Royal Hall roof set for repairs following ‘ongoing’ leaks

The Royal Hall in Harrogate is set to undergo roof repairs and refurbishment after an “ongoing issue” with leaks.

Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at Harrogate Borough Council, approved awarding a contract for the repairs earlier this week.

It will see the roof repaired and refurbishment carried out to ensure the “premises are wind and watertight and legislative compliant”.

The move follows a condition survey carried out by the council in February last year.

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It also investigated an ongoing issue of “water ingress emanating from the main central copper dome on the roof”.

A report before Cllr Swift said:

“In line with good asset management, a detailed condition survey of the Royal Hall was completed between January and February 2020 to provide an updated building condition report, with costings, over a 10-year cycle.

“It was also to investigate an ongoing issue of water ingress emanating from the main central copper dome on the roof, into the lower lantern and then finding its way down to the auditorium floor below.”

The report said the works will see “undertaking timber repairs and forming ‘out shoots’ for rainwater drainage” and maintenance work for areas of slipped and damaged slates.

It added that six contractors expressed interest in the contract, which closed for tendering on March 26.

However, just two contractors bid for the contract by the time the process closed.

While the council approved the awarding of the contract, the report did not include who the bidders were, how much it would cost or whether or not the Royal Hall would be closed during the works.

The Stray Ferret approached the council for a response to those questions, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The grade-II listed building underwent a major £8 million restoration project back in 2005.

Following the restoration, the Royal Hall was reopened by the Prince of Wales in January 2008 when it was completed.

Five further covid cases in Harrogate district

Five further covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district.

According to latest Public Health England figures, it takes the total number of cases since last March to 7,751.

The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results.

However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

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No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

According to NHS England figures, the last death from a patient who tested positive for covid was recorded on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital since last March remains at 179.

Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 13 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 12 and the England rate is 25.

Harrogate council writes off £632,000 in unpaid council tax and rates

Harrogate Borough Council has written off more than £632,000 in unpaid council tax and business rates bills which stretch back almost a decade.

The debts – some of which stretch back to 1993 – were owed for a variety of reasons including taxpayers being untraceable, dead or in prison, and businesses going bust.

Matthew Waite-Wright, revenues and income manager at the council, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday all attempts to recover the cash had been exhausted and that the amount written off was “minute” in comparison to the £237 million total collections this year.

He said:

“These write-offs are for last year’s debts but also for preceding debts going to back to 1993. Each individual debt has been investigated fully and considered by at least two officers before the decision to write off has been made.

“We would stress that the figure of £632,000, whilst of course is a large number, is minute in comparison to the actual billings at the moment.”

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Harrogate council is not only responsible for collecting its own council tax and business rates charges but also those for North Yorkshire County Council and police and fire services. All figures mentioned also include these public organisations.

A breakdown of the debts written off show almost £339,000 was unpaid council tax bills and around £285,000 was unpaid business rates.

The most common reasons for outstanding payments were old debts which were “unreasonable to chase” and business insolvency. Other reasons included incorrect bills being issued, debtors moving abroad and ill health.

Mr Waite-Wright said in a report that writing off debts is good accountancy practice and would not impact on the council’s spending plans.

He said:

“The council has adequate bad debt provision, and there is no impact on the 2020/21 revenue budget. Identification of bad debt and taking decisions on irrecoverable debt is considered good financial management to ensure the council is utilising its resources effectively.

“The amounts now recommended to be written off are a creditably small percentage of the annual collectable debit.

“The actual collection rate remains high at around 97% for council tax but has fallen to around 92% for non-domestic rates in 2020/21 due to covid.

“However, this has not yet affected the level of write offs but an increase is anticipated in future years.”

Earlier this week Harrogate Borough Council apologised for wrongly sending letters to residents threatening them with court action for not paying council tax after incorrectly billing them in May this year. 

Dominic Cummings’ claims ‘for the birds’, says Ripon MP

Ripon and Skipton MP Julian Smith has said the explosive claims by Dominic Cummings about government mistakes during covid should not be taken too seriously.

Speaking at a North Yorkshire County Council meeting today, Mr Smith said any notions that the former adviser to Boris Johnson was acting as an “objective observer” in his evidence to the government’s health and science committees yesterday was “for the birds”.

