‘I was so very lucky to have met her’: Former director of Great Yorkshire Show pays tribute to the Queen

The former director of the Great Yorkshire Show, Bill Cowling, has paid tribute to the Queen who he chaperoned during her last visit in 2008.

Mr Cowling, who is also a retired Deputy Lieutenant of North YorkshireDeputy , said her death was a “tremendous shock” and it felt like losing a family member.

He described the Queen’s visit to the showground in Harrogate as one of the highlights of his career.

He recalled talking to her in the back of a Range Rover and enjoying lunch with her at the president’s pavilion.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I was so very lucky to have met her. To think I sat and talked to her over an extended period of time was a huge honour. It’s something I shall remember forever.

“Her ability to put me at my ease – and everybody else she met – was an amazing thing. She was such a consummate professional at what she was doing.”

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Mr Cowling said not only was the Queen a lover of animals, but she also had a great appreciation of agriculture and rural life.

He said:

“She knew what she was looking at in the way of horses, but also cattle and sheep. She had a huge interest in all the exhibitors and their livelihoods.”

The Queen unveiling a plaque to commemorate the start of work on the Regional Agricultural Centre in 2008.

Mr Cowling said, like the rest of the nation, he will now start coming to terms with the change.

He said:

“There’s no doubt a change has happened. But I’m confident King Charles III will make a splendid King. Again at the show, I was privileged to have met him a few times and his interest and empathy with rural life is the same.”

On demand Yorbus sees over 13,000 trips in first year

More than 13,000 journeys were taken using the on demand YorBus service in its first year of operation.

Data from North Yorkshire County Council showed that 13,426 journeys had been taken by the end of July, requested by 850 riders.

In July 2022, there was an average of 51 trips per day.

The bus service serves an area to the north and west of Ripon including Masham, West Tanfield and Bedale.

The pilot scheme, started in July 2021, has now been extended for another year.

The statistics are included in a report on the service’s first year which will be discussed by the council’s Skipton and Ripon area committee next week.

Increasing journey numbers

Journey numbers have gradually increased since the start of the year.

Despite this, the council almost doubled fares for the service at the start of August to £2 for an adult and £1 for a child.

The number of journeys is also roughly seven times the council’s target for the scheme.

It initially hoped that 885 journeys would have been taken after six months.

However, the Transport Action Network has accused the council of setting the target deliberately low.

YorBus covers 217 square kilometres to the north and west of Ripon

Councillor Keane Duncan, the county council’s executive member for transport, celebrated YorBus’s first year in July. He said:

“YorBus has proved incredibly popular since its launch in July 2021, with extremely positive feedback from users.

“We will continue to review this demand-responsive service to help us explore rolling out YorBus to other parts of the county.”

The report also stated that almost half of users would drive if the service was not available. It argued:

“This shows that YorBus is helping to encourage North Yorkshire residents away from the private motor vehicle and onto public transport.”

£229,000 has been allocated to the service for 2022/23.

Next steps

The council will now look at its future plans for on demand YorBus service.

This could include group discount tickets, a joint promotion campaign with the National Trust and investigating the viability of rolling out of YorBus to other parts of the county.

Yorkshire Dales park authority sets out £11.2m budget spend

The most ambitious spending programme in a national park authority’s 68-year history has been proposed to “grasp the nettle” on pressing issues such as climate change, improving biodiversity and securing the future of farms.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s finance committee will on Tuesday consider spending £11.2 million in the coming financial year, supported by new external funding and the use of £670,000 of its dwindling reserves, to expand its priority programmes.

An officer’s report to the meeting warns the authority’s level of spending is unsustainable after the coming year and it was “nearing the crunch-point where action is needed” over “looming long-term deficits”.

It states: 

“It should be understood the scale of the necessary budget adjustment is likely to require a reduction in our services and work programmes from 2023/24 onwards.”

The report states while the authority’s income generation performance, particularly in relation to external funding bids, remains very strong, it is facing ongoing cuts to the value of its core government grant, inflation and the need to pay 143 full-time equivalent staff, compared to 127 in 2009, the year before the value of the government grant started falling.

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It states the proposed budget will enable the authority to fund and advise farmers and landowners to support high nature value farming, support farmers to take-up national agri-environment schemes and deliver Natural England’s ‘Catchment Sensitive Farming’ initiative.

Other key projects featured in the budget include launching a farm and estates open day programme in the coming months and pressing on with a multi-million pound programme supporting high nature value farming systems to deliver nature recovery on a grand scale across Swaledale and Upper Teesdale.

The extra spending will also be used to support the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of several commons in the park and implementing the government’s proposed Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to support upland farmers to improve the natural environment, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

The authority’s chairman, Neil Heseltine, said the time was right to be ambitious and grasp the nettle of urgent issues. 

He said: 

“We’ve prepared a one-year budget and made a calculated judgement that the timing is right in terms of climate, nature’s recovery and the time is right for farming which is going through a transition.

