Highways boss: No ‘exact date’ for completion of Otley Road cycle path

The transport boss for Harrogate has said there is still no completion date for the Otley Road cycle path, despite construction finally starting after nearly three years of delays.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said he was unable to give any “exact dates” for the completion of the project, which started last month with work on a first phase between Harlow Moor Road and Arthur’s Avenue.

This phase will be completed in late November but covers only a small section of the entire route, which is designed to connect the town centre with Cardale Park.

Cllr Mackenzie said the uncertainties over the end date were due to negotiations with the government and the Duchy of Lancaster – the landowners of the Stray – over the use of grass verges protected by law.

There are also ongoing talks with housebuilders that have promised to contribute cash – and the outcomes will depend on the publication of the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, a major planning document that has also been long delayed.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Mackenzie said: 

“The bylaws required to complete phase one and two have been submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation, who has agreed the new bylaws in principle.

“Phase three – from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park – relies on developer funding from the west of Harrogate urban extension. Plans are currently being worked on which will then lead to more detailed planning, including a feasibility study.

“Since the timescale for the construction of the western end of the cycle path between Harlow Moor Road and Cardale Park depends on developer funding and further work on the parameters plan for the west of Harrogate, we cannot yet provide exact dates.”

Read more:

Frustration among cyclists

The cycle path is part of a package of sustainable transport measures for the west of Harrogate, which were first announced in 2018 and will cost £4.6m once completed.

But three years on – and after the delays caused by consultations and utility works – campaigners who have supported the project have now expressed frustration at still not knowing any kind of target completion date.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said it was “great news” that the works were finally underway, but added he was “disappointed” that the public could not be told when they will be finished.

He said: 

“The worry is that only a small part of the project will be completed and people will look at it and think it is not doing the job we wanted.

“The idea was that the cycle path will link Cardale Park with the town centre.

“That is the council’s ambition, but it needs to be done in one go to make it effective and so people can use it, rather than it looking like it is not going to be of any benefit.

“I am pleased it has started and hopefully it is going to run smoothly, but not being able to say when it is all going to be finished is disappointing.

“There is going to be a huge number of houses on Otley Road and having a complete cycle lane when these new residents move in would be a big plus.

“Whereas now, it may be that the cycle lane comes sometime later.”

Man jailed for murder of 22-year-old Harrogate woman

A man has been jailed for the murder of Harrogate woman Anna Reed.

Ms Reed, 22, a former Ashville College student, was found strangled in her bed in a hotel in Switzerland in 2019.

Marc Shatzle, 32, was jailed for 18 years at a court in Lugano.

Schatzle, a German traveller, denied murdering Ms Reed.

Judge Mauro Ermani rejected Schätzle’s claim that Reed died during a sex game that went wrong, The Times reported.

It is believed Mr Schatzle met Ms Reed when she was travelling around the world as a 21st birthday present from her father, Clive, a Harrogate racehorse breeder.

Read more:

 

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show to remain four-day event

The Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate is to remain a four-day event next year.

Event organisers Yorkshire Agricultural Society confirmed today next year’s show will be held from July 12 to July 15.

The event was first held over four days for the first time ever this year in order to comply with covid regulations.

It meant a significantly reduced capacity each day but the format proved popular with tickets selling out. Prince Charles paid a surprise visit in glorious sunshine.

Next year’s show will follow the same measures, including limits on attendance and tickets being purchased in advance.

Read more:

The daily programme of events will be finalised early next year.

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the society said: 

“The pandemic forced us to change the way we did things at the show and there was not one section of the Great Yorkshire Show that was unchanged. This pressed a reset button on our whole operations and some of these changes were so successful, they are here to stay.

“Spreading the event over four days was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from our exhibitors, visitors and staff. Visitors felt that more space to navigate the showground made their whole show experience more enjoyable, while for exhibitors, four days and shorter hours meant they felt less pressurised.”

Tickets will be on sale from November 1.

County council claimed £3.9m in furlough during pandemic

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed it claimed £3.9million of government cash to furlough staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The authority – which is the largest employer in the county – said a total of 1,288 jobs were supported by the scheme, which came to an end last Thursday after 18 months.

According to government guidance, public sector organisations were not expected to furlough their workforce and staff whose work was no longer possible had to be considered for redeployment.

However, where councils had arms-length organisations which rely on income and not public money, then furloughing staff was allowed.

A county council spokesperson said: 

“The county council has claimed furlough payments for staff within its traded services

“Traded services staff are those who work within commercial companies created by the county council, sometimes with partners.

“The furloughed posts would normally be funded by income to these companies, but this stopped, or was greatly reduced during the pandemic.

“These traded services areas include such things as elements of waste management, building design consultancy, commercial property development, and high-speed broadband provision.”

Read more:

Furlough payments were claimed for school catering staff during lockdown closures, as well as staff in the county council’s outdoor learning service which it said could not operate due to covid restrictions.

