A Starbeck community group has offered to find a new home for the ‘little temple’ that looks set to be moved from Harrogate.

North Yorkshire County Council said yesterday it had submitted a planning application to remove the tempietto in Station Square.

It plans to sell or recycle the construction so it can open up the area and use the space to host events, as part of the £11.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.

Postmaster Andrew Hart has written to the council offering to donate £1,000 towards bringing the little temple to Starbeck.

Mr Hart, who founded Starbeck Community Group, which has 1,800 members, wrote in his letter:

“Starbeck is very much the poor relative of Harrogate and Knaresborough and has suffered badly due to a depleted High Street, covid and the economy.

“We noticed with interest that you are planning to recycle or sell the tempietto from Harrogate. Could we please have first claim on it as either a gift or as a purchase?

“The community would be so proud to have this in Starbeck, it would not only enhance our community but it would lift spirits. I would happily start a community fund with a donation of £1000 towards the purchase if necessary.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s ‘little temple’ could be sold to make way for Station Gateway
• Firefighters and councillors make calls to improve Starbeck crossing

Mr Hart was behind a successful bid last year to relocate eight planters from Harrogate to Starbeck when Harrogate Borough Council decided to get rid of them.

He said “these things help poor neglected Starbeck” and told the Stray Ferret the idea of Belmont Park hosting the little temple had been well received by locals:

“Everyone is working hard in Starbeck to make it look more colourful and this would give us a sense of pride.

“I saw the story and thought ‘this is a great opportunity for us’.”

Harrogate has been awarded a gold medal and been named a winner in the small city category at last night’s Yorkshire in Bloom awards.

The annual awards encourage communities of all sizes to use flowers to brighten up the landscape as well as foster community spirit and civic pride.

Although Harrogate is a town, it was entered in the ‘small city’ category due to the size of its population and took first place at a ceremony in Tadcaster.

Harrogate Borough Council maintains parks and green spaces across the district.

Harrogate Business Improvement District, which undertakes schemes to drive footfall to the town centre, also won a gold medal and was category winner in the BID division.

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens received a platinum award and Starbeck won a gold medal in the urban community category.

There was success too for Ripon, which took a platinum award for Spa Gardens, a silver gilt award for the city itself and a discretionary award for the best platinum jubilee display.

The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park was awarded a Gold Medal in the Tourist Attractions Award category and a Best Conservation Project Award.

Joel Dibb, Head Gardener said:

“The Garden suffered devastating tree losses last winter due to the disease Phytophthora ramorum. The team took up the challenge to replant and move on from this distressing event and have had a busy year selecting and replanting trees.

The discretionary Conservation Project Award recognises all this hard work and the wildlife conservation we do to keep the garden wildlife friendly.”

A post on Harrogate in Bloom’s Facebook page said:

“Well done to all our local community groups and to the team at Harrogate Borough Council – here’s to further success in 2023!”

Yorkshire in Bloom is a charity incorporated organisation and a regional body representing the RHS Britain in Bloom campaign that is organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Judges assess criteria developed by the RHS in consultation with the regions.

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Read more:

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Starbeck is to have two Remembrance Sunday events this year at 11am and 3pm amid a disagreement over the best time to honour the war dead.

A remembrance service traditionally takes place at 3pm at the war memorial on Starbeck High Street.

The afternoon time enables local veterans, dignitaries and anyone else wishing to pay their respects to do so first at the large morning parade in Harrogate town centre.

But some people feel Starbeck should follow the rest of the country by honouring the fallen at 11am.

Last year some residents observed a two-minute silence at the war memorial at 11am — and they intend to do so again this year, even though the afternoon service will go ahead as usual.

Starbeck Residents Association has taken over the running of the afternoon service and lead organiser Andy Dennis said this year’s event, on November 13, would be Starbeck’s official event marking Remembrance Sunday. He said:

“I want to be clear with this, as a local group held an unofficial service at 11am last year and this poorly attended event was projected in some quarters as the community’s response to remembrance.

“The 3pm service is always well supported by the community, it is held at this time to allow dignitaries such as the MP and councillors to attend the Harrogate service at 11am and the the Starbeck service later.”

Read more:

• Firefighters and councillors make calls to improve Starbeck crossing
• Starbeck special needs school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

Starbeck resident Lucky Hubbard said she was one of about 30 people who observed last year’s 11am silence and she intends to do so again this year. Some, including herself, will attend both gatherings. She said:

“I’m an ex-army wife so Remembrance Sunday has always been a big thing to me, and it’s always been at 11am.

