Police bid to stop pony and trap races on A168 near BoroughbridgePolice appeal after serious crash on A1(M) near Dishforth

A serious crash on the A1(M) near Dishforth left the occupants of a Fiat 500 requiring hospital treatment.

North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for further information today after the crash closed the stretch of road before junction 49 at 5.50am on Friday (March 31) for two hours.

The crash involved a white Fiat 500 and a heavy goods vehicle. The occupants of the Fiat suffered serious injuries and required hospital treatment.

A police statement said:

“Police are appealing for witnesses to the collision or anyone who recalls seeing the vehicle(s) prior to the collision, to get in touch as soon as possible to assist the investigation.

“They would be particularly keen to hear from anyone who captured dash cam footage of the collision or the vehicles.

“If you can help, please email gary.dukes@northyorkshire.police.uk, or contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Gary Dukes.”

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Man arrested and £100,000 seized after A1 Boroughbridge police chase

A 30-year-old man has been arrested and £100,000 of cash seized after a police chase on the A1 near Boroughbridge.

North Yorkshire Police were alerted to erratic driving southbound near to Scotch Corner yesterday at 1.50pm.

Officers located the vehicle which near Dishforth and followed it towards Boroughbridge.

As they approached Wetherby Services, police got in front of the vehicle and directed the driver to leave the carriageway into the service station.

As they got nearer to the services, the driver made off and drove at speed through the service station car park towards the hotel at the back of the site, colliding with a member of the public’s vehicle on its way through.

A police statement said:

“Officers pursued on foot and within four minutes of running from the car, the suspect had been located by officers with the support of a police dog. He was arrested for failing to stop when instructed and handcuffed.

“A search of his vehicle uncovered a substantial amount of cash estimated to be around £100,000 and two large tubs of plant food. The driver also failed a roadside drug test, testing positive for cocaine.”

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The 30-year-old, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop for police.

He was also arrested on suspicion of drug driving and on suspicion of being in possession of criminal property, dangerous driving, driving otherwise than accordance with a licence, failing to stop after a road traffic accident, money laundering, theft of a motor vehicle and for driving without insurance.

The man remains in custody while police enquiries continue.

Lane closures and speed restrictions coming to A1 in Harrogate district

Lane closures and a 50mph speed limit are being introduced to a stretch of the A1 that passes through the Harrogate district.

National Highways is to carry out patching repairs on the southbound carriageway between junction 49 (Dishforth) and junction 51 (Leeming Bar) from Tuesday next week until mid-December.

According to a press release today by National Highways, during full closures a local signed diversion will be in place using the A6055 which runs parallel to the A1.

Access to properties and businesses will be maintained at all times. Those affected will be contacted directly.

National Highways project manager Ted Chamberlain said:

“This work will ensure that we continue to provide our customers with a safe, smooth carriageway. We’ll be working overnight using a combination of full closures and lane closures. This will minimise disruption to the peak traffic flows during the day.

“When lane closures are in place there will be a 50mph speed restriction to protect road users and our workers. We advise drivers to anticipate delays and allow extra time for their journeys.”

National Highways is the government-owned company responsible for maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads.

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Motorcyclist seriously injured in A1(M) crash near Boroughbridge

A motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital after suffering serious injuries in a major crash on the A1(M) near Boroughbridge yesterday afternoon.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage following the single-vehicle collision, which happened at around 3.30pm on the northbound carriageway, just south of junction 49.

The rider of a yellow Honda Z125 motorbike, a man in his 40s, came off the bike and was taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment.

The road was closed between junction 48 (Boroughbridge interchange) and junction 49 (Dishforth interchange) to allow emergency services and the air ambulance to attend the scene. It re-opened at around 6.45pm.

Motorists faced delays of up to an hour.

Any witnesses, or anyone who has dashcam footage of the collision itself, or of the motorcycle involved prior to the collision, is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police.

Email chris.storey@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference 12220144369.

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Harrogate council housing company Bracewell Homes won’t pay any dividends this year

Harrogate Borough Council has insisted its housing company is performing well despite it not paying any dividends this year.

Bracewell Homes launched two years ago with the aims of turning the council a profit and intervening in Harrogate’s pricey property market to deliver much-needed rental and shared ownership homes at affordable prices.

Its developments are Horsa Way, Dishforth and The Willows on Whinney Lane in Harrogate.

It was set up with the backing of a £10 million loan from taxpayers and the council had budgeted to receive £267,000 in dividends this financial year.

However, the council has now said it won’t receive any of this money in a revelation which sparked questions over whether Bracewell Homes is underperforming.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday, Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, questioned if the dividend shortfall was being addressed as she said the company should be a benefit to the council and not a “drain” on its finances.

