Local elections for North Yorkshire County Council have been postponed until May 2022.

It comes as the government has launched a consultation on plans to scrap the two-tier council system in the county.

The move would see both the county council and the seven districts, including Harrogate Borough Council, abolished and replaced with either one or two new unitary councils.

Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, will consult on two proposals for the county. This year’s election is being delayed to avoid voters being asked to choose representatives for an authority that may be abolished within a year.

Read more:

• Devolution: What would you do if you were mayor?
• 5 lessons to learn from devolution in Tees Valley
• £2 billion devolution negotiations kickstart as councils submit proposals

Mr Jenrick said he would make a decision on which, if any, proposal to approve following the consultation.

He said:

“I have always been clear that any restructuring of local government must be locally-led and will not involve top-down solutions from government.

“Now that councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset have submitted their proposals, I am pleased residents, businesses and service providers will have the opportunity to have their say on what will work best for their area.

“Where there is local support, changing the structure of local government can offer better value for money and improved services for residents.”

Mr Jenrick added that should any of the models proposed be approved, councillors could be elected to the new unitary council or councils next year. If no decision is made, then the county council elections will take place as normal in May 2022.

He said:

“If a unitary proposal is implemented the rescheduled elections will be replaced by elections in May 2022 to the new unitary authority or authorities which could be in shadow form or a continuing council taking on the functions of the other councils in the area.”

The government said the decision to postpone the elections will avoid asking people to vote for local councillors while also asking them to give their views on possibly abolishing the council. It would also prevent councillors being elected on short terms.

While the county council elections will be postponed, elections for the local Police and Crime Commissioner will go ahead as normal on May 6.

Ministers are consulting on two opposing models for the future of local government in North Yorkshire. Six of the district councils in the county have proposed an east/west split made up of two councils.

It would see Craven, Harrogate, Richmondshire and Hambleton join together to form a unitary council in the West, with a population of 363,000, and Selby, City of York, Ryedale and Scarborough join together to form a unitary council in the East, with a population of 465,000. 

A rival model, submitted by North Yorkshire County Council and City of York, would see one unitary council for North Yorkshire with the York authority remaining in place.

The consultation will last until April 19. Residents and businesses can give their views on the proposals here.

Businesses in the Harrogate district have given a mixed reaction to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s route out of lockdown restrictions today.

Mr Johnson outlined a four-phase “roadmap” that he said would be “cautious but irreversible”.

Step one will see schools re-open and care homes allow visits on March 8 and outdoor sports resume on March 29; step two will see non-essential retail and pubs and restaurants reopen non April 12; step three will see two households permitted to meet indoors and hotels and cinemas reopen on May 17; stage four will see all remaining restrictions lifted on June 21.

Read more:

• Third lockdown threatens Knaresborough retail revival
• Harrogate theatre boss hopes for covid clarity on Monday
• ‘Road map’ to reopening raises hopes of district revival

Kimberly Wilson, chair of guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate, welcomed bars and restaurants being in the same bracket as hotels.

She said:

“I’m glad to see that they are in the same strand so everything can reopen at the same time

“But we would want as much notice for reopening for hospitality. It takes time to get your ducks in a row.”

She hoped government offers support to hospitality businesses over the next few months before reopening.

Kim Wilson, of the Camberley Hotel on Kings Road, Harrogate.

Ms Wilson said measures such as an extension to the cut in VAT and the furlough scheme would help hospitality businesses survive.

But Paul Rawlinson, owner of Baltzersens cafe in Harrogate, said:

“We’re still in February and mid-May feels like a long way away. It’s a long, old slog. 

“We’ll pick ourselves back up and push on. In two or three months we might be in a more normal position.”

David Steca, owner of barbershop Steca No 6, said he was “fed up” with the restrictions.

He added:

“Hopefully we will receive more financial support if we are closed another seven weeks.”

“It’s nice to be able to start to plan towards a date.”

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said the district “can go into the spring sharing a strong sense of optimism but should continue our cautious approach”.