Mr Smith said:

“I did not get on particularly well with Mr Cummings in government – in my view, he is not an objective observer

“Having said that, obviously he makes an important point but I agree that this should be in the context of a whole range of other witnesses who have views.

“But the idea that he is objective about this is obviously for the birds.”

During a marathon seven-hour evidence session yesterday, Mr Cummings made a series of allegations about the government’s response to the pandemic and painted a picture of chaos and disarray within Number 10.

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He said thousands of people died needlessly as a result of government mistakes and that the Prime Minister was “unfit for the job”, claiming he had ignored scientific advice and wrongly delayed lockdowns.

He also claimed Matt Hancock should have been fired for lying – something denied by the health secretary.

Mr Cummings said:

“The truth is that senior ministers, senior officials, senior advisers like me fell disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect of its government in a crisis like this.

“I would like to say to all the families of those who died unnecessarily how sorry I am for the mistakes that were made and for my own mistakes at that.”

Mr Smith’s reaction to the revelations followed comments from West Skipton Independent county councillor Andy Salloway, who told today’s North Yorkshire County Council Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee that he believed any evidence about the government’s handling of the virus outbreak should only be heard once it is over.

Cllr Salloway said Mr Cumming’s allegations yesterday were a “complete distraction” from the pressures of the pandemic still at hand.

He said:

“We are still in a pandemic and surely the time to have a review of things is after the pandemic is done, not during it. It is a bit of an insult to all the people who have worked extremely hard to get us through this.”

Boris Johnson previously announced a full public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic is to be launched in spring 2022 when more officials will be called as witnesses to give evidence.

The inquiry will aim to answer key questions such as why did the pandemic happen, who is to blame and what can be done to prevent it happening again.

The exact aims and remit will be announced closer to the start of the inquiry next year.

Job fears as Harrogate council reviews staff at new tourism organisation

A trade union has expressed concern that jobs could be lost as part of a staff review at Harrogate Borough Council’s new tourism organisation.

The authority set up a destination management organisation in September to ‘further grow economic impact and support the district’s recovery plans following the covid pandemic’.

Gemma Rio was recruited as head of destination management to lead the new organisation, which combines Visit Harrogate, Harrogate Convention Centre’s marketing team and the district’s tourist information centres.

The council is now consulting on the new structure.

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The Stray Ferret was contacted by a source worried the process would lead to staff being made redundant if they didn’t accept new roles.

We understand 25 to 30 staff in areas such as tourism information and museums fall under the review.

A consultation on the review is expected to end tomorrow.

The Stray Ferret approached Unison Harrogate local government branch and asked whether it had responded to the review.

A spokesman for Unison said it had concerns that staff were “at risk of being made redundant” and that it had “identified a number of concerns regarding the proposals but that there are also some things we believe we can support”.

He added:

“The key thing for us is our members jobs and pay but also that the council has a service that is fit for purpose once the review is completed.”

A council spokesperson said the destination management organisation “will ensure the best possible visitor experience and make the district of Harrogate a must visit destination for leisure and business tourists alike”.

The spokesperson added:

“As part of the DMO being established, we will be ensuring we have the right roles across the organisation to help deliver these aims and provide best value for the taxpayer.

“These proposals are still being developed and will involve a consultation with staff.”

First covid vaccine tally in Harrogate district soars to 105,000

More than 105,000 first doses of a covid vaccine have now been given in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England.

A total of 105,518 first and 68,854 second vaccines have been administered in the district.

It means the take-up rate in the district stands at 74% for a first dose and 48% for a second dose.

in other covid news today, two more cases of the infection have been reported in the Harrogate district.

According to Public Health England, 7,746 cases have been recorded since the start of the pandemic.

The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results.

However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

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No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

According to NHS England figures, the last death from a patient who tested positive for covid was recorded on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital since last March remains at 179.

Plans submitted to build 28 homes in Bishop Monkton

Developers have submitted plans to build 28 homes in the village of Bishop Monkton, near Ripon.

Kebbell Development, which is based in Buckinghamshire, has lodged the proposal for land at Knaresborough Road in the village.