“We are not saying don’t go at 3pm — we just want to pay our respects at 11am.”

Ms Hubbard runs a Starbeck knitting group called Knitwits, which decorated local landmarks with poppies last year. This year it is knitting 2,000 poppies to go on the side of St Andrew’s Church (pictured).

She is also involved with a fundraising event for the Yorkshire Trench project on Saturday, November 12, as well as a veterans’ breakfast after the Sunday morning two-minute silence.

Some of those supporting the morning silence are involved with Starbeck Community Group, which has had an uneasy relationship with Starbeck Residents Association in recent years.

Ms Hubbard said:

“It’s a shame that this spat keeps rearing its ugly head.”

Firefighters and councillors have called on Zoe Metcalfe, the Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, to tackle the long-running issue of Starbeck crossing holding up emergency vehicles.

As many as nine trains an hour can pass through Starbeck Station heading to Leeds or York.

It means when the barriers are down there are waits of several minutes for all vehicles, including fire engines, police cars and ambulances.

At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting last night, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hookstone, Pat Marsh, asked Ms Metcalfe if she’d had feedback from firefighters about the problem as she believes delays could potentially be costing lives.

Cllr Marsh said:

“It worries me, that a five minute wait can be the difference between doing something and not.”

In response, Ms Metcalfe said the problem has been raised to her by both firefighters at Harrogate and Knaresborough fire stations.

However, she said firefighters “know exactly what times trains come and go” and can also use other routes to avoid the crossing.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“I went back to the fire service and they quite rightly said that out of Knaresborough fire station you can also turn left out of the fire station and go into Harrogate via Morrisons. They can also go into Starbeck and can turn right into Bogs Lane.

“There’s not just one way into Harrogate. Even if they did get to a crossing they can call ahead (to Network Rail) to let them know they are coming down.”

Read more:

• Starbeck railway signaller carries on centuries-old tradition
• Starbeck groups call truce and promise to work ‘positively together’

Her response didn’t please fellow Conservative and councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, who also chairs Transport for the North‘s scrutiny committee.

Cllr Haslam told Ms Metcalfe he was “a little disappointed that you weren’t upset about the crossing at Starbeck”, particularly as it’s an issue that was raised to her by the firefighters themselves.

He added:

“I’ve tried for five or six years to get Network Rail to improve technology that would reduce waiting time to two minutes but they’ve refused to do it at the moment.

“I feel if your firemen had been upset that could have been leverage. I’m concerned about it for lots of reasons. The cars are just idling.

“Network Rail have told me all the reasons they can’t do it but they’ve also told me what technology they need.”

Ms Metcalfe promised Cllr Haslam that she would raise the issue with Network Rail.

Springwater School in Starbeck has been rated ‘good’ in a newly published report by Ofsted.

Government inspectors visited the school, which has 97 pupils aged two to 19, in June.

Their report rates the school as ‘outstanding’ in four of the five areas assessed but the overall assessment is ‘good’.

It says leaders at the school, which has pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties, “have very high expectations of how well staff look after the pupils in their care” and that “pupils are given highly personalised support by a team of very caring staff”.

Personal development was described as exceptionally strong and arrangements for safeguarding effective.

The report adds:

“Staff ensure that pupils are fully included in all aspects of school life.

“The learning atmosphere in school is positive. Pupils, and students in the sixth form, try hard when in class. They are keen to join in and eager to learn new things.

“Pupils demonstrate how much they appreciate learning by laughing and smiling.”

Inspectors say pupils receive ‘highly personalised support’.

Sixth form ‘excellent’

Sixth form provision is described as “excellent”. The inspectors said:

“The sixth form curriculum is very well planned. It prepares students for adulthood very effectively. The curriculum includes life skills such as shopping and cooking, as well as important knowledge about how society works. Students also take courses that lead to accreditation. Students in the sixth form are incredibly positive about their experiences of school.”

Staff and leaders’ “holistic approach to managing behaviour” is described as “extremely effective”.

Headteacher Sarah Edwards said:

“The governors and I are delighted with the outcome of the two-day inspection which was rigorous and professionally challenging, as I am sure you would expect.

“I am so pleased that they captured what we as a team already identified as the strengths of the school and its pupils.”

Ms Edwards said the school had worked hard on “developing and implementing a suitable curriculum designed to meet the very diverse needs of all of our learners” since its last inspection in 2019, which raised “some concerns that standards may be declining”.