He added:

“Our emergence from the shadow of covid will throw up new challenges about preparation for the possibility of future pandemics, about the future of high street retail, about how we work, about how changes to human activity, demonstrated during the pandemic, affect the environment and many more challenges too.”

Highways bosses are to apply to erect a bollard on the Stray to stop cars driving over it to avoid the Beech Grove road closure in Harrogate.

Last week, the Stray Ferret reported cars were driving over the Stray to get around the new closure, which was put in place to block through traffic and create a Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, described it as “extremely poor behaviour” and added that drivers were committing an offence.

Some people have taken to social media to report alleged incidents of drivers going over the Stray to get around the planters.

Andy, I have clear pics, including reg, of a Range Rover that's driven on the Stray to go round the Beech Grove planters. Who can I send them to for follow-up? pic.twitter.com/demf0Iwa8O

— David Peckett (@dsp99t) February 22, 2021

In a tweet, Cllr Mackenzie said the county council, which is the highways authority, would apply to Harrogate Borough Council to place a bollard on the Stray to block such manoeuvres.

He added the authority had already erected a bollard on the footpath side to prevent cars from mounting the pavement.

The borough council said it had yet to receive a request for the bollard, but confirmed that such a plan would require approval under the Stray Act.

Read more:

• Senior councillors defend closure of Harrogate’s Beech Grove
• Cars drive over Stray to avoid Harrogate road closure

Beech Grove is closed to through traffic for six months before the county council, which is consulting on the scheme, decides whether to make it permanent.

In a letter to the Stray Ferret, Chris Granville, a resident on Beech Grove, said it had been “the most thoughtless implementation imaginable”.

He said:

“The signs are completely inadequate to inform the motorists of the change so it is almost inevitable that drivers will come up against the barriers.

“It would have been so easy to display reasonable size signs in good time, but no, it has been implemented as a motorist trap. It would also have helped if there was a partial barrier at the town end of Beech Grove, outside Wentworth Court, being a clear indicator that entry was for residents and parking only.

“Whoever has done this should show a little respect for road users.”

The Harrogate district has reached a sombre milestone today as 150 people have died in hospital after being diagnosed with covid.

To recognise this moment, the Stray Ferret is providing space for family and friends to pay tribute to loved ones who they have lost.

Each day since the first patient died on March 16 last year, we have reported the statistics, but behind the numbers are individuals with families and friends who loved them.

Read more:

• Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

• Covid vaccination site to open in Knaresborough

On top of those who have died in hospital, 128 have died in care homes since the start of the pandemic.

Today 17 more cases of covid were recorded in the past 24 hours – the district in total has recorded 7,161 coronavirus cases.

To bring home the human cost of the pandemic in our district, the Stray Ferret will publish tributes from those who have been hit hardest by covid and help to tell their story.

If you have lost someone close to you due to the virus and want to pay tribute to them, get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate District Hospital has reported a further death from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus.

The patient died on February 17, according to NHS England figures.

It takes the death toll at the hospital since March to 149.

Meanwhile, a further 32 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the Harrogate district.

Read more:

• Harrogate district covid rate below 100 for first time since Christmas
• Ripon hospital patients moved after covid outbreak

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 7,144, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

The district’s seven-day covid rate currently stands at to 93 per 100,000 people.

Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire average is 87 and the national rate is 127.

Pedestrianisation of James Street, a single lane on Station Parade and more cycle facilities could be lined up for Harrogate town centre, under new council plans.

It comes as North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are set to consult on proposals for the town’s “station gateway” project.

The county council secured £7.8 million in funding from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund last year to draw up plans to improve transport connections, encourage more people to walk and cycle and improve the image of the town centre.

A four-week public consultation on the project will start on Wednesday (February 24).

Read more:

• County council postpones James Street pedestrianisation
• Consultation on £8m Harrogate redevelopment set to begin

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told a press briefing this morning that the scheme would also provide an “economic boost” for the area.

As part of the consultation, the public and businesses will be asked for their views on three options for James Street.

• Pedestrianise the area
• Part pedestrianise the street
• Retain vehicle access

Other schemes which will be consulted on include one or two lanes on Station Parade and public event space at Station Square Gardens.

