Harrogate school fundraiser raises over £500 for Ukraine

St Robert’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate has raised £504.98 for a Ukraine humanitarian appeal by selling crafts and old school uniforms.

St Robert’s has a large number of Eastern European children so the school wanted to do something to help at such a difficult time.

Mum Catherine Maguire made Ukraine-inspired crafts, including painted stones, cards, bookmarks, ribbons, pom-poms and cupcakes.

The school also donated all proceeds from a school uniform sale held at the same time to the Ukrainian disaster appeal run by the Catholic aid agency Cafod on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Some of the crafts that were on sale

Ms Maguire said:

“It’s about showing our support for them and their families. It’s not just about raising money”.

The school also created a prayer tree where children could write prayers on a sunflower and hang them.

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Headteacher Jill Collins added:

“St Robert’s Catholic Primary has lots of children from different countries and especially eastern European countries. We want to extend our love and support to our families who have relatives in Ukraine and nearby countries.

“The fundraising event is small way of letting people know we are truing to help and support in any way we can.”

Thankful for support

Ukrainian couple Taras and Viktoriia Jakubiak, whose daughter Isabella attends St Robert’s, said they were thankful to everyone at the school for holding the fundraiser, which took place on Friday afternoon.

The Jakubiak family at the fundraiser.

Mr Jakubiak also spoke about his fears for close family members who are encircled by Russian forces in Ukraine and unable to flee.

Read the full article here.

Hospital issues urgent appeal for crutches and walking sticks

Harrogate District Hospital has issued an urgent appeal for patients to return crutches and walking sticks.

Pamela Bagot, principal physiotherapist at the hospital, contacted the Stray Ferret to say the therapy services department wanted to offer them to patients who had undergone surgery or been involved in an accident.

“If you have any crutches and walking sticks you no longer use sitting around at home, please drop them off at therapy services at Harrogate District Hospital so we can reuse them and help our patients back up and walking as soon as possible.

“As most people know, there are problems with transporting goods and deliveries around the country, and by individuals returning these items we will ensure that we have enough patient equipment during the winter months.”

Anyone able to help should ask at hospital reception for therapy services.

hospital crutches appeal

 

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Police appeal after ‘unexplained’ death of Ripon man

Police today issued an appeal for information about the death of a Ripon man at his home.

David Lupton, 50, died at his home in the city on August 27.

North Yorkshire Police is looking for witnesses and information about his last movements.

Officers said the death is being treated as unexplained.

A police statement said:

“We are particularly interested to speak to anyone who may have seen David on Thursday 26 August up until lunchtime on the Friday when he was found deceased by a family member.

“At this time the sudden death is being treated as unexplained.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for DC EVANS. You can also email sheree.evans@northyorkshire.police.uk.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12210190039.”

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Wetherby Road Starbucks developer to seek legal costs if plan approved

A developer behind a planned Starbucks drive-thru on Wetherby Road has said it will seek full legal costs if the proposal is approved by a planning inspector.

Alan Evans, counsel for Euro Garages, told an inquiry earlier this week that the company would seek costs from Harrogate Borough Council for “unreasonable behaviour”.

Residents fighting the controversial proposal, which is planned for the former 1st Dental surgery site, appeared before the hearing to defend the refusal after the borough council withdrew its objection.

Alan Evans, a legal representative for Euro Garages, told the appeal that the planning committee’s latest decision of refusal should be overturned.

He said: 

“Members of the committee were themselves unwilling to defend their reasons for refusal so if you wanted to have a bird’s-eye view of unreasonableness, then I don’t think you could have a better one.

“No evidence has been brought forward, there never was any evidence and our application was based soundly at the outset.

“If the council can’t defend any reasons for refusal, then the obvious opposite side of the coin is that it should have been granted permission.”

Residents living next to the potential site of the drive-thru told the inquiry into the plans that it would “completely destroy” their enjoyment of their homes.

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Speaking at the hearing on Tuesday, resident Joanne Richardson, who lives behind the proposed site, said: 

“If this proposal is accepted then the impact on residents will be huge – it is seven days a week, unsociable hours and our amenity will be completely destroyed.”

Helen Hockenhull, a government planning inspector, opened the hearing into the proposed Starbucks drive-thru on Wetherby Road on Tuesday

Mrs Richardson also said revisions to the plans – including a re-jigged car park, reduction in the size of the coffee shop and an acoustic fence – did not go far enough to address local concern.

She said:

“What this current proposal does is move the drive-thru lane to literally metres from the windows of living areas directly adjacent to the site.

“It is absurd to think that a two-metre boarded fence and a planted area of a few metres will mitigate the impact on residents surrounding the site.”

Another resident, Mark Hinchliffe, told the appeal that the nearby Woodlands junction was “probably the busiest” in Harrogate as he also warned the town was already at “breaking point” with traffic congestion.

He said: 

“Regardless of Starbucks arriving, there is already a major problem with that road – I can only describe it as the North Circular around London.”

The plans were first refused by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee in 2017 before the applicant lodged an unsuccessful appeal, then submitted a revised application two years later.

These latest proposals were still rejected in 2019 but the council, nor its planning committee, chose not to contest the appeal because it had previously made a recommendation in support of the plans. 

The council also said it was unable to find lawyers willing to fight the appeal on its behalf.

Helen Hockenhull, the planning inspector in charge of the appeal, will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Harrogate couple launch oxygen for India appeal

Harrogate couple Kate and Paul Banerjee have launched an appeal to buy oxygen equipment for covid patients in India with breathing difficulties.

