The Harrogate district has had a further 79 cases of coronavirus confirmed, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 6,163.

The seven-day average rate of infection for the district stands at 325 people per 100,000.

The county-wide average is 303 and the national rate 467.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the area in the district with the most covid infections in the past seven-days, with 60 cases.

Read more:

• Number of lockdown fines increases in North Yorkshire
• Ripon to get its own coronavirus vaccination site

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today that 44 covid patients were currently being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

Hospitals across the county have 471 positive covid patients — an increase of 84 on last week.

The current figure is 169 more than the peak of the first lockdown.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England data.

The number of fines issued to people for flouting lockdown restrictions in North Yorkshire has increased this week.

North Yorkshire Police revealed today it handed out 134 fixed penalty notices during the second week of lockdown, compared with 107 during the first week.

But the number of fines specifically in the Harrogate district fell from 22 in the first week of lockdown to 12 in the second.

Of that number, eight were for being outside without reasonable excuse, one for an outdoor gathering and three for an indoor gathering.

A breakdown of the number of fines issued by North Yorkshire Police for lockdown breaches since January 12. Data: North Yorkshire Police.

Police issued 10 of the fines to visitors to the district; two were to local residents.

It comes as the force said it would be tougher enforcing lockdown restrictions and “no longer waste time” with covid rule breakers.

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• Lockdown fear needs to be restored, says senior police officer
• North Yorkshire Police pledge to get tougher on covid rule breakers

Chief inspector Charlotte Bloxham said today it was disappointing to see the rise in fines.

She said:

“Many people do understand the seriousness of the situation and are staying at home and saving lives and I’ll say thank you to those people who make daily sacrifices to protect the vulnerable among us.

“However there is a stubborn minority who do not believe the rules apply to them and do not understand the risk they pose to themselves and the wider community.

“That is why when we encounter these people we will take enforcement action against them.”

Last week Superintendent Mike Walker said that the fear of lockdown needed to be restored for people to comply with restrictions.

He said there was less compliance and fear among people under current restrictions compared with the first lockdown last year, which saw streets empty and more businesses close.

Ripon is to get its own coronavirus vaccination site, North Yorkshire health bosses revealed today.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said a site would be set up in the city.

However, a location has yet to be confirmed.

It comes days after councillors on Ripon City Council called for a vaccination site for the city and surrounding areas earlier.

They suggested Hugh Ripley Hall would be a suitable location.

Councillors said it was “unacceptable” for older people to have to travel to Harrogate or York, particularly as the government has pledged nobody should have to travel further than 10 miles for inoculations.

Ms Bloor told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of emergency agencies, the CCG would continue to look at whether further sites were needed in the county.

Hugh Ripley Hall, which Ripon councillors have offered for use as a covid vaccination centre.

She said:

“We are continuing to review whether further may be needed, particularly given the availability of a more mobile vaccine in the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“I am pleased to say that subject to final checks and NHS England approval, we do now have plans in place to open a site in Ripon in the next week or so.”

Read more:

• Urgent call for covid vaccination centre in Ripon
• York vaccination site to offer jabs to people within 45 minutes travel

Meanwhile, Ms Bloor said residents in the district may also be invited to a new national vaccination hub at Askham Bar in York.

She said:

“The way that the site is operating is that anybody within a 45 minute drive of the site who has not yet received a vaccination through their local site may receive a letter from the national team to book an appointment.”

However, she added patients could wait for a local invite if they received a letter from the York hub and could not attend.

The site opened on Monday and will operate seven days a week from 8am until 8pm.

Professor Mike Holmes, a GP in York, told a City of York Council Executive meeting last week that the new centre will offer up to 8,000 extra appointments in the first phase of the expansion of the site.

The centre became the latest vaccine site to open near Harrogate, with another due to be set up at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

All care home residents and staff in North Yorkshire will be given the coronavirus vaccine before the end of this week, health bosses said today.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said officials expected to meet the target of January 24 set out in the organisation’s vaccination programme.

It comes as the government set a target of February 15 to offer vaccines to all those in high priority groups.

Ms Bloor told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of emergency agencies:

“I am pleased to say that thanks to the tremendous effort from all of our colleagues delivering the vaccination programme, we are on course to deliver vaccination to all care home residents and staff by the end of this week.”

She added that the goal would be met “where it is clinically safe to do so” and provided there is “no disruption this week to the scheduled supplies that we have got and that we are expecting”.