“The reserves are there for times like this. We’re saying let’s try and make it happen now, let’s be positive and show to government we are right behind them in their objectives, whether it be farming, climate or whatever, but we do need resources to deliver that in the long-term.”

Mr Heseltine said the authority would need more money going forward, and while national parks had played an important role for people’s health and wellbeing in the bounce back from lockdown, there needed to be recognition of that in funding terms.

He said: 

“We have to put measures in place which are good for our farming families, our farming businesses and our farming communities.

“There’s quite a lot of confusion going on in farming communities at the moment and we can use this ambition to help those communities as they are so important to us as a national park and so important to the climate and nature aspirations of both ourselves and government.”

89-year-old man dies after three-vehicle Harrogate district crash

An 89-year-old man has died following a three-vehicle collision on the A59 near Moor Monkton yesterday.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage of the crash, which took place at about 5.10pm and led to lengthy tailbacks.

The 89-year-old man, who has not been named, was driving a red Audi A3 towards York. The man, who was from York, was taken to hospital and died.

A black Audi Q5 and a silver Mini, which were travelling in the opposite direction towards Harrogate, were also involved in the incident.

The driver of the Mini sustained minor injuries and the driver of the Audi Q5 was uninjured.

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North Yorkshire Police is appealing to anyone travelling along the A59 in both directions who has not already spoken to the police to contact them if they saw any of the vehicles prior to the collision or if they witnessed the incident.

Anyone with information, or dashcam footage, can contact Traffic Sergeant Mark Patterson via email at mark.patterson@northyorkshire.police.uk, or call 101, select option 2 and ask for Mark Patterson or Matthew Harvey.

Plans to convert former Lower Dunsforth pub into flats

Plans have been submitted to convert a former pub and restaurant in Lower Dunsforth into three flats.

Stonefield Developments has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building, which was most recently a restaurant called The Hideaway Kitchen. Before that it was a pub called The Dunsforth.

The village is four miles from Boroughbridge.

The restaurant closed last year. Planning documents cite a “lack of customer trade and consequent viability issues” as the reason.

The documents add it was recently re-marketed as a restaurant but received no interest.

The upper floor of the building already has three existing flats, so if approved the building would have six in total.

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Two other nearby village pubs have had applications to convert them into housing over the past year.

In March 2021, Harrogate Borough Council approved plans to turn the former Green Tree pub in Little Ouseburn into housing.

The pub, which is on the main B6265 from Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge, closed in late 2019.

In the same month, the council also approved a plan to turn The Crown Inn pub in Great Ouseburn into a five-bedroom home.

Blueprint to ‘level up’ rural North Yorkshire published today

A panel of experts has today published a series of recommendations to ‘level up’ poor rural areas and attract more young people to the county.

The experts are members of North Yorkshire’s Rural Commission, which was established by North Yorkshire County Council in 2019 to tackle some of the issues confronting the county.

North Yorkshire is England’s largest county. Eighty-five per cent of it is classed as very rural or super-sparse and the population density is five times below the national average.

Although employment is high, earnings are noticeably lower and the county’s workforce significantly less qualified than the national average

A total of 24 per cent of the people not working are retired compared to a national average of 13.6 per cent.

And 20 per cent of North Yorkshire’s rural areas have no broadband connection compared to 7 per cent in urban areas.

Today the commission released what it described as “radical and hard hitting” recommendations to address these issues. Read the full report here.

Ageing population

The commission highlighted the economic challenge of having an ageing population by estimating that if North Yorkshire had the same percentage of young working adults as the national average, the area would be £1.5 billion better off annually. The report says:

“Affordable rural housing must become a reality rather than an aspiration and this will require more houses in rural and remote areas rather than on the edges of market towns.”

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Devolution essential to success

The report also describes devolution as essential for helping to level up the North Yorkshire rural economy

It says central government must ensure additional powers and funding for the devolved authority so it has enough capacity financially to make a difference.

It also calls for the creation of a task force consisting of civil servants, academics, scientists, rural businesses and local communities to advise the devolved authority on implementing the recommendations in this report.

The Very Reverend John Dobson DL, Dean of Ripon and chair of the commission, said:

“The missing generation of younger workers in the county hinders the ability of North Yorkshire to achieve the full potential of an effective economy.

“North Yorkshire needs a strong devolved authority to tackle the problems faced by its rural and remote areas.”

The report describes digital connection as a human right and sets out plans for a mutual bank as a way to invest in sparsely populated areas.

Dean John added:

“We now look to local and national government and many partners and stakeholders to take ownership of these recommendations and make this vision a reality.

“The future of rural communities is at stake.”

 

11 sheep stolen from field near Boroughbridge

North Yorkshire Police is appealing to the public for information after 11 sheep were stolen from a field near Boroughbridge.

According to the police, the Beltex breed of sheep were taken between November 10 and January 17.

Police are particularly interested in any suspicious sightings of vehicles on Holbeck Lane or the B6265 between these dates.

