Villagers are celebrating the restoration of their Victorian church clock following a £7,000 restoration project.

Residents came together last year to launch the platinum jubilee clock restoration project for St Bartholomew’s Church in Arkendale, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

A community event has been held to unveil the clock, which features gold leaf gilded dials that match the original, and the clock mechanism has been deep-cleaned.

Cllr Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge and Claro on North Yorkshire Council, was the largest funder with £2,500 from his locality budget.

The locality budget provides £10,000 for each councillor to spend on specific local activities each year.

Cllr Windass said:

“I’m delighted to join the community in celebrating the long-awaited unveiling of the church clock. The large-scale project involved making new clock faces to match the original, and the mechanism was overhauled to make sure it will run for many years to come.

“It has been a joint effort to pull this off and I’m proud to have contributed some of my locality budget to such a worthwhile cause.”

(from left), Colin Fletcher, account director at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, Cllr Robert Windass and church warden Robyn Cox

Funding also came from local sponsors and donations through a Sponsor a Numeral Campaign, as well as Thalia Waste Management at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, the Church of England’s ChurchCare scheme, the Moto Foundation and Hanson Cement at Allerton Park.

Harrogate adult mental health charity Claro Enterprises carved the plaque.

It was made using offcuts donated by furniture makers Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen, which is responsible for creating famous Mouseman furniture in Kilburn.

Robyn Cox, the warden of St Bartholomew’s Church, added:

“It’s a new moment in time at St Bartholomew’s where the community came together with support from grant-funding bodies and local businesses to restore the clock dials and mechanism. It was a project we started to celebrate the platinum jubilee of our beloved late Queen Elizabeth II.”

A place of worship has stood in the village since the 14th century, although the present building dates from 1836. It was the first church to be consecrated in the then new Diocese of Ripon in January 1837.

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North Yorkshire Police officers stopped suspected poachers in Knaresborough in the early hours of this morning.

The force was contacted by members of the Rural Watch scheme at 11.15pm last night. They suspected poaching was taking place in a Subaru Forester on land at Arkendale, near Knaresborough.

Poachers normally travel in groups with dogs, using 4×4 vehicles. They typically hunt brown hare or deer.

The Subaru became stuck in the mud before making its way across farmers’ fields and onto the roads.

Officers stopped the vehicle and found two male occupants inside. They also noticed a large amount of blood.

After letting the men go, the suspects became stuck for a second time in the evening and the vehicle was seized. Enquiries are ongoing.

Inspector Clive Turner, of North Yorkshire Police’s rural taskforce, said:

“Our officers, some of whom have farming backgrounds, know the terrible impact poaching can have on rural communities.

“Farmers and landowners are often intimidated or even threatened with violence if they challenge offenders, leaving them feeling vulnerable to further crimes, particularly in isolated areas.

“On average, we’re called to more than 50 incidents of suspected poaching in North Yorkshire every month. Incidents tend to increase significantly from August onwards, during and after harvest time.”

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Residents and parish councils have lodged strong objections to plans for a major oil and gas company to relocate to Marton-cum-Grafton.

Northern Energy is currently based In Hampsthwaite and has had its headquarters in the village for more than half a century.

However, the company tabled proposals to Harrogate Borough Council in February to move to Limebar Lane, one kilometre from the village of Marton-cum-Grafton and next to the A168.

The firm, which has an annual turnover of £27 million, supplies more than 50 million litres of oil and liquid petroleum gas across the UK each year.

But two parish councils have written to the council to object to the plans.

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They say the development is inappropriate and would have “unacceptable consequences”, such as loss of agricultural land, increase in traffic and the proximity of the site to local residents.

Arkendale, Coneythorpe and Clareton Parish Council wrote to the council to object in “the strongest terms”.

It said:

“The other consequence is of course that valuable agricultural land will be lost. 

“Such land is increasingly being lost to development and for us to be as sustainable as a nation we need to preserve our agricultural capacity rather than rely on importing foodstuffs from abroad.”

Meanwhile, Marton-cum-Grafton added in its response that the development was “not of exceptional quality” and “does not enhance its immediate setting nor is it sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area”.

The application has so far attracted 33 comments to the council, with 32 of those objecting and just one in support.

Council officials will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

Company has “outgrown” its site

However, Northern Energy has said it has outgrown its current site and needs to move.

The plans include 10,000 square feet of office space, a vehicle depot, LPG and oil storage tanks and a new car park.

The site would accommodate 30 office staff and 20 operations staff.

The proposed Northern Energy site off the A168 as submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in planning documents.

In documents submitted to the council, the company said the current location was “beginning to hinder business”.

It said:

““Such is the success of the business, the company have now outgrown their current premises on the edge of Hampsthwaite.

“Indeed, the location of the facility, some distance from the local highway network, and the absence of oil and fuel storage capacity on site is now beginning to hinder the business.”

Northern Energy is currently consulting on its plans to relocate. Residents can have their say on the plans here.