Ms Bloor said officials were also making “good progress” towards vaccinating all healthcare workers by the end of the month as well as the February target set by the government for all priority groups.

Nationally, 4.1 million people have received the vaccine so far.

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Of that figure, 633,837 people in the North East and Yorkshire have had the first dose and 71,332 the second dose.

No data for the amount of people who have been vaccinated specifically in the Harrogate district is currently available.

At the moment, vaccinations are being offered to those in the highest priority groups. Those over 70 are expected to receive invites to have their vaccine this week.

Vaccinations in the Harrogate district are being administered at the Great Yorkshire Showground. However, a mass vaccination hub opened on Monday in York, which offers jabs to those within a 45 minute distance.

Health officials have urged people in the Harrogate district and across North Yorkshire to be patient as they roll out the vaccine.

A primary school near Masham looks set to close due to falling pupil numbers.

Kell Bank Church of England Primary School would permanently shut its doors this summer, under proposals by North Yorkshire County Council.

The authority carried out a consultation last year on closure and is set to make a final decision in March.

Despite being designed to accommodate 50 children, the amount of pupils at the school has fallen from a high of 39 in 2014/15 to just six this year. The number is not expected to increase significantly in future.

Council bosses believe the low number affects the “quality and breadth” of the school curriculum.

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They also fear the school’s Ofsted rating, which is currently ‘outstanding’, would be difficult to maintain due to the low number of pupils.

If closure goes ahead, the intake catchment of Masham Church of England Primary School would be extended to include the area.

A report due before the county council’s executive next week said closure would be in the best interests of pupils. It said:

“The responses to the consultation process have failed to identify a viable alternative option that would secure the school’s future. 

“Local authority officers have concluded that closure of the school would be in the best interests of the children at the school and the future education of pupils in the area. 

“There are places available at other local schools within a reasonable travel distance. It is therefore the view that there is a strong case for closure, which outweighs other considerations.”

Senior councillors will vote next week to publish statutory notices on the proposal for four weeks and invite representations from the public.

A final decision on closure is expected on March 23.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite has recorded more covid cases than anywhere else in the Harrogate district in the last seven days.

According to government figures, Killinghall and Hampsthwaite had 54 infections in the last week.

The next highest sub-district areas are Harrogate West and Pannal and Knaresborough Central, which both had 50 cases.

Across North Yorkshire as a whole, Catterick Garrison and Colburn reported the most infections with 99.

It comes as a further 72 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the Harrogate district today by Public Health England.

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• Minibus service takes elderly from Nidderdale to vaccination centre
• Urgent call for covid vaccination centre in Ripon

The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic is now 6,084.

The district’s seven-day rate of infection has increased slightly again to 322 people per 100,000. The county-wide average is 308, while the national rate stands at 478.

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

Designs for a new £42 million rail station on the Harrogate line that would connect with Leeds Bradford Airport have been published.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is behind the plans for the new station, which would be built between Horsforth station and Bramhope tunnel.

The station, which would be called Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway, would be a bus interchange for the airport. It would also include a 350-space park and ride service.

The project aims to provide better public transport connections from the airport to residential urban areas, such as Harrogate, Leeds and York, and take more cars off roads.

Designs for the interchange for Leeds Bradford Airport. Picture: West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

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West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which represents councils and businesses, has put the plans out to public consultation until February 21.

It then intends to submit a formal planning application.

Cllr Kim Groves, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority transport committee, said:

“The parkway station will help ease current congestion and tackle air quality issues by improving access by public transport and by encouraging fewer people to take to their cars to get to the airport and surrounding areas.

“Another important aim of the parkway station is to increase sustainable travel in and out of Leeds and other centres with the provision of the park and ride facilities, which encourage transfer to rail and reduce reliance on cars.

“This will be really beneficial to local residents who will be able to use this and be better connected to areas across West Yorkshire.”

You can fill in the combined authority’s survey here.

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 73 covid cases in the latest daily figures from Public Health England.

The seven-day average is now 317 people per 100,000, which is slightly up on yesterday but well down on the record high of 498 on January 7.

No further covid hospital deaths were announced today.

Meanwhile, NHS England figures show that more than 3.5 million people nationally have now received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The figure, which is data for up to yesterday, also revealed that 610,684 people have had the first dose in North East and Yorkshire.

