A Boroughbridge woman who failed to return home on Friday night has been found.

North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for help finding the woman after she went missing.

It issued photos and a description and asked people to get in touch with details of possible sightings.

Police said yesterday the girl had been found.

Consequently this article has been updated to conceal the women’s identity.

The historic devolution deal struck between North Yorkshire and the government on Monday will bring millions of pounds into the county — but it could have been more.

Signed off by Greg Clark, secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, the 32-page document promises £540 million over 30 years.

It will also see North Yorkshire and York join other major counties and cities in getting its own mayor and a combined authority to oversee the funding.

Local leaders have lauded the deal as an opportunity not to be missed, but analysis of the document shows it could have offered more.

Guaranteed funding

In 2020, officials at North Yorkshire County Council started discussions with government over the potential for a devolution deal for the county and City of York Council.

This culminated in a 140-page document being drawn up listing the requests for new powers and funding from Whitehall.

It was formally submitted in January 2021 and included proposals such as a £750 million mayoral funding pot over 25 years and more powers over skills, transport and energy.

The funding pot, known as “gainshare”, is guaranteed annual funding from central government.

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Fast-forward 18 months and the fruits of the negotiations between ministers and council bosses have produced something slightly different.

Instead of the requested £750 million funding pot over 25 years, £540 million over 30 years has been agreed.

The initial proposal tabled by council bosses would have seen £25 million a year come into North Yorkshire and York – instead it will be £18 million.

North Yorkshire County Council’s offices in Northallerton.

However, more power over skills and transport will be devolved.

It will see whoever is elected mayor and the new combined authority have control over the adult education budget and the ability to draw up its own transport strategy.

Control over bus franchising has also been granted to the county and the power to set up Mayoral Development Corporations, which have the power to buy land for housing or employment to regenerate a defined area.

Much of the deal echoes what was given to Tees Valley in 2015, whose Conservative mayor Ben Houchen has since exercised his economic development powers to buy Teesside International Airport and Redcar Steelworks.

Extra funding for homes 

Aside from the £540 million over three decades, funding has also been allocated for specific areas.

For example, ministers have awarded £12.7 million towards building homes on brownfield sites over the first two financial years of its existence.

A further £2.65 million has been allocated specifically for low carbon and affordable housing.

It suggests that ministers were more happy to part with cash on housing schemes under the deal than in other areas.

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The only other area in the deal awarded specific funding was £7 million to “drive green economic growth” towards the ambition of creating a carbon negative county.

However, this cash is subject to a business case being submitted to government.

No Harrogate Convention Centre money

While the deal offers funding for the wider county, much of the detail on specific towns and areas amounts to “commitments to engage” or mentions already announced cash for schemes.

Harrogate itself is mentioned four times in the document. Three of those mentions are for the A59 Kex Gill realignment and Station Gateway projects, which are underway. Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge and Masham are not mentioned.

The fourth time Harrogate is mentioned is for Harrogate Convention Centre.

As previously reported, funding for a £47 million upgrade of the centre was requested. But although the centre is mentioned in the devolution document, funding was not pledged.

However, the deal is a provisional agreement and it remains to be seen where the funding will go when the mayor and combined authority is established.

‘Very relieved’

Much of the deal is years in the making for those who have sat around the negotiating table with ministers.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said he was relieved to have signed off on the provisional agreement with ministers.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I’m very relieved that we have got to this point. We have now got to explain it to the public.”

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

A glance at the main points of the deal shows the government willing to part with millions of pounds worth of funding on the condition that a new layer of governance is set up to oversee it.

For the IPPR North think tank, the new money is welcomed and “should be seized”.

However, Rosie Lockwood, head of advocacy at the think tank, pointed out that cuts due to austerity meant North Yorkshire still faced a difficult future.

She said:

“A devolution deal which unlocks funding and transfers powers from Whitehall to North Yorkshire and York is good news for communities across the area. This is an opportunity to be seized.