The spokesperson added: 

“We furloughed 1,288 posts since its introduction, affecting 1,132 individual employees. This figure includes many who rolled on and off furlough and others furloughed only for a short time.

“This has to be seen in the context of a package of government support to deal with the financial impacts of covid across the council.

“It has, therefore, helped in the council’s response to support business, communities, residents and staff.”

No furlough claims by Harrogate Borough Council

Meanwhile, Harrogate Borough Council did not claim any money from the furlough scheme.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the authority, this week made calls for the scheme to be extended in order to avoid what she fears will be a “tidal wave of job losses” at businesses.

She said: 

“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.”

The furlough scheme saw the government pay towards the wages of employees 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%.

In total, the scheme cost around £70billion – and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said now was the right time for it to end.

He said: 

“The furlough scheme is estimated to have cost £70 billion 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.”

‘Public needs to know’ Ripon pool opening date, says councillor

A Ripon councillor has called for greater clarity over the opening date of the city’s delayed new swimming pool.

Cllr Pauline McHardy said “the public need to know” when the centre will be opened after she sought clarification from senior councillors this week.

The project, which the Stray Ferret revealed last week is more than £3 million over budget, was due to open in November.

But, Harrogate Borough Council said in an update last month that it would now be opened “before the end of the year”.

At a meeting of the council, Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for leisure, told councillors that there were “lots of unknowns” with the project..

Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for leisure at Harrogate Borough Council.

Cllr Stan Lumley, cabinet member for leisure at Harrogate Borough Council.

When asked by Cllr McHardy if the centre would open in November, he said:

“I would very much hope it will be open in November, but there are lots of unknowns.

“Until we occupy the new space and we have staff using the new facility, there will clearly be, as with any building project, there is likely to be teething troubles that need to be ironed out and a snag list to be addressed.

“I very much hope it will be November, but certainly by the end of the year.”

Read more:

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Cllr McHardy said she felt the answer was not sufficient.

She said:

“I would have preferred him to say ‘no’. The public need to know [about the opening].

“I do understand that when it has been commissioned there are sometimes teething problems.

“But surely that is built into their estimations?”

Construction of the facility is being carried out by Willmott Dixon, which was granted a £10.2 million contract by the council. Work started on the scheme in November 2019.

The 17-month contact was for delivery of a six-lane pool, along with refurbishment of the existing Ripon Leisure Centre.

169 covid cases recorded in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district has reported another 169 daily covid infections, according to Public Health England figures.

The district’s seven-day average currently stands at 575 cases per 100,000 people. The rate has increased slightly since dropping earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 437 and the England average is 337.

Read more:

Hospitalisations have increased at Harrogate District Hospital, with 13 covid-positive patients receiving treatment – a rise of three on last week.

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

Elsewhere, 129,353 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,845 have had a second dose.

Three arrested following burglary on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate

Police have arrested two men and a teenager following a burglary in Harrogate.

Keys, money and a handbag were stolen from a house on Cold Bath Road in the early hours of October 3.

Officers were called to a street in Leeds as part of their enquiries and a 19-year-old man from Harrogate and a 20-year-old man from Leeds were arrested.

Police also arrested a 15-year-old boy from Harrogate. All were released on bail pending further investigations.

Read more:

The force called on the support of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service after one suspect fled onto the roof of a property.

North Yorkshire Police said investigations into the burglary were ongoing.

A police statement added:

“Anyone with information on the burglary should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1 and quote reference 12210214088.”

Final backing for 367 homes on Penny Pot Lane

Harrogate council bosses have given final backing for 367 homes on Penny Pot Lane.

The development comes as part of a wider 600-home scheme, which was given outline approval back in 2015.

Developer Persimmon Homes is behind the proposal, which has already seen some of the homes on the southern side of the site built.

Now, council officers have given final approval for the second part of the scheme which covers the northern part of the development.

It will see 367 homes built, along with a link road for buses, cyclists and pedestrians to the Jennyfield estate. The site layout also includes allotments, public open areas and space for a primary school.

Read more

The proposal will see 17 one bedroom homes, 119 two bedroom, 105 three bedroom, 91 four bedroom and 35 five bedroom properties.

Persimmon said in its planning documents that the development would be “sustainable”.

It said:

“It aims to provide a sustainable community with a mix of housing types situated within a highly landscaped setting supported by social infrastructure provision.”

New homes under construction in Harrogate

New homes under construction and some occupied on the southern half of the site off Penny Pot Lane.

Meanwhile, Persimmon Homes recently reiterated its commitment to building homes on Kingsley Drive in Harrogate.

The developer saw a 217-home plan for the development rejected by Harrogate Borough Council back in August.

However, Persimmon told the Stray Ferret that it was still “fully committed” to the site and was still “considering its options”.

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.

Read more:

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.

Read more:

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.