Editor's Pick of the Week: Revolting politicians, Killinghall spring water and Beckwithshaw's magic money tree roundabout

Dear Reader, this article, which is free to read, gives a flavour of the 100 or so stories we publish each week, all exclusively focused on local issues. To access the links, and other content, please subscribe here and support independent local journalism. It costs as little as 14p a day.

If you think the Labour Party leadership faces a rebellion, the North Yorkshire Conservative Party is equally revolting.

Long-term leader Carl Les faces a challenge from young pretender Keane Duncan over who will take the Tories into battle at the 2027 North Yorkshire Council elections.

The blue-on-blue turf war was due to be settled at the group’s AGM last month, only for the night to end in high farce when they couldn’t decide who was eligible to vote.

Cllr Les wants three independent councillors who belong to the controlling Conservative and Independents group to be included, while Cllr Duncan says party rules only allow Tory councillors to take part.

In classic British style, a working group was set up to consider the issues. But the ceasefire ended this week when a mystery passer-by to the Stray Ferret office dropped off a copy of a letter by the Conservative Councillors’ Association, which says only the 41 Tory councillors can vote. However, Cllr Les said he didn't comment on "leaks and speculation". The battle goes on.

There were more political shenanigans in Knaresborough this week when the Liberal Democrat town council passed a vote of no confidence in North Yorkshire Council, but not before the combative Independent Kathryn Davies accused her Lib Dem colleagues of overtaxing residents.

Maybe they all need to follow the example of Skipton and Ripon MP Sir Julian Smith and spend some time abroad. The latest Register of Members’ Financial Interests revealed this week that the Conservative MP received almost £7,000 for chairing an organisation based in Geneva.

There is, we suspect, political consensus that cyclist Beryl Burton is among the greatest local sports stars ever, and this week Harrogate Civic Society’s 99th heritage plaque was unveiled to commemorate her link with Harrogate. It’s incredible to think she rode 277 miles — about the distance from Harrogate to Brighton — in 12 hours in 1967. During the ceremony, Beryl’s daughter, Denise Burton-Cole, talked to us about the family’s Harrogate connection.

Did you know Harrogate Spring Water produces between 24,000 and 36,000 bottles of water per hour? It looks like more of that water will be abstracted from Killinghall after plans to create a new borehole in the village progressed this week.

At nearby Beckwithshaw, plans to extend the mini-roundabout at the junction with Otley Road were revealed. However, the £3.8 million cost raised eyebrows at a time of heightened austerity. The roundabout appears to have a magic money tree in the middle of it.

The Great Knaresborough Bed Race delivered again, serving up a joyous mixture of community spirit and ridiculous sporting contest. At the sharp end of the race, Knaresborough Striders finally toppled GH Brooks, who had won the last six men’s races.

Finally, there may be 188 days to Christmas, but Harrogate Theatre provided an early festive present this week with the news that the ageless Tim Stedman will once again be throwing himself around on stage at this year’s pantomime.

We know what’s coming with Tim, but somehow that only makes us all the more eager to see him do it.