Daily covid cases hit another high in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district has recorded another record high for daily covid cases, according to latest government figures.

Public Health England statistics today show 177 cases have been reported.

The figure surpasses the previous record high for daily infections, which stood at 172 on January 4.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 546 per 100,000 people.

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The North Yorkshire average is 429 and the England rate stands at 333.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

Elsewhere, 128,300 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,726 have had a second dose.

Covid infections in school children rise by two-thirds

Covid cases among school-age children in North Yorkshire have risen by two-thirds since the return of classes, new figures show.

Official figures from Public Health England show infections among all five to 19-year-olds in the county rose by two-thirds – or 66% – between the start of the school term on September 6 and the end of the month.

It comes after Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, last week said infections across all age groups in the county were being “driven” by school-age children.

Under new rules at schools and unlike previous terms, neither close contacts of confirmed cases nor bubble groups have to go home and isolate – only those pupils who test positive.

Other measures remain in place including twice-weekly testing, stepped-up cleaning regimes and ventilation in classrooms.

Nonetheless, there are still concerns over further disruptions to education as the virus continues to spread at high rates and during such early stages of the school term.

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This has prompted health officials at North Yorkshire County Council to offer reassurances that action is being taken and extra support remains on standby.

A council spokesperson said: 

“Our outbreak management hub is on hand to provide support and advice to schools and other organisations in the event of an outbreak.

“In some circumstances, previous measures used can be brought back for a temporary period if reducing mixing between groups is seen as necessary to prevent the spread of covid.

“Schools have outbreak management plans in place to manage any outbreaks and their covid risk assessments.

“The plans are continually being reviewed and updated.”

Will school restrictions come back?

The measures which could be brought back in the event of an outbreak include stopping the mixing of pupils at break time and the use of face masks, the council said.

These measures were in place during the previous summer term, but were lifted by the government as the school year ended.

Meanwhile, school children aged 12 to 15 are now being urged to take up their offer of a single Pfizer vaccine dose. Parental permission is required for these jabs, unlike those for teenagers aged 16 and 17, who were offered vaccines from August.

Speaking last week, Ms Wallace said she was hopeful that the recent rise in infections would ease in the coming weeks.

She said: 

“We are seeing an increase in the daily rate across North Yorkshire and we are slightly above the England average, which is quite unusual as we usually track it or are slightly below.

“But I am hopeful that this will start to settle and fall back in line as the next few weeks go by.”

Latest figures yesterday showed North Yorkshire’s weekly infection rate per 100,000 people currently stands at 434 – still above the England average of 331.

A breakdown of the numbers shows the Harrogate district has the highest infection rate in the county at 530.

This is followed by 468 in Scarborough, 448 in Hambleton, 425 in Selby, 392 in Craven, 281 in Richmondshire and 271 in Ryedale.

Harrogate district school to close due to low pupil numbers

A Harrogate district primary school is set to close after too few children are attending the school.

Baldersby St James Church of England Primary School has announced it will close in August 2022.

It will be the second school in the district this year to announce its closure for similar reasons. Kell Bank Primary School, Masham, shut in August 2021 after it had only six children.

Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, which runs Baldersby school, announced it decision after it said low pupil numbers “show no prospect of improving for many years ahead”.

The trust said the school currently has 22 pupils in two classes, one for key stage one and the other for key stage two. Some year groups have just one student.

Baldersby St James has a maximum capacity of 60 children.

Helen Winn, chief executive of the academy trust, said:

“This has not been an easy decision, but after a great deal of consideration, we came to the conclusion that this is the best resolution for the children concerned and their education.

“As part of the process, we have carefully looked at potential options, including speaking to other local multi-academy trusts, looking at the possibility of sharing the delivery of the curriculum with schools within and outside Hope Sentamu, and changing the nature of provision at the school but ultimately none of the options were practically viable.”

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She added that the low numbers has “proved impossible to deliver the broad, balanced curriculum that the children deserve”.

Meanwhile, senior councillors at North Yorkshire County Council look set to offer no objection to the decision.

The county council, which is the local education authority, has been consulted on the closure.

In a report due before the council’s executive next week, authority officials will propose new catchment areas to be consulted on.

Carlton Miniott Primary Academy, Dishforth Church of England Primary School and Topcliffe Church of England Academy would take up the catchment areas left by the school closure.

The academy trust is now holding a “listening period” with the county council, pupils, parents and staff to give their views on the process until October 22.

New Harrogate TGI Fridays venue to open in November

A TGI Fridays cocktail bar in Harrogate is set to open in November, according to the company’s chief executive.