There is currently no data available on how many people specifically in the district have been vaccinated.

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• Could you volunteer to drive people to vaccination appointments?
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It comes as the government has said those aged 70 and over will be invited to be vaccinated this week.

According to the latest census data, 26,278 people in the Harrogate district are aged between 65 and 84 – which is 16% of the local population.

A Harrogate charity is calling for more volunteers to come forward to drive patients to coronavirus vaccine appointments.

Harrogate and District Community Action has a small team of volunteers helping people who would otherwise struggle to get to their appointments.

The volunteers work with Harrogate Easier Living Project, which is part of HADCA, to offer the service.

Frances Elliot, chief executive at HADCA, said the team now needed more volunteers after huge interest in the programme.

She said:

“We urgently require more volunteer drivers to join our small team. Applicants would need to be in possession of a DBS check less than two years old.

“All volunteers are being trained in the new covid guidelines to ensure we can offer a safe and trusted service.”

It comes as the government’s covid vaccination programme is set to offer jabs to over 70s this week. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a target of February 15 to offer all those in the top four priority vulnerable groups the vaccine.

Vaccinations in the Harrogate district are being administered at the Great Yorkshire Showground. However, a mass vaccination hub has opened today in York, which offers jabs to those within a 45 minute distance.

Read more:

• Health bosses urge patience on covid vaccine
• Nidderdale minibus helps rural people get vaccines at showground

HADCA’s appeal for volunteers comes as the charity celebrates carrying out 5,000 tasks in the community to help people stay safe at home during the pandemic.

The HELP team has offered practical and emotional help to people since the coronavirus crisis began in March.

HELP team members celebrate the milestone of completing 5,000 tasks for those in need in the Harrogate community.

Nadine Bleasby, one of the volunteers, said it felt important to help her community, no matter how small the task. She said:

“It was the first time I’d done something like this, but I figured I could easily manage a couple of extra supermarket trips a week to help out people currently not able to do so and I think I’ve taken in all of Harrogate’s supermarkets over the last nine months. 

“I’ve met some lovely people, some on an ad-hoc basis, and others I’ve got to know a little better as I’ve shopped more regularly for them.

“It’s not really about the shopping though, it’s about human contact and taking the time for a conversation and seeing how people are coping. That has been the unexpected but heart-warming element, simply having a chat.”

To volunteer for HADCA’s driving force and other services, contact help@hadca.org.uk or call 01423 813096. 

North Yorkshire and York council leaders have kick-started negotiations over a £2.4 billion devolution deal with government after submitting proposals.

Authority bosses in the county have formally tabled a list of “asks” to government which outline billions of pounds worth of spending power in areas like transport, housing and skills.

The deal, should it be agreed, would also see a directly elected mayor for the county.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that council leaders agreed to submit the requests, but without support from Hambleton District Council.

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• Devolution: What would you do if you were mayor?
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Hambleton had previously refused to support the proposals until a government white paper on devolution was published. However, the paper has yet to be published by ministers.

But, Cllr Les said councils could not longer delay submitting the proposals.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council. Picture: North Yorkshire County Council.

He said:

“The leaders decided that they were going to submit without unanimous agreement.

“Every day we delay on the asks, we delay on the negotiations of the asks. It would have been better with an unanimous decision, but it was best we got a majority.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the government was considering the proposals and would respond “in due course”.

The “asks” document is intended to start negotiations with government over what the county wants from a devolution deal. It is separate from the proposals for local government reorganisation and how the new authority or authorities would be structured.

It comes as ministers made it a requirement for councils who want devolved powers to scrap the two tier system in their areas.

£2 billion in spending power

Following initial discussions with ministers in in early 2020, council bosses have written up a 140-page document which outlines £2.4 billion worth of spending and proposals to take back further powers from Westminster.

More powers over transport, skills, regeneration and energy are included in the submission, as well as a mayoral funding pot worth £750 million over 25 years.

Further funding proposals include a five-year transport settlement worth £250 million, £520 million of devolved funding for fibre connectivity, and a £230 million fund for the new mayor to share between the county’s towns.

A directly elected mayor, who would have powers over areas such as transport planning, transport budget and bus franchising, is also included in the proposals.

What happens now?

Council leaders will now discuss the proposals for more spending and powers with ministers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Treasury.

A deal will then be put forward by the government at a later date. This will go back before councils to be agreed.