‘Extremely profitable’

But Paul Foster, head of finance at the council, responded to say the company was still “extremely profitable” and that it had continued to sell properties, although at a smaller percentage of shares than expected.

He said: 

“The company isn’t able to pay a dividend this year and the reason for that is a proportion of the shared home properties it has sold have been at shares of 25% and 30%.

“It would need to have sold shares of up to 50% for them to have enough cash to provide a dividend.

“In December, four or five properties were sold at a lower share than the company was forecasting and as a result there is less cash in the company.

“The company is not underperforming in particular. It is just not selling the larger shares which make it more cash rich.”

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According to documents filed with Companies House, Bracewell Homes had £459,565 in the bank as of March 2021.

Mr Foster also told Monday’s meeting that the council does not only benefit from the company through dividends, but also through cash coming from other areas.

He said: 

“There are three elements that the council benefits from Bracewell Homes – there is a recharge of staff salaries, interest charges on the loan that the council made to the company, and a payment of a dividend if the company is able to.

“The first two continue and we are still making money out of the company in that regard.”

40 properties by 2024

Since it was set up Bracewell Homes has so far acquired 26 homes and sold 22, which means it is on target to meet its initial aim of delivering 40 properties by 2024.

But with house prices continuing to soar and around 1,700 households on the council’s housing waiting list, there have been calls for the company to set much higher ambitions.

Cllr Marsh previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the company should be aiming to deliver “hundreds” of homes to ensure low-income earners can afford to live in Harrogate where average house prices paid rose to £395,526 in 2021.

Cllr Marsh previously said: 

“Forty homes in three years will barely make a dent in the need for the 1,700 on the waiting list, some living in very difficult circumstances.

“We need Bracewell homes to set targets to achieve hundreds of houses per year otherwise this crisis will never come to an end.”

Police respond to gun reports near Dishforth to find long-lens camera

North Yorkshire Police sent armed police to a motorway bridge near Dishforth to discover that men reportedly carrying a gun were just taking pictures with a long-lens camera.

A driver called the police to tell them they had spotted one of three men on the A1(M) flyover take out what they described as a “long-barrelled gun” on Tuesday.

An operational support unit and firearns officers attended and sent up a drone, which took the above picture.

Officers soon discovered that the men were there with a camera to take picture of trucks and then left the men to their hobby.

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A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“The three men did intend to shoot something but fortunately it was only photgraphs.

“Their hobby was truck-spotting and the ‘long-barrel gun’ was actually a long-lens camera which they used to take shots of passing wagons. After checking all was well, we left them to it.

“The member of the public was absolutely right to report their suspicions. Always better to be safe than sorry.”

Emergency flood response underway in Harrogate district

An emergency response is underway at homes in the Harrogate district in danger of flooding after today’s thunderstorms.

The emergency planning department at Harrogate Borough Council revealed tonight it had been called to homes in Pannal and Dishforth following today’s heavy rain.

The council’s emergency planning department supports the emergency services in the response to major incidents.

It said on Twitter:

“Our team have deployed to Dishforth this evening to protect a property at risk of foul water flooding and are currently working with our North Yorkshire County Council colleagues to protect another property in Pannal from surface water flooding.”

No further details are available at this time.

A Met Office yellow weather warning is in place in the Harrogate district until midnight tonight. The warning says:

“Heavy showers and thunderstorms leading to a chance of flooding and disruption.

“There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.”

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Dishforth farm creates strawberry picking experience for wheelchair users

A farm in Dishforth has created a pick your own strawberry and raspberry experience suitable for older people, wheelchair users and people with prams.

It seems such a simple idea but not many pick your own farms around the country offer it.

Mark and Mary Bean run Beau Fraise’s Fruity Berry Fruit Farm, which can be found on Dishforth Road in Dishforth, near Ripon.

The idea was sparked by Mary’s sister, who uses a wheelchair, as well as some of the farm’s previous customers who struggled with access.

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A lot of work has gone into the project.

It has taken about 11 months, 35,000 welds, 70 tonnes of soil, 4,000 strawberry plants and 1,500 raspberry plants but it is now open to the public six days a week. It is closed on Tuesdays.

Mark, who has done the majority of work himself, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been doing strawberry picking for about 15 years but we decided we needed to make a change for this year.

“This has been a lot of work, a mammoth task really, but it has also been a labour of love.

“People love it, the word seems to be spreading quite quickly and I have lots of messages from people interested. So we have been quite busy already.”

Now the farm is up and running, Mark and Mary are planning to set aside a day a week when only those who are elderly and disabled can go.

The first of those days was held today when a group from Hampden House care home in Harrogate went for a special visit.