The new bar and restaurant, called 63rd+1st, will be based in the former Ask Italian restaurant on Albert Street.

The American restaurant chain has already been granted a late night alcohol licence and advertising consent by Harrogate Borough Council for the venue.

Now Robert Cook, chief executive of TGI Fridays and 63rd+1st, has confirmed that the bar is set to open next month.

In a trading update for Hostmore, which is the parent company of both chains, he said:

“We are delighted with the continued strong performance of our two brands, Fridays and 63rd+1st.

“Fridays continues to outperform the market and we are opening our next two 63rd+1st sites – in Glasgow later in September and Harrogate in November – following a successful launch in Cobham earlier this year in May.”

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The Stray Ferret asked TGI Fridays if there was a specific date for opening, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

The company launched the new cocktail-led bar and restaurant venture last year. It is named after the location of the original restaurant in Manhattan.

The company has promised it will be a “vibrant meeting place” and that it will have the feel of a New York loft in the 1960s.

When the new brand was announced last year, Mr Cook said in a statement that “audiences are becoming increasingly discerning and their attitudes towards food and drink are evolving”. 

Harrogate district reports 138 covid infections as rate falls

The Harrogate district has reported another 138 daily covid infections, according to Public Health England figures.

The district’s seven-day average currently stands at 530 cases per 100,000 people. The rate has fallen since reaching a record high of 580 at the start of October.

Meanwhile, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 434 and the England average is 332.

However, hospitalisations remain much lower than previous waves with 10 covid-positive patients receiving treatment in Harrogate District Hospital.

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

Elsewhere, 128,277 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,643 have had a second dose.

Fears for thousands of Harrogate district jobs as furlough ends

There are fears for the jobs of around 3,600 workers in the Harrogate district in the wake of last week’s ending of furlough.

The government scheme introduced at the start of the covid outbreak has protected millions of jobs during the pandemic, with Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones saying it “got our country through the darkest days of the lockdown”.

But Liberal Democrat councillors in the district have warned that businesses and employees could now be hit by a “tidal wave of job losses” unless more support is made available.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition group on Harrogate Borough Council, said the Liberal Democrats both locally and nationally were demanding the scheme be extended for businesses hit hardest by the pandemic.

She said: 

“The withdrawal of furlough risks having a devastating impact on at least 3,600 people in the Harrogate area who are already facing a winter of soaring energy bills and cuts to benefits.

“Supporting them and their families is both the right and responsible thing to do.

“Although many may find work in recovering sectors such as hospitality and travel, there is also likely to be a rise in unemployment due to new redundancies as businesses fail without the support of furlough.”

Some workers who relied on furlough are also now facing the added worry of the end of the £20-a-week boost to Universal Credit.

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This temporary increase to payments, which was introduced in response to the pandemic, ends tomorrow.

Citizens Advice has described this as a “disastrous decision” by the government and warned around 1.5 million claimants across the UK could be pushed into hardship this winter.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of the charity, said: 

“Shop workers, nursery assistants and security guards are just some of the people on Universal Credit seeking our help because they’re already struggling to make ends meet.”

Supported 28,600 jobs in Harrogate district

The furlough scheme supported around 28,600 jobs in the Harrogate district for 18 months.

It saw the government pay around £70 billion towards the wages of employees across the UK who could not work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500.

At first it paid 80% of their usual wage, but in August and September it paid 60%, with employers paying 20%.

Since its end, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged more than £500 million in fresh funding to help people back into work and support sectors which are facing recruitment crises.

Funding for the new packages will not be set out until later this month and it comes at a time when Mr Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are facing pressure to ease the historically high tax burden.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Mr Jones said while now was the right time for furlough to end, the extra funding showed the government was willing to continue its support for jobs during the covid recovery.

He added: 

“The furlough scheme is estimated to have cost £70bn and this will need repaying. But the human and financial cost of letting industries, businesses and jobs go to the wall during lockdown would have been catastrophic.

“It is going to be a bumpy road ahead even so but without the actions that were taken it is difficult to imagine what the situation would have been.”

Harrogate animal testing company bids to expand

Economy leaders at Harrogate Borough Council have backed plans for an expansion of a controversial animal testing company in the town.

Labcorp Drug Development, which was previously called Covance and is based on Otley Road, has lodged plans to refurbish and expand its site after purchasing six vacant buildings.

The company bought the former Nidec SR Drives offices, known as East Park House, in December 2020 for £2.45 million, according to HM Land Registry documents.