Cycle storage facilities, two new bus priority areas at lower Station Parade and Cheltenham Parade, and a water feature are also proposed.

Plans to temporarily pedestrianise James Street last year were criticised by local businesses and led to the county council postponing the measure until 2021.

Three options for James Street will be consulted on, under council plans.

Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability at Harrogate Borough Council, said the new schemes would be vital for the town.

He said:

“This is an extremely important scheme for the town, which we view as a solid foundation for change, particularly towards active travel.”

Cllr Ireland added that he hoped the plans would help people who come to the town to “feel more comfortable to get around safely”.

Plans for a ‘station gateway’ have been in the works for several years and fit into a wider strategy for Harrogate drawn up by the borough council in its 2016 Town Centre Strategy and Masterplan.

Cllr Mackenzie said the proposals were particularly important due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on town centres.

He said:

“It is extremely appropriate that we are looking to develop three schemes which will provide better facilities for pedestrians, for cyclists and better connections to bus and trains.

“But it will provide an enormous economic boost for our town centres, which frankly over the past 12 months have suffered a great deal.”

It comes as similar projects have been outlined for Selby and Skipton. Final designs and construction for the schemes are earmarked for spring next year.

People can give their views on the schemes in the online consultation from Wednesday here.

A further death from a patient who tested positive for covid has been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

The death was recorded yesterday according to NHS England figures.

It takes the death toll at the hospital since the start of the pandemic to 148.

Figures from the trust show that 67 patients are currently being treated in hospital for covid.

Read more:

• Can you drive to Swinsty reservoir for a walk?
• Ripon hospital patients moved after covid outbreak
• Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

Meanwhile, a further 21 people have been discharged in the past week.

The Harrogate district has also recorded a further 26 cases of coronavirus today.

According to today’s Public Health England statistics, it takes the total number of cases since March to 7,112.

The district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 92 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 85, while the national rate is 130.

Harrogate District Hospital is still treating a record amount of covid patients.

Figures from North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group today revealed that 65 people are in hospital with covid.

The number is among the highest since the start of the pandemic.

Last month the hospital urged people to follow lockdown rules and stay at home as its covid wards were “exceptionally busy”. But numbers have remained stubbornly high since.

It comes as a further 27 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate District, according to today’s Public Health England statistics.

Read more:

• ‘We were told the vaccine was the way out’
• EXCLUSIVE: Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day

It takes the total number of cases since March to 7,086.

The district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 95 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 90, while the England rate stands at 132.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the area in the district with the most covid cases in the last seven days, with 19.

No further covid-related deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

A Harrogate butchers shop at the Great Yorkshire Showground has scooped an award for being the best in the north of England.

Fodder was named North of England Butcher’s Shop of the Year at the Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards 2020 on Monday.

The shop, which opened in 2009 and is run by the Yorkshire Agriculture Society, was described by judges as “an excellent business, showing innovation and community as well as charitable support”.

Fodder opened in response to the foot and mouth crisis that devastated farming. The shop now works with 430 local farmers and producers.

Read more:

• The latest addition to Ripon’s retail park could be a Lidl if plans are approved.
• Harrogate travel agent says there’s “nothing to lose” by booking a summer holiday.

Heather Parry, managing director of Fodder, said:

“We are thrilled that our butchery has been recognised as the North of England’s finest and one of the very best in the whole of the UK.

“This award is a great endorsement of the quality of our meat, which has been reared to perfection on the very best local farms, as well as the skills of our talented and knowledgeable butchery team who are able to advise customers on how best to cook our products when they get home. 

“Our team works incredibly hard to create a beautiful counter every day and offer outstanding service too.”

The Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards, which is organised by Meat Trades Journal, includes 12 categories and is judged by a panel of butchery experts, including a “mystery shopper” visit to the 35 finalists.

Among the other awards include Butcher’s Shop of the Year, Online Butchery Business of the Year and Farm Shop of the Year.

The awards ceremony was held online amid the coronavirus pandemic.