Ms Edwards thanked staff and added:

“I remain extremely proud of what Springwater delivers. There are four out of five of the judgements at an outstanding level, and the inspection team identified that ‘the quality of education has improved’.

“I am confident that the report and inspection experience captured our strengths brilliantly.

“Springwater is a brilliant place where children thrive and in turn the dedicated staff team have an enormous satisfaction in seeing children and young people flourish regardless of the special educational needs.”

Ms Edwards added there was “an extremely high demand for pupil places at this popular and over subscribed special school”, adding:

“As a result, there continue to be vacancies in support roles and the school would love to hear from any member of the community who would be willing to volunteer, to support pupils to access learning activities and community visits.”

Read more:

• Praise for Harrogate school as Ofsted rating improves
• Richard Taylor school in Bilton receives ‘good’ Ofsted rating

The RSPCA has said that two dogs who were so thin their ribs were protruding when police seized them are now healthy and seeking new homes.

Rocco, a mastiff, and Smudge, a lurcher, were taken from a home in Harrogate when Robbie Nelson refused to sign them over to the animal welfare charity last year.

A vet who examined the dogs concluded both animals were malnourished.

He gave Rocco a one out of nine score on a body condition test, which is classed as a state of emaciation, while Smudge scored two out of nine.

Robbie Nelson, 24, of Woodfield View, was banned from keeping animals for five years when he appeared in court in July.

Read more:

• Harrogate man banned from keeping animals after cruelty case
• Malnourished dogs found in Harrogate flat covered in faeces and urine
• Harrogate man banned from keeping animals for five years

His brother Charlie Nelson, 28, of Woodfield View, Harrogate, was also disqualified from owning pets for five years when he was sentenced this month.

RSPCA inspector Tom Hutton found the dogs underweight and living in accommodation littered with household waste, scrap bikes and dog faeces when he was called out by police to a flat on Starbeck High Street on March 18, 2021.

The flat was covered in dog faeces.

The RSPCA said today that under its care, Rocco and Smudge have returned to a healthy weight and condition and the charity will “now look to find them loving new owners”.

Inspector Hutton said:

“We thank North Yorkshire Police for alerting us to the dreadful situation Rocco and Smudge were in. It meant we were able to rescue them and now we will be able to find them new homes where they are loved and cared for.”

Rocco (left) and Smudge now, looking healthy and seeking new homes.

A suspected thief has been arrested after police responded to reports of a man trying car door handles in Harrogate.

Officers spotted the suspect inside a vehicle in the Knaresborough Road area at about 8.20pm last night.

According to North Yorkshire Police, the man ran off when he saw police and was detained following a short foot chase. Officers then found what are believed to be stolen items in his possession.

Further enquiries showed he was also wanted by police in connection with burglaries and he had only just been released from prison.

The man, who is in his 20s and of no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of theft from a motor vehicle, vehicle interference and burglary.

Read more:

• ‘Winter wonderland’ plans to boost Harrogate this Christmas
• County council home care service in Starbeck ‘requires improvement’

He has been taken into custody where he remains while enquiries continue.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

“We regularly patrol areas where vehicle crime has been reported, both on foot and with vehicle patrols.

“The two officers who dealt with this incident were able to apprehend a suspect very quickly and a full investigation is now under way.

“Anyone who has had items stolen from their vehicle, or has seen anyone acting suspiciously or trying door handles, should contact us on 101. If you witness a crime taking place, it’s 999.”

Many organisations across the Harrogate district closed today as people paid their final respects to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Streets were quiet and there was a sombre mood as the nation watched the state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London.

Ripon Cathedral and Harrogate’s Royal Hall broadcast the event live on big screens, as did numerous pubs and churches.

Many other people watched the day’s events unfold live on BBC One.

Here are some photos taken during today’s funeral capturing local tributes and the unusually quiet state of the district.

Cambridge Street deserted during the funeral.

Ripon Cathedral today

Flowers to the Queen at Harrogate’s war memorial.

Floral tributes in Knaresborough Market Place.

St Andrew’s Church in Starbeck broadcast the funeral live.

Starbeck High Street devoid of traffic.

A shop front tribute in Harrogate town centre.

An 18-year-old has been sentenced in court for assaulting three police officers in Harrogate.

Emily Harris-Jones, of Beech Street in Starbeck, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court and was charged with assaulting two emergency workers on July 9, 2022.