“But North Yorkshire and York will face challenges as it moves forward, not least because local government has already been eroded by austerity. We can’t forget that the north saw a £413 per person drop in annual council service spending over the austerity decade.”

What happens now?

Despite the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, putting his signature to the deal, it will still require approval from both North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council.

A public consultation will also be carried out on the devolution deal in the coming months.

From there, the councils can then undertake a governance review to set up the combined authority and mayor, should councillors back the deal.

If all goes ahead, a combined authority for North Yorkshire and York could be in place by autumn next year and a mayor elected in May 2024.

Harrogate district councillors are supporting the campaign to make York the home of Britain’s railways.

York is among six short-listed locations chosen by the government as potential locations to be the headquarters of Great British Railways.

The other shortlisted locations include Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster and Newcastle.

Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green party councillors from across the Harrogate district joined other North Yorkshire County Councillors in a cross-party show of support at County Hall in Northallerton for York’s bid.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said York’s selection would “be of huge benefit not just for York, but for the whole of the region as well”. He added:

“The bid by York is ambitious and shows the intent in both the city and across North Yorkshire to bring real economic benefits and the prospect of hundreds of new jobs, and could prove to be a defining moment for the region.

“York has a long and proud heritage connected to the railways dating back to the Victorian era, and it would be fitting for the city to be at the forefront of attempts to reform the nation’s rail network in the 21^st century.

1,600 jobs created

Great British Railways will be a state-owned public body that oversees rail transport from next year.

Analysis has shown that the new headquarters would add an estimated £110 million to York’s economy, creating 1,600 new jobs with 320 of those roles in the 700 most deprived communities within an hour’s train journey of the city.

York is already one of the biggest rail centres in the country, with 5,000 employees linked to the industry and major train operators based in the city.

The city is also home to the National Railway Museum, and the York Central project, which is one of the largest brownfield sites in the country, is centred around the city’s railway station.

An artist’s impression of the proposed York Central development.

City of York Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden, said having Great British Railways’ headquarters in the city would open up opportunities across the whole of the region. He said:

“With 700 of the most deprived communities in the UK within an hour of York, the jobs created by locating Great British Railways in York could have a hugely positive impact on the levelling up agenda.

“Our rail heritage, expertise and skills from across the region and strength in innovation makes York the obvious home of rail.

People can vote to choose the town or city they would like to see host the new organisation but the final decision will be made by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps later this year.

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Opposition leaders in North Yorkshire have given a mixed reaction to the announcement that a devolution deal has been agreed and have questioned whether the county’s residents will be fairly treated.

With the Tories achieving a narrow majority in May’s elections, opposition councillors say they will hold North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative administration to account over how the gain-share or extra funding from government is divided between the county and York.

The comments come as a historic 30 year devolution deal was announced by ministers today, which will mean North Yorkshire and York will see an elected Mayor in 2024 with £540 million pounds of government cash.

Leader of the authority’s largest opposition group, the Liberal Democrats and Liberals, Cllr Bryn Griffiths said he had reservations over devolution and the combined authority and mayor that went with it.

He said: 

“The only way to get significant money from the government at the moment it seems is via combined authorities. I don’t think it’s the right way to do things, but it’s left areas without one in between the Devil and the deep blue sea.

“I don’t think mayors are very accountable, but if it gives access to funding it’s a balancing matter between accountability and funding.”

‘Not a great exercise in democracy’

A number of other authority opposition members have similar concerns that devolution has proved to be an intensely political process.

Independent group leader Cllr Stuart Parsons said: 

“It’s worrying in that it’s a political process as that means a change in government in a couple of years’ time could lead to all sorts of problems with it.

“A new government might not want things to work that way, and then the governance rules that appear to be set in place for it would be an absolute farce.”

Cllr Parsons said suggestions that two North Yorkshire and two City of York councillors would form the decision-making body on the combined authority with a mayor would be a blow for democratic representation and democratic decision-making.