Money raised will go to the British Asian Trust, a charity founded by the Prince Charles and British Asian business leaders in 2007 to tackle poverty and injustice in the poorest parts of Asia.

The trust is working with the Swasth Foundation in India, a non-profit healthcare provider, to source medical equipment that is in desperately short supply in the covid-hit country.

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The couple set an £8,300 fundraising target — enough to buy 10 oxygen concentrators.

Since it launched on Monday, the appeal has so far generated £4,995, which is about 60% of the target.

Ms Banerjee said:

“It all started because I know that there’s a lot of people who want to help but don’t know how to do it in a way that will get the money to the people that need it.

“We raised over £10 a minute in the first five hours — it shows the big heart that Harrogate has.”

The couple are not resting on their laurels: they plan to print leaflets and go door-to-door in the next week to raise awareness.

Ms Banerjee said:

“The fundraiser is open-ended. If we reach the target, we’ll see if we can increase it and keep moving. They haven’t reached the peak yet in India and I’m afraid things are going to get worse before they get better.”

The daily number of covid cases of covid in India approached 400,000 this week, amid widespread reports of oxygen shortages.

The oxygen concentrators which the appeal will provide extract oxygen from the air, and are therefore independent of oxygen supplies.

Police search for Ripon robbers who attacked young man

Police are searching for up to three robbers who reportedly attacked a young man for his phone and watch.

The robbery happened at about 6.30pm on Sunday on King Street in Ripon.

A 23-year-old man told police he had been attacked by two or three suspects. He described them as “young males”.

He reported that as well as stealing his phone and watch, they hit him in the face, leaving him with injuries.

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Officers are appealing for any information or CCTV footage relating to the incident.

You can email PC Lucy Mills by clicking or tapping here. If you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Ripon City Council called for additional police last month to tackle an increase in crime.

Man sought after bank card and cash taken in Knaresborough burglary

Police are trying to identify a man from CCTV images after a bank card and cash were stolen in a burglary at a Knaresborough home.

The incident took place on Aspin Park Lane on Tuesday, January 26, between 2pm and 3pm.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, we are appealing for information to help identify the man in the CCTV image as officers believe he might have information which could assist the investigation.”

Police are trying to trace this man from CCTV images

Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two, and ask for Geeta Maharjan, or email geeta.maharjan2@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12210045217.

Harrogate primary school’s plea: help our pupils who are isolating

A primary school in Harrogate has launched an urgent appeal to help pupils who are struggling with self-isolation at home.

Grove Road Community Primary School currently has 11 staff, including the head teacher, and about 140 pupils self-isolating either because they have coronavirus or have been in contact with somebody who has.

Chris Harrison, the assistant head, told the Stray Ferret its appeal for help had generated an “incredible” response so far:

“We have been trying to look after those families. With job strains and the added pressure of the kids being at home it stacks up.

“Our original appeal was for food but we have had so many food donations. We’d particularly like to thank Resurrected Bites and Chartwells.”

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Now the school is asking people to donate toys to help with happiness or digital devices to help with learning.

The government said it would give devices to schools for pupils to use at home but Grove Road was not allocated any.

Some of the food donations that have flooded in.

Mr Harrison said this was the first time many pupils have had to fully isolate for two weeks.

He added it was particularly difficult for families without outdoor space.

Anyone who can help with the school’s appeal should get in touch with the school on Twitter or give the reception a call on 01423 506060.

Coach and Horses could be in limbo for months

The Coach and Horses pub in Harrogate faces an uncertain future as its appeal against the decision to revoke its licence threatens to drag on.

Solicitors acting on behalf of landlord John Nelson sent the appeal to magistrates in early August.

No date or location for the hearing has been set and the situation may not change for several months as the courts struggle to deal with a backlog in cases.

Harrogate Justice Centre, which is likely to hear the appeal, told the Stray Ferret it did not currently have the capacity for any private prosecutions and did not know when this might change.

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Harrogate Borough Council revoked the pub’s licence in July after it showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules.

Mr Nelson was allegedly “aggressive and abusive” towards council officials and the police when they served him a prohibition notice on May 31.

A total of 449 people signed a petition calling on the council to give Mr Nelson’s daughter, Samantha Nelson, the licence to run the pub.

At the licensing sub-committee where the council revoked the licence, Mr Nelson’s lawyer Paddy Whur said his client “accepted he made a chronic error of judgement”.

The Stray Ferret has approached the Coach and Horses several times to inquire about its future. We had still not received a reply by the time of publication.

Coach and Horses appeals council decision to revoke licence

The Coach and Horses in Harrogate has lodged an appeal against the council’s decision to revoke its licence.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the landlord John Nelson sent the appeal to magistrates last week. There is no set date or location for the hearing so far.

It comes after 429 people signed a petition that called for the council to give his daughter, Samantha Nelson, a licence to run the pub.

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Jonny Hick, who calls himself the pub’s “number one customer”, urged people to support her “responsible and professional stewardship”.

Harrogate Borough Council removed the pub’s licence in July after it showed a “blantant disregard” for social distancing rules.

John Nelson was allegedly “aggressive and abusive” towards council officials and the police when they served him a prohibition notice on May 31.

At the licensing sub-committee where the council revoked the licence, Mr Nelson’s lawyer Paddy Whur said his client “accepted he made a chronic error of judgement”.

Mr Whur suggested that the pub’s licence be suspended until Mr Nelson steps down – a suggestion that councillors rejected.