She assaulted one police constable on the street before beating the same officer at Harrogate Police Station.

Harris-Jones also assaulted another named officer at the station on the same date.

She was also charged with the same offence against a police officer at Dragon Service Station, Skipton Road, on June 29 this year.

The court found all four offences were aggravated by being committed against emergency workers carrying out their duties.

Magistrates sentenced her to 10 weeks in prison for each count, to be served concurrently, suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to undergo treatment for alcohol dependency.

The court also imposed compensation totalling £200, a victim surcharge of £154 and £170 in court costs.

Magistrates said they took into account Harris-Jones’ guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

Read more:

• Man arrested in Harrogate on suspicion of carrying weapon

• Woman denies attempted murder in Bilton

On the first really hot day of summer, Emily Watson’s dog walker arrived early to exercise her bichon frise Molly before the heat fully hit.

At about 9.20am, Emily received a call from the dog walker to say Molly had been spooked by another dog at Nidd Gorge and she’d spent the last 20 minutes looking for her.

Emily and her partner Ben went to join the hunt, thinking it was only a matter of time before Molly turned up. But by dusk she was panicking and her family’s life hasn’t been the same since.

On the two-month anniversary of when Molly went missing, Emily sat down with her mum Beverley Malins to talk about the story that has gripped Harrogate — and how she remains desperate for a final chapter with a happy ending.

Molly has distinctive red fur on her chest.

Amid the ongoing torture, the search has revealed the best of humanity as hundreds of people have given thousands of hours to join the quest to find Molly and dozens of people have donated everything from thermal imaging cameras to signs.

On the day we met, a couple from Glasgow, who were visiting York on holiday, had been in touch offering to come to Harrogate to help. Emily says:

“The generosity of even total strangers has been amazing. I don’t know how I can repay everybody or thank them enough.

“From the moment the dog walking community found out, they were all there to help.

First family pet

Molly was 12 weeks old when she became Emily and Ben’s first dog. Beverley says:

“I was apprehensive because Emily had never had a dog before but she has absolutely blown me away with her commitment.”

Molly was aged four when she went missing and a treasured part of the family that also includes three children aged 12, 10 and three. Youngest Hugo sometimes sleeps in Molly’s bed and often carries a stuffed dog toy.

Hugo sleeping in Molly’s bed.

Few hunts for pets have been more intense. It has involved search parties of up to 50 people, drones, thermal imaging cameras, wildlife cameras, a live cam, sniffer dogs and a huge awareness campaign that has led to a Facebook group with almost 3,000 followers. Emily says:

“People have been out to the middle of the night. Everybody has been incredible.”

Read more:

• Missing dog Molly: new poster released on two-month anniversary
• Harrogate rallies in search of missing dog Molly

Emily’s phone barely stops ringing. Sometimes she gets hoax calls and possible sightings are reported daily. She has learned the hard way to be wary.

“A month ago a man called me. He said, ‘I’ve got your dog, she’s got cuts to her legs but she’s fine. I’m 100% certain it’s her. Come to Ripley to collect her.

“I started crying and my heart was absolutely pounding. We got to Ripley car park and I went to pick her up from the back of his vehicle and my heart just dropped when I realised it wasn’t her.

“I didn’t know what to say. The man messaged later to say he was really sorry.

“I didn’t even think to say ‘could you send me a photo?’ because I was so excited. Now I ask for a photo or video because it’s too upsetting to be let down.”

‘Like getting on a roundabout every day’

Molly has distinctive red staining on her chest from drinking water and getting her fur wet.

Emily is acutely aware some people think she is dead but lost dogs have turned up years later and she refuses to give up hope. She says:

“It’s the not knowing. Sometimes you feel deflated because you think you are chasing nothing. We just want an answer.”

Beverley, who has joined 40 Facebook pages for missing dogs, says:

“It’s like getting on a roundabout every day. Every day is the same and it’s never ending.”

While everything has been going on, Emily has had to be a mum and hold down two jobs. She runs a business providing balloon for events and works at the Yorkshire Hotel, which has granted her time off.

Emily and her mum Beverley Malins

Amid the dozens of people helping, three people — Jen Bell, Colin Corker and Mark Smith — are singled out for special thanks for helping with everything from social media to drones.

They’ve done a remarkable job keeping a missing dog story in the news so long. Now everybody is hoping for a happy ending. Emily says:

“It’s now at the point where we have to hope for sightings, hope for good news. I will just cry and cry if she comes back.”