The plans submitted to Harrogate Borough Council would see two, three, four and five-bedroom homes built on the site.

In its plans, the developer said 40% of the homes proposed for the site would be allocated to affordable housing.

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It added that the homes would be in keeping with the local area and that the development will “positively contribute” to the community.

The site on Knaresborough Road in Bishop Monkton which has been proposed for housing.

The site on Knaresborough Road in Bishop Monkton which has been proposed for housing.

A decision on the proposal will be made by the council at a later date.

The development comes after Alfa Homes, a sister company of Wetherby-based developer Berkeley DeVeer, lodged plans for 98 homes in the village.

The 98 homes have been proposed for the western edge of the village on Knaresborough Road and Moor Road.

Harrogate Town make first signing of summer transfer window

Harrogate Town have announced midfielder Alex Pattison as the club’s first signing of the summer.

Pattison joins from Wycombe Wanderers, where he made 24 appearances in all competitions.

The 23-year-old spent two seasons at Wycombe, whose nickname is the Chairboys, where he helped the club achieve promotion to the Championship in 2019/20.

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Pattison, who was born in Darlington, started his career at Middlesbrough before joining York City in 2017/18.

He went on to make 29 appearances for Yeovil Town in League Two in 2018/19.

Pattison will wear the number 16 shirt for Town, which was previously worn by striker Jon Stead, who retired at the end of last season after a long and successful career.

‘They’re only trying to help us’: GPs face verbal abuse over delays for non-covid services

GP practices are facing a wave of abuse from patients frustrated with delays for non-covid health services stretched by the pandemic, an NHS boss has said.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told a briefing today that patients are being aggressive on an “increasingly frequent basis” as GPs struggle to cope with huge demand for routine services including appointments and prescriptions.

Ms Bloor has issued a plea for patience and politeness towards staff which she said are working under difficult circumstances as they not only try to deal with this demand but also spearhead the covid vaccination drive.

She told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum briefing:

“We are continuing to see significant system pressures across North Yorkshire and York in all of our health care settings but we are also now sadly hearing some feedback about abusive behaviour towards staff.

“A number of our GP surgeries have said their practice teams are being subject to verbal abuse on an increasingly frequent basis, particularly receptionists.

“The wider NHS and all of its staff are here to help you, so please do work with us and be kind. I don’t think anybody deserves to be abused at work particularly when in challenging situations they are only trying to help us.”

Over the past 14 months, while all GPs have been working throughout the pandemic, surgeries have reduced face-to-face appointments which have been replaced with telephone and online consultations.

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It has meant long telephone queues and online forms for patients seeking the medical help they need, however, surgeries have now begun restarting more services.

Earlier this month, the NHS published updated guidance which said patients should be able to request an in-person appointment with their doctor unless they have covid symptoms.

But in order to keep the pressure off staff, Ms Bloor said patients should still use online and telephone services where they can, including 111 for any urgent medical help and the NHS app for ordering prescriptions.

She said:

“Please do use the NHS wisely and that way we can best support everybody’s needs.”

Meanwhile, Ms Bloor also told today’s briefing that more than 482,000 people in North Yorkshire and York have now received their first covid vaccine dose, while 312,000 people have had their second.

There are, however, still more than 31,000 residents who belong in the top nine priority groups and have yet to come forward despite receiving their vaccine invites.

Ms Bloor said:

“We encourage everyone across North Yorkshire and York to take up the vaccination when they are invited and also make sure they do attend for the second dose when the time comes as we know that second dose does just make all the difference.

“We also know that over 31,000 people have not yet come forward and it is really important that we get as many people across all communities covered by the vaccination as possible.

“It is not just about stopping you getting the virus, it is about protecting families, loved ones and the wider community.”

No covid deaths at Harrogate hospital for six weeks

Harrogate District Hospital has gone six weeks without reporting a covid death.

According to NHS England figures, the last death from a patient who tested positive for covid was recorded on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital since last March remains at 179.

Meanwhile, a further three cases of covid have been reported in the Harrogate district.

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Latest Public Health England data shows that 7,740 cases have been recorded since the start of the pandemic.

The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results. However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 11 per 100,000 people.

In North Yorkshire, the average is 13 and the England rate is 22.