liquidation in 2020.

The pub is understood to be owned currently by a number of villagers who bought the premises in 2018.

Read more:

• Plan approved for two more houses on Markington pub site
• Harrogate district pub unveils new-look beer garden

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has this afternoon urged motorists to heed road closure signs after receiving reports of stranded vehicles.

The amount of water on roads is causing problems throughout the county. But some drivers are ignoring signs telling them to turn back due to flooding.

It has prompted the fire service to tweet:

“We have received reports of stranded cars due to standing water following heavy rain – even when signs are in place.

“Please remember the signs are there for a reason. Information about driving in these conditions can be found on our website.”

Three Environment Agency flood alerts are currently in place in the Harrogate district.

The government department says flooding is ‘possible’ in the Lower River Nidd catchment area and around the Lower River Ure and is ‘expected’ at the caravan park alongside the Ure at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge.

Details of the alerts can be found here.

The River Ure has burst its banks around Ripon, which prompted one concerned passer-by to dial 999 when he mistakenly thought a statue of a horse was an animal in distress.

A flood alert for the Upper River Nidd catchment area, issued yesterday, has been removed.

Read more:

• Rain highlights concerns about state of Harrogate district drains and gullies
• Firefighters called to rescue horse in Ripon which turned out to be a sculpture

A small parish council in the Harrogate district has won an eight-year campaign to have greater control over local planning decisions.

Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council started creating a neighbourhood plan in 2014 amid concerns about green space being lost to developers.

Last week, villagers overwhelmingly approved the adoption of the plan in a referendum by 78 votes to seven.

Neighbourhood plans, which were introduced by the government in the Localism Act 2011, set out planning policies for a local area.

They must have regard to national planning policy and conform with local development plans — in this case the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which sets out where development can take place.

Once adopted by a local referendum, the local authority is obliged to consider it as part of the planning process, which according to the government makes the plans “important and powerful tools that gives communities statutory powers to shape how their communities develop”.

Jim Bolland

Jim Bolland, chair of Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council, has led the campaign to create a plan, which he believes is the first by a small village in the Harrogate district. He told the Stray Ferret:

“We are delighted. We did this because we didn’t want too many new houses in Roecliffe and Westwick.

“There are a lot of major businesses on the road from Boroughbridge to Roecliffe and we want to preserve a green channel. Housing has got a little bit out of control in the Boroughbridge area, in my opinion.”

Read more:

• Ripon’s new councillors to focus on roads, housing and crime
• County council says Bilton housing scheme ‘should be refused’

Mr Bolland urged other parish councils to consider creating neighbourhood plans.

He said Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council initially expected the process to take two years rather than eight, and advised any groups going down the route to be proactive and start early rather than wait for a major planning application because the process wouldn’t be quick enough to influence individual applications.

Nevertheless Mr Bolland, who is stepping down as chairman next week, said the plans were worth the effort:

“If parish councils feel they have a lot of land that could be built upon then it is well worth doing.”

The referendum result was announced at last week’s North Yorkshire Council local election count in Harrogate.

Two appointments at Roecliffe pub

A new chef and general manager have been appointed at the Crown Inn in Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge.

The 16th century coaching inn was bought by the Coastal and Country Inns Group in September 2020 and was subsequently refurbished.

The group has hired chef Paul Murphy, who previously helped to establish the Timble Inn near Otley into a five-star hotel. He also worked with fellow chef Frances Atkins at the Michelin-starred Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge.

Paul Bennington will also join the team as general manager.

Mr Binnington, who first teamed up with Paul Murphy at the Station Inn in Birstwith, previously ran the Black Lion in Thirsk.

Chris Hannon, managing director of Coastal and Country Inns, said:

“These two appointments are crucially important for the future of the Crown. The two Pauls, who are both very experienced and very talented, are a true dream team. They work brilliantly together.”

Harrogate’s Duchy Hospital sends medical supplies to Ukraine

The Duchy Hospital in Harrogate has worked alongside a UK-based Ukrainian Doctor to deliver more than 110 tonnes of medical supplies to Ukraine.

Working with the Ukrainian doctors’ union and the British Red Cross, the Duchy Hospital has identified the supplies needed by war-hit hospitals.

The Duchy Hospital is one of 53 Circle Health Group hospitals that has stockpiled supplies such as ventilators, crutches, respiratory masks, scrubs, wound kits and operating tables for Ukrainian hospitals.

The latest delivery contained £185,500 of medical equipment loaded on 35 pallets.

Staff and doctors at Duchy Hospital have raised additional funds with a bake sale, food collection and a 12-hour continuous cycle, which have raised more than £2,000.

People are being urged to act now in low lying areas near Boroughbridge, where flooding is expected today.

Although the Harrogate district is ending the year with unseasonably mild temperatures of 12 degrees centigrade expected at midnight, recent wet weather is having an impact.

The government’s flood warning website has flagged up land near the caravan park at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, as the local area in most imminent danger due to rising levels on the River Ure.

The warning says:

“River levels are rising on the River Ure due to rainfall. Flooding is forecast to affect locations near the River Ure, with low lying land expected to be most affected, particularly around Roecliffe Caravan Park.

“Flooding is affecting Roecliffe Caravan Park from 03:30 PM on 31/12/2021. The forecast is dry for throughout the afternoon and this evening, with some showers expected tomorrow. River levels will start to fall overnight.”

Read more:

• Boroughbridge streets flooded as storms hit Harrogate district
• Boroughbridge flood defences get £50,000 government boost
• Eyecatching sculpture at Fountains Abbey highlights flood fears

It is one of only two flood warnings currently in place in England. The other is in Carlisle.

People are being advised to move vehicles to higher ground, move family and pets to safety, move important items upstairs and turn off gas, electricity and water supplies.

A less severe flood alert has been issued for the Lower River Ure, near Ripon.

It said prolonged overnight rainfall caused rising river levels this morning.

“Levels are now peaking in the upper reaches of the catchment, but levels in the lower reaches of the catchment are still rising and will continue to do so through today, Friday 31st December.

“Some further showers are expected at times today, with weather conditions remaining unsettled for the coming days.”