This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
    • Politics
    • Transport
    • Lifestyle
    • Community
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Education
    • Harrogate
    • Ripon
    • Knaresborough
    • Boroughbridge
    • Pateley Bridge
    • Masham
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Latest Jobs

Interested in advertising with us?

Advertise with us

  • News & Features
  • Your Area
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Latest Jobs
  • Politics
  • Transport
  • Lifestyle
  • Community
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Education
Advertise with us
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Politics

We want to hear from you

Tell us your opinions and views on what we cover

Contact us
Connect with us
  • About us
  • Advertise your job
  • Correction and complaints
Download on App StoreDownload on Google Play Store
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Statement
  • Comments Participation T&Cs
Trust In Journalism

Copyright © 2020 The Stray Ferret Ltd, All Rights Reserved

Site by Show + Tell

Thank you for your interest in this story

To continue reading this article, sign up today to unlock exclusive content and be part of our community discussions

  • Exclusive discounts
  • Enjoy commenting on local issues

Already a subscriber? Log in here.

13

Apr 2024

Last Updated: 25/04/2024
Politics
Politics

Editor's Pick of the Week: Costly consultants, a bad tempered by-election and Brian Deane

by John Plummer

| 13 Apr, 2024
Comment

0

sf098-editors-pick-of-the-week-1

Some stories seem to go on forever, achieving little beyond years of work for consultants and council officers.

Take the Harrogate Convention Centre refurbishment. A response to a Stray Ferret freedom of information request asking how much has been spent on consultants discovered the sum was £1.9 million since 2016.

The vast majority went on a firm whose plans were recently scrapped. The solution? Hire new consultants to come up with a fresh vision!

An in-depth article by my colleague John Grainger this weekend looks at the refurbishment options. Convention centre director Paula Lorimer, who was named in the annual Taxpayers' Alliance Town Hall Rich List this year for her £121,828 salary, declined to speak to us for the article.

It's been a big political week with the Liberal Democrats winning the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election. The ill-feeling between local Lib Dems and Conservatives was palpable at Thursday night's count. On the previous night, the Stray Ferret chaired a mayoral hustings event in York.

Brew York announced it was coming to Knaresborough but my personal highlight this week was news of a Beatles exhibition coming to Harrogate. Not so much because it's the Fab Four but because sharp elbowed former footballer Brian Deane, who often pops up in Harrogate, retweeted our post on X about it.






Read more:



  • Troops rallied in fight to save Ripon's priceless military heritage

  • Brew York buys The Mitre pub at Knaresborough

  • Harrogate business owner through to The Apprentice final