He said the councillors on the combined authority would be from a council’s ruling group there would be no “serious political representation on that body”.

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Green Party group coordinator Cllr Andy Brown agreed that devolution “did not appear to be a great exercise in democracy” in the county.

He said:

“Genuine devolution would be a fantastic thing for North Yorkshire. Unfortunately it’s not what is taking place.

“At the moment we have a massive exercise in the centralisation of the district councils into one gigantic council and that council has yet to demonstrate it understands fully democratic processes.

“The critical factor will be not how much power central government delegates to Northallerton, but how much power Northallerton genuinely delegates to its communities.”

Meanwhile, Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said while he believed devolution would benefit North Yorkshire, he was uncertain about the timing.

He said the combination of launching a new unitary authority, starting negotiations with City of York Council and holding mayoral elections was “an awful lot all at once”.

Cllr Shaw Wright said: 

“I know there’s financial benefits, but it’ll not repay what we’ve had cut over the last 10 years.”

He added suggestions that the combined authority would feature just two York and two North Yorkshire councillors was “a recipe for disaster at the worst and deadlock at the best” and that a larger more politically representative decision-making body would be more effective.

Residents in Green Hammerton are being encouraged to join a village history and archaeological project after a section of a Roman road was discovered.

Tony Hunt, chair of the Yorkshire region of the Council for British Archaeology, recently spotted what appears to be the missing section of Dere Street, the Roman road that went from York to Aldborough and then on to Hadrian’s wall.

He did so while researching methods of identifying crop marks using multispectral cameras at Hull University.

Mr Hunt presented his findings at a meeting in Green Hammerton this month, which was attended by about 50 residents, along with members of the CBA committee, including Dave Went from Historic England and community archeologist Jon Kenney.

The meeting was shown images of the road and, as a surprise extra, it was also revealed that a previously unrecorded Iron Age settlement associated with the road had also been identified.

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Those interested will now begin preparations for possible field walking, geophysical investigation and, if possible, excavation.

Mr Hunt (pictured above) said:

“The project is open to all and those who have never been involved in archaeology before are especially encouraged.

“By the end, we will have a clearer idea of what people were doing in Green Hammerton in the first century AD and probably the first century BC and the community will have something it can be proud of.

“This road is the Roman version of the M1 — the main arterial route from north to south.

“Every emperor that came to Britain, including Hadrian, would have gone along it.”

To be involved, email chair@cba-yorkshire.org.uk.

A Harrogate man has been banned from keeping animals for five years after being found guilty of cruelty.

Robbie Nelson, 24, neglected a Mastiff called Rocco and a Lurcher called Smudge at a house on High Street, Harrogate, in March last year.

The case was brought by animal charity the RSPCA.

Nelson failed to turn up in court to respond to the charges on December 17 last year and was found guilty in his absence.

Police issued a warrant for his arrest on the same day and eventually arrested him in June.

He was then remanded on bail for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.

Nelson, of Woodfield View, Harrogate, appeared before North Yorkshire Magistrates Court in York on Tuesday for sentencing.

Magistrates disqualified him from owning or being left in charge of any animal for five years.

He was also ordered to pay £200 costs and a £95 surcharge to fund victim services, and was given a community order to undertake rehabilitation activity.

The RSPCA will decide what to do with Rocco and Smudge.

No trains will run from Harrogate to Leeds and York as rail staff stage a mass walk out on Wednesday.

More than 40,000 Network Rail staff are set to strike on July 27 over jobs, pay and conditions, the RMT Union has confirmed.

The move comes as the UK saw one of its biggest industrial actions by rail workers in June, which saw no trains run through Harrogate and Knaresborough for two days.

On Wednesday, no trains will run between Harrogate and Knaresborough to York and Leeds.

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Meanwhile, Network Rail has confirmed that a reduced timetable will be in force elsewhere.