Under plans submitted to the council, the firm would refurbish and extend the former Nidec offices.

A new entrance would be created, and the ground and first floors would be reconfigured. A one-way system to access the car park would also be built to reduce “traffic complications” on nearby Otley Road.

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Labcorp also intends to refurbish five other buildings on the site to create office space, create extensions for “new plant requirements” and create further car parking and cycle space.

In planning documents submitted to the council, the company said:

“The design, configuration, and palette of materials for the proposal have been well thought out and are of high quality. The refurbishment works to the property will greatly improve the appearance of the building, but more importantly also ensure the continued life of the building by occupying a currently unused unit.

“Carrying out the proposed work creates a usable building for the new required use and will ensure that the building is occupied and maintained and does not fall into disrepair, which would result in a negative impact on the surrounding area.”

The proposed visual of East Park House, as submitted by Labcorp.

How East Park House would look.

In response to a council consultation, Rebecca Micallef, the authority’s economic and transport officer, said the council’s economic development team was “fully supportive” of the proposal.

She said:

“This proposal will enable expansion of the business within its current location and promote the adaptation, refurbishment and reuse of a currently vacant commercial property. The proposed capital investment from a foreign company is particularly welcomed during this time of economic uncertainty caused by covid and Brexit.

“The proposed expansion and development will support Labcorp’s future within the Harrogate district and secure additional high level, high paid skilled jobs, directly supporting the aims of our economic growth strategy.”

Harrogate Borough Council planning officers will decide whether to accept the plan at a later date.

Last month, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, requested a meeting with George Freeman, science minister, to discuss Labcorp’s proposed UK expansion over the next five years.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Jones told Mr Freeman that the company was “one of the largest employers in my constituency”.

The request was later criticised by animal rights charity PETA, which urged Mr Jones to “wake up to the advent of progressive, non-animal research”.

Plans approved to convert Harrogate bookmakers into chicken restaurant

Plans have been approved to convert a former Coral bookmakers in Harrogate into a piri-piri chicken restaurant and takeaway.

Harrogate Borough Council has given the go-ahead to the plan, which was submitted by Foodie Zone Ltd, to convert the betting shop on Knaresborough Road.

Planning documents submitted to the authority indicate that the restaurant would open as part of the franchise Pepe’s Piri Piri, which has 132 restaurants in the country including in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

The restaurant specialises in frame-grilled chicken. According to the proposal, 15 full time jobs will be created as part of the proposal.

Documents say the restaurant would provide family-friendly ‘healthy grilled food’. They add:

“The proposed restaurant will provide a family-friendly dining experience with family seating areas, providing healthy grilled food, as part of the new healthy style of living, something which is limited in the area and would be very successful.”

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Harrogate hospital records another covid death

Harrogate District Hospital has reported another covid death, according to latest NHS England figures.

It takes the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 to 189.

According to NHS figures, the death was reported on September 30.

The number of patients in Harrogate hospital being treated for covid stands at 10.

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported 130 daily covid cases according to today’s Public Health England figures.

The district’s seven-day covid rate has also fallen to 549 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 445 and the England rate stands at 333.

Speaking last week, Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the rise in infections across the county was being “driven by school-age children”.

She said:

“From what we can in the terms of the age bandings from the most recent cases, they do seem to be coming from school children and young people.”

Elsewhere, 128,252 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,590 have had a second dose.

Unison in Harrogate to ballot on strike action after rejecting pay offer

Unison at Harrogate Borough Council is to ballot members on industrial action after rejecting a “derisory” pay offer.

Members of the union voted to refuse a proposed increase of 1.75% last month. The offer followed a national consultation from the Local Government Association over a pay increase.

Of a turnout of 62% of its members, 74% voted to refuse the pay offer. Union bosses described the proposal as inadequate and “derisory” and recommended that members turn it down.

Now, Unison has said it will formally ballot its members on industrial action.

Dave Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate local government branch, said:

“This overwhelming majority makes clear the strength of feeling among local government workers about their pay, here in Harrogate but nationwide too.

“Council and school workers have been the unsung heroes of the covid-19 pandemic, working tirelessly and often at risk to their own safety to serve their communities.

“Meanwhile, since 2010 the value of their pay has fallen by 25%. The 1.75% pay offer is completely inadequate and Unison members have made their feelings about it clear.”

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Union officials said they intend to send out ballot papers in November or early December.

They added that any industrial action would be taken in the New Year, although this would be dependent on the outcome of the ballot.

The move to ballot on industrial action follows 79% of Unison members across England and Wales voting to reject the pay offer.