Local News
Nine players to leave Harrogate Town as club confirms retained list
Nine players will leave Harrogate Town as the club confirms its end of season retained list. The club has announced that Lewis Thomas, Jonathan Mitchell, Joe Mattock, Will Smith, Pete Jameson, George Horbury and Finn O’Boyle will leave this summer as their contracts expire. Brad Williams and Emman...
Plans for 76 homes in village near Knaresborough set for approval
Plans to build 76 homes in a village between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge have been recommended for approval this month. The application, which was sent to North Yorkshire Council in January 2023, is on the agenda for the next Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee on Ma...
Accessorize reopens in Harrogate with new type store
Accessorize in Harrogate has reopened today. The store is now focused solely on homeware and gifting after undergoing refurbishment. The unit was previously a dual store for sister brands Accessorize and Monsoon. Both closed last month and Accessorize later confirmed that Monsoon had permanently...
New mayor raises concerns about police searches of children
New Labour mayor David Skaith has raised concerns about the number of children being subjected to stop and search by North Yorkshire Police. Deputy chief constable Scott Bisset revealed today the force carried out 2,872 stop and search incidents between May 1 last year and April 30 this year, and pl...
Fundraiser to help paralysed Ripon boy get stem cell treatment
A second fundraiser has been launched for Alan Nowicki, a Ripon boy who was left paralysed when he fell from a pull-up bar. The family aims to raise funds to send Alan to the United States to undergo stem cell surgery to improve his condition. In December, Alan had a life-changing accident at 15-ye...
Extinction Rebellion Harrogate to hold ‘poo patrol’ at River Nidd
Extinction Rebellion Harrogate activists will pretend to fish poo out of the River Nidd tomorrow (May 18) to highlight concerns about the state of the river. Campaigners in white overalls with fishing rods will gather on High Bridge on the A59 in Knaresborough. Those taking part will pretend to fish...
Third party ‘interested’ in taking over Harrogate’s Jesmond House
A third party is “interested” in taking over a former North Yorkshire Council building in Harrogate. Jesmond House on Victoria Avenue is next to the town’s Jobcentre Plus and was used by adult social care staff. However, the authority vacated the building in February this year as part of a rev...
Dementia day care centre to open in Follifoot
A specialist dementia day care club is due to open in Follifoot next month. The Rainbow Care Group, which is based in Knaresborough, already operates 15 similar clubs nearby in locations including Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Sicklinghall, Wetherby and Otley. The new club, will be based at Folli...
Ripon choir school conversion set for summer completion
Four townhouses built on the site of the former Ripon Cathedral Choir School are expected to go on the market this summer. The Old Grandstand development has been carried out by Harrogate-based Artium Group Ltd and is expected to be completed in August. A spokesperson for the firm told the Stray Fer...
Harrogate dad says River Nidd should have ‘warning signs’ after family falls ill
A Harrogate man, whose family fell ill after swimming in the River Nidd, has called for warning signs to be installed. Daniel Fuller and his three children, who live in Spofforth, went paddle boarding at Knaresborough Lido last Saturday (May 11). The family visited the lido just two days before it w...
Holiday chalet plans on Beckwithshaw farm withdrawn
Plans to create three holiday cabins on a farm in Beckwithshaw have been withdrawn. Messrs K Swires & Co applied to North Yorkshire Council for three chalets to be erected at Moor Park. The application was part of long-term proposals to diversify the existing farming business, according to plann...
Julian Smith MP meets Yorkshire Water
Julian visited Yorkshire Water’s wastewater treatment works in Dishforth last week to meet Yorkshire Water officials and representatives from partner Mott McDonald Bentley. It was an opportunity to find out more about the work taking place there, including a phosphorous removal scheme that limits ...
Man arrested for drug driving in Starbeck
A man has been arrested on suspicion of drug driving in Starbeck this afternoon. North Yorkshire Police told the Stray Ferret officers stopped a car on Prospect Road shortly after 1.30pm today (May 16). The force said the driver, a man in his 30s, tested positive for cannabis and cocaine following a...
Premier League clubs to vote on scrapping VAR in Harrogate
Premier League football clubs will next month vote on whether to abolish video assistant referees (VAR) in Harrogate. The 20 member clubs will vote on the decision at the Premier League’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 6. The news was announced yesterday after Wolverhampton Wanderers tabled ...
Transparency row overshadows Ripon’s mayor-making ceremony
For centuries, Ripon’s mayor-making ceremony has been a genteel affair where dignitaries including the Dean of Ripon and members of the armed forces observe tradition to usher in the next 12 months of the civic role. But it descended into chaos yesterday after four councillors refused to back the ...
Transparency row overshadows mayor-making ceremony in Ripon as four councillors refuse to back nominated mayor
For centuries Ripon’s mayor-making ceremony has been a genteel affair where dignitaries including the Dean of Ripon and members of the armed forces observe tradition to usher in the next 12 months of the civic role.
Harrogate church launches £10,000 appeal to fund essential clock work
Harrogate’s oldest church has launched a campaign to raise more than £10,000 for the restoration of its Georgian-era clock faces. Christ Church, on the Stray in High Harrogate, is a historic landmark, and its clock was installed – at a cost of £200 – when the church tower was built in 1831....
Council yet to agree appeal costs over Bishop Monkton homes
North Yorkshire Council has yet to agree costs with developers after it failed to defend a decision to refuse plans for 23 homes in Bishop Monkton. The government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning disputes, approved the proposal for Knaresborough Road in the village. It came after...
Third North Yorkshire Police officer suspended
A third North Yorkshire Police officer has been suspended from duty while under investigation. The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates the most serious complaints about police conduct, revealed the news today. It said in a statement it had opened an investigation into a senior ...
North Yorkshire’s deputy mayor for police, fire and crime revealed
New Labour mayor David Skaith is set to appoint Labour councillor Jo Coles as his deputy mayor for police, fire and crime. Mr Skaith, who was elected as the county’s first mayor on May 3, announced tonight Ms Coles was his preferred appointee. She will be put forward for the position on June 12. ...