Anyone with information can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for Ruby Rutter. Or email the officer on ruby.rutter@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and quote reference number 12210032203.

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Controversial 72-home Spofforth development refused

A controversial application to build 72 homes in Spofforth was today rejected amid claims it would turn the historic village into a “carbuncle of urban sprawl’.

Harrogate borough councillors voted 6 to 3 to reject the plans, even though a council report had recommended approval.

Developers Vistry Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing won outline planning permission for the scheme in March 2019.

The council’s planning committee met this afternoon to consider the appearance, landscaping and layout of the development — but such was the level of concern it rejected the scheme.

The developers will now have to decide whether to appeal — a move that could lead to a costly legal battle.

‘Urban sprawl’

Spofforth parish councillor Chris Heslop, a third-generation farmer in the village, said the proposals would not benefit local people. He said:

“Development must be in keeping with the village and not a carbuncle of urban sprawl.”

Andy Paraskos, the Conservative councillor for Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale, called the application “wholly inappropriate”. He said:

“The application is essentially creating an urban estate at the entrance to a historic village. It leaves too many questions around flooding, its impact on countryside and urban development.”

Since winning outline planning permission, the developers had altered the layout and density of the scheme and raised the level of the homes by over a metre to prevent flooding.

‘Struck a balance’

Stephen Hughes, planning manager at Yorkshire Housing, said the scheme “struck a balance” between reflecting the characteristics of Spofforth and ensuring views of the village were not damaged by the housing. He said:

“We have been pushed very hard by your officers to ensure the scheme design is of high quality and reflective of the characteristics of the village and conservation area”.

But councillors were unconvinced the scheme was sympathetic to the village.

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The Stray Ferret revealed this morning over 300 local people, Historic England, Natural England, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the council’s principal ecologist, North Yorkshire’s highways, the Lead Local Flood Authority and Spofforth Parish Council had all raised concerns about the scheme.

Cllr Bernard Bateman, who represents Wathvale, said he would be refusing the plans to reflect the views of local residents. He said:

“Where do the residents come into the play? At end of the day, we are elected by the residents into Harrogate Borough Council, yet they have no say.”

Cllr Stuart Martin, who represents Ripon Moorside and voted against the refusal, asked the council’s legal officer Peter Atkinson to clarify if a refusal would risk a legal challenge because the council had already granted outline planning permission and the site was allocated for development in the council’s Local Plan.

Mr Atkinson confirmed it would and said the council would risk incurring costs.

Nidderdale farmers wanted for new film in the Dales

Farmers, other land managers and conservation staff working in Nidderdale or the wider Dales are being called on by photographers to be part of a film.

It will focus on the lives of people working rurally and how they have responded to recent challenges.

The photographers want to include rural practices such as sheepherding, lambing and dry stone walling.

Both photographers involved have won awards for their work and hope this project can be another way to show off the Yorkshire landscape and those working on it.

Gary Lawson, a videographer and photographer from Ripon, said:

“Over the next year ‘Future Talks’ will be filming farming, land management and conservation practice in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and northern hills.

“We’re looking to explore how Dales people are responding to Covid-19, climate change and Brexit, and the forthcoming changes to agriculture policy. Participants will be free to raise any issues they see as a concern.

“The final product will be a series of films offering an insight into grassroots perspectives on the future direction of land management in a changing political, economic and environmental climate.”

The photographers want to focus on those working on the land and how recent events such as covid and Brexit have affected them.

Mr Lawson is working alongside David Higgins to complete to project. It has received a grant of £10,000 from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund.

Anyone interested should contact Gary Lawson or David Higgins on info@future-talks.com

North Yorkshire police warn of increase in livestock attacks

North Yorkshire Police has urged dog owners to be more responsible after an increase in attacks on livestock.

The police issued the appeal after noticing an upturn in incidents in the Harrogate area over the last week.

More people are visiting the countryside as lockdown restrictions are eased, which has led to more dog attacks on sheep.

Inspector Matt Hagan, head of North Yorkshire’s rural taskforce, said:

“Owners need to stick to the countryside code and keep their dogs under control even if that means they have to stay on a lead. You are responsible for their behaviour so keep it under control. If your dog is involved in an incident please report it as a lot of the time the owner may see no-one and just head off but they do have a duty to report it.

“If you’re out and about and see anything please report it too because it’s difficult following these kinds of reports up, but if you report it at the time and it’s more likely we can do something.”

Rural image within North Yorkshire

The police are asking dog owners to take responsibility for their dogs when out walking them in the countryside.

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One of the incidents reported to the police this month involved a husky which managed to run through a fence and chase sheep. Police officers were called to an incident on July 12 near Thruscross Reservoir, near Harrogate, by a farmer who reported a dog had attacked a lamb on his land.

The farmer accepted an apology from the dog’s owner and the police issued a community resolution. North Yorkshire’s rural police force are keen to highlight the financial and emotional impact these attacks can have on their livelihoods.