Leeds station will close at 7pm due to the industrial action. Only 14 train services will run in and out of the station each hour on Wednesday compared with the usual 50.

Matt Rice, North & East route director for Network Rail said: 

“Unfortunately, ongoing industrial action will once again cripple train services for passengers in Yorkshire and the North East on Wednesday.

“I can only apologise for the impact this will have on people’s plans and on their daily commute. I’d urge those who absolutely need to travel by train to plan ahead, check their journey and expect significant disruption.”

Last week, Northern urged passengers not to travel due to the industrial action.

LNER has also confirmed its direct service to London King’s Cross will not be running. A limited service to London will be in place from Leeds.

A Harrogate cricketer has smashed the record books by scoring an astonishing 441 for Yorkshire second XI.

Finlay Bean, 20, yesterday became the first triple centurion in Yorkshire’s second-team history in a match against Nottinghamshire.

By the time he was out today, he had compiled the highest score in Second X1 Championship history. He hit 52 fours and three sixes on the way to helping Yorkshire reach 814-7.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Bean, who plays for York Cricket Club, doesn’t currently have a contract with Yorkshire.

Second-team coach Tom Smith said:

“Finlay’s batted brilliantly.

“He’s been on the field for every single ball of the match, and it’s not just his skill that’s been impressive, it’s been his concentration levels as well.

“Personally, I’ve never seen 365 runs scored in a game before! It’s been outstanding.”

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Bean, like Knaresborough’s Jonny Tattersall, has been given a second chance at Yorkshire.

Born in Harrogate, he came through the Yorkshire age-groups and played academy and second-team cricket through to the end of 2020, also representing England under 19s.

Despite being offered an Academy contract, Bean left Headingley at the end of that season.

But, following some impressive league performances for York over the last two seasons, he has earned another shot with the county through second-team cricket in 2022.

Former Leeds Rhinos head coach and Harrogate resident Brian McDermott has escaped a driving ban after arguing he needs his car to scout players.

McDermott, 52, of Knox Mill Close, was in York Magistrates Court yesterday after being caught driving his BMW above the 60mph speed limit on the A59 close to Bolton Abbey last year.

The coach, who also represented England and Great Britain during his playing career, pleaded guilty but asked the court to waive the three points as it would take him to 12 points and an automatic ban.

In a submission to the court, Mr McDermott said he unexpectedly found himself out of work for 18 months after his previous club Toronto Wolfpack went out of business due to covid in March 2020.

During this time he had been living from savings, which were now close to running out.

In October 2021, he took a job as head coach at Featherstone Rovers who play in the second-tier of the sport.

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McDermott said he drives over 40,000 miles a year for the role, which involves work in the community, travelling to amateur clubs and scouting players.

He said he was the only person at Featherstone able to watch players from other clubs.

Without the car, he said he could potentially lose his job, which would mean he’d struggle to pay child support and rent.

Special reasons

Magistrates said they were satisfied that Mr McDermott had ‘special reasons’ for contesting the penalty points. 

However, they said the reasons given were not appropriate “in all of the circumstances” so they issued the three penalty points, taking him to 12 overall, but allowed him to continue driving.

He was also fined £307 and asked to pay a victim’s surcharge of £34 and costs of £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harrogate fire station has urged people to ensure they have working smoke alarms after attending a fire this morning.

Fire ripped through the roof of a bungalow but fortunately nobody was hurt because the alarm sounded.

The incident took place at 2am in York and the aerial ladder from Harrogate was required to help firefighters from York and Huntington tackle the flames.

An investigation is underway.

Harrogate fire station said the blaze, at a time when most people are sleeping, served as a warning to everyone to check their smoke alarms.

It said in a Facebook post:

“In the early hours of today, we were at a house fire. Luckily the occupants had working smoke alarms and got out safely.

“Please make sure yours work if you have them and if not you can contact you local fire station to see about getting some fitted.”

Smoke alarms are free. You can book for them to be installed here.

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