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19 Apr

Blog - Community

Community Champion Brightens up the Neighbourhood

We were totally delighted by the response we had from the launch of our Community Champion Scheme, set to recognise those in our neighbourhoods who go the extra mile, and it's fantastic that this month's is a nomination from a community member.Guiseley resident of 38 years, Chris Parapia, has been nominated by Nicola Denson.After Chris' retirement in 2010 after over 37 years as a social worker, sitting back and relaxing was not an option! It was after taking up regular local walks that she was shocked to witness the state of Parkinson's Park, a place of relaxation and beauty on the Chevin, which was full of rubbish with grass near to waist height. Not one to hang around, she hit the shops later that day and they had a sign saying they had an environmental grant available. The availability of the grant ended that day and, amazingly, having filled in the forms, she received £50! Spurred on by this she got together a group of 19 people and began clearing the park.Fast forward and now Chris is the Chairlady of 'The Friends of Parkinson's Park' which has recently become the first local Community Interest Company. Since she has been involved, the group has planted a community orchard, wildflower areas, erected benches, organised a children’s gala and really want the wider community-schools and local groups to use the park.Sadly, there has recently been a spate of anti-social behaviour at the park so a 'ParkWatch' initiative has been launched to encourage local residents to keep an eye out for any acts of vandalism and improper use of the park and report them and also to encourage more people to get involved in projects to improve the space.A definite outdoorsy person, Chris is happiest when she is out in the fresh air gardening and is a huge fan of the local area and loves it for the brilliant amenities- rail, schools, shops, surrounding countryside and the lovely people she has met.Chris has always been a busy lady and is also the proud Chair of the 'Aireborough Supported Activities Scheme' which organises short breaks for children with disabilities with their parents.On being told the news of her nomination Chris said "Helping people has always been the biggest part of my career and now it is my passion".Lisa was absolutely thrilled to honour her - "Chris is certainly a lady of action - she has been fundamental in ensuring the local beauty spot of Parkinson's Park is restored for all the community to enjoy for a long time to come- Well done Chris, this award is richly deserved!"Know a local hero? Get in touch with us to nominate them for our next community champion - we love hearing your stories.If you want to help protect Parkinson's Park or would like any further information then visit parkinsonspark.co.uk, visit their facebook page or email parkinsonspark@gmail.com

10 Mar

Awards - Blog

We’re National Industry Awards Hopefuls!

We are beyond delighted to be nominated in the ESTAS (the biggest award scheme in the Industry!) for our commitment to offering unrivalled customer service to our clients. We're crossing fingers and toes that we can show the big boys how it's done....This year saw record entries making the competition the toughest yet and one of the biggest surveys in the UK property industry with 34,000 customers completing one of the online ESTAS surveys.Simon Brown, founder of The ESTAS says “Our job is to highlight agents who are providing exceptional levels of customer care through the moving process. At The ESTAS we believe the only way to judge the performance of an agent is to ask the clients who have experienced thewhole service through to completion”Being up against the big guys isn't always easy which is why this nomination means so much. Customer service is our life blood. We’re absolutely delighted to have made it on to this year’s shortlist and are really proud to be flying the flag for small independents. We have great relationships with our clients and this proves our service levels really are appreciated. Roll on 12th May when we will head to the Award ceremony in London and find out if we were successful at clinching the title.Here's a bit about us in the press - https://bdaily.co.uk/entrepreneurship/07-03-2017/local-family-business-shortlisted-in-national-industry-awards

21 Feb

Blog

Valentines Competition – Sharing the love

It was fabulous hearing about your reasons for loving your home in our recent Valentines Competition You certainly tugged on our heartstrings with some of your comments, here's a pick of the many we received on our Facebook page & Twitter."I bought my Home through Ribston Pippin. I love my home because I could not ask for a better community, where villages and businesses come together, there is everything you need, doctors, school, train station, library, chemist, post office, local store, park, pubs and Deli. No need to leave. I was able to put my stamp on my home but retain its old charm. It's the home my children will remember growing up in"Jilly Geering"Simple! - I love my home because it's in Menston! Have lived in the village for 15 years now and just cannot imagine living anywhere else. The people and having views like this on my doorstep make it special for me. I still have to pinch myself at how beautiful an area we live in every time I walk down Bleach Mill. It's all about Location, Location, Location!"Janice Chruscht"You found us the perfect downsizer, snug, cosy, modern, great patio garden, easy & cheap to run, smashing neighbours and a huge garden for the dog just across the road (High Royds !). Perfect !"Philip BlandThank you for all your entries, it was tough to pick a winner but it had to be Sarah Lawson who chose the name of her home as the BEST thing about it - as it was the same name as her grandparents' house - a true family forever home!Sarah won a relaxing Full Body Massage from Aspire To Be

14 Jan

Blog

Community Champions Honoured

Unbelievably a whole 4 years have whizzed past since we joined the Menston community and to mark the occasion we wanted to support the lovely folks who have supported us on our journey so far - enter our Community Champion initiative.Our 'Community Champion' initiative will be honouring a local hero every month throughout 2017 to thank those who go the extra mile in our local neighbourhood. This month we are honouring Beth Street, a Menston resident for the past 12 years, who has become a truly valued member of the village.Beth integrated herself into the Yorkshire community as soon as she moved here and she is still making a huge impact today, recently leading the fundraising activity to open a new defibrillator at Menston Station, through completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks and a 10K run.Her work in Menston started when her children went to Brownies, Beavers and Rainbows where she helped every week for few years. It was through this work that enabled her to organise the Eggs2ipads project in the village - an initiative in which older members of the Menston community get together with a team of teenagers to learn about accessing internet and other apps on tablets like the iPad and Kindle Fire. Beth also volunteered in Abbeyfield Residential Home for four years.Beth said of living in the village: “Thank goodness we found it. Menston is a beautiful village and I find people very warm, friendly, helpful and generous. Of course, there's also the beautiful scenery around the village and we love our walk around the farm and through Ilkley Moor or the Chevin Forest. And, it is this environment that started me walking then running. Being a part of all this also led to me wanting to fundraise through various charities or projects in the community.”She added: “I like to help others however small I can and I was shocked to be heralded a community champion as I don’t really think anything of it, but very much appreciate the gesture! I do hope that more projects will be happening in the village especially for our youths in the near future and hopefully able to help Steve Ellams and Menston Community Association in some way. It’s a fantastic place to live and I’m honoured to be a part of it”.On top of all the local work she’s involved in, Beth also has her own charity, www.AngelsForChildren.org.uk for underprivileged children in the Philippines where her fundraising has seen the development of 3 classrooms for the victims of typhoon Haiyan children and supported orphans & disabled children there.Lisa Greer from Ribston Pippin said: “So now, you see why we thought the lovely Beth was worth a shout out! We just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU Beth from all of us in your local community, for everything you do. Achieving the defibrillator unit was such a boost and great success for all of us, as

12 Dec

Blog

Getting Snap Happy around the Region

We’re currently on a mission to share the best local photography that shows off our great region. Not only do we have the best scenery on our doorstep we are also lucky enough to have some fab local photographers to capture it. Here's a snippet from the very talented Steve Davey of www.wharfephotos.co.uk and Girl About Yorkshire Lyndsey Thomas We would love you to share on our social media why Wharfedale is a fantastic place to live with some images that really capture its beauty - be it out in the great outdoors or just around the local neighbourhood. Don't forget to tag anyone you know who's got some great snaps to help us discover and share them :)Find us on Instagram and twitter and facebook