Harrogate Leeds United fans prepare for Premier League

After 16 years outside English football’s top flight, Leeds United fans in Harrogate are preparing for a return to the Premier League and a first piece of silverware in 28 years.

The Whites confirmed promotion last Friday after an Emile Smith Rowe goal in the 86th minute for Huddersfield Town defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-1.

Less than 24 hours later, United clinched the title without kicking a ball as third-placed Brentford lost to Stoke City.

For Lai Lam, branch member and publicity officer at Harrogate and District Leeds United Supporters group, the moment on Friday night was special.

“I got loads of messages about going down to Elland Road but I’m trying to be responsible so stayed away.

“I saw the footage of the ones who did though, then saw the team on the steps of the East Stand on Facebook. It was brilliant.”

The supporters group, which was formerly Knaresborough branch until 1996, has around 150 paid members and usually follows the club home and away.

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Miss Lam, a season ticket holder for 30 years, joined the branch for the 1995/96 season and saw United relegated to the Championship at Bolton in 2004. She said:

“Most of us realised we were going down but we didn’t realise it was only the start of the rot that took us even lower.”

After a play-off final defeat to Watford in 2006, United dropped into the third tier for the first time in the club’s history the following season.

https://twitter.com/LUFC/status/1284470294263083008

Promotion back to the second division in 2010 was a ray of hope in dark times. But the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa as head coach in 2018 proved to be the catalyst for a return to the Premier League.

Now, Miss Lam and fellow branch members are itching to get back into the ground to see the team for the first time since March. She said:

“We play some of the best football I’ve have seen in years. I’m looking forward to seeing how Bielsa’s ways work in the Premier League. 

“The man is a genius. He’s completely transformed football in two short years.

“When we can get into the grounds it’ll be great to see the atmosphere that our fans generate.”

Before that though, there is a small matter of lifting the Championship trophy, which United will be presented with following the Charlton game tonight.

Amid the pandemic, football fans have been forced to watch their teams away from the stadiums. Instead, Miss Lam will celebrate the Whites’ first piece of silverware since 1992 at home with friends. 

“It has ruined what should have been a fantastic end to the season. This is the first year the players and the club have been so approachable and we could really have enjoyed it with them.

“But we’re promoted with the best points tally for ages.”

No further coronavirus care home or hospital deaths in Harrogate

Harrogate District Hospital has reported no further coronavirus deaths and no new care home deaths have been recorded, according to latest figures.

Data from NHS England showed no patients who tested positive for coronavirus were reported to have died at the hospital in the last 24 hours.

The death toll from Covid at the hospital remains at 82.

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Nationally, a further 15 people have died in England’s hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus. It takes the death toll in the nation’s hospitals to 29,202.

NHS England said the patients were aged between 46 and 90. Five patients, aged between 46 and 84, had no known underlying health conditions.

Office for National Statistics data, published today, showed no further deaths in care homes due to coronavirus in the Harrogate district from 3 July to 10 July

It means the number of people who have died in care homes remains at 104.

Councillors appointed onto parish council with just one member

Two borough councillors have been appointed onto Green Hammerton Parish Council after the authority was left with only one member and unable to conduct business.

Calls for four new parish councillors went out in April when the number of members shrunk to three.

Following the resignations of Councillor Jackson in June and Councillor Knight in July, membership was further reduced to one.

An election would normally have been held to fill the vacancies. However, the coronavirus pandemic has forced elections to be postponed until May 2021.

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This left the parish council with just one member and unable to conduct its business properly.

Harrogate Borough Council agreed yesterday to appoint district councillor Ann Myatt and county councillor Andrew Paraskos onto the council for a maximum of three months.

The authority will now be quorate, meaning it can co-opt new councillors to fill the remaining vacant seats and continue to operate.

Had they not been co-opted, HBC’s alternative proposal was to dissolve the parish council, which has an electorate of 677 people,

A report before HBC’s General Purposes Committee said there was interest in the remaining vacancies.

It said:

“The parish clerk has advised that there are currently several applicants that would like to be considered for co-option into the vacant seats. This can be actioned once Cllr Myatt and Cllr Paraskos are appointed to the council.”

Police call for Harrogate pub’s licence to be revoked

North Yorkshire Police has called for a Harrogate pub’s licence to be removed after it came under fire for breaching lockdown rules.

The Coach and Horses was told by Harrogate Borough Council that its licence was under review after people gathered outside the pub on West Park drinking which breached coronavirus guidelines.

The pub was issued a prohibition notice by the council on May 31 for “repeatedly breaking the rules”. Officials said around 75 customers were in the area drinking at one point.

People outside the Coach and Horses back in May.

People gathered outside the Coach and Horses back in May.

Now, police have called for the pub to be stripped of its licence in the interests of public safety.

Councillors on the borough council’s licensing committee will decide on the future of the pub’s licence on Wednesday.

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In a letter to the council’s licensing committee, Jackie Allen, police licensing officer, said the Coach and Horses did not comply with coronavirus regulations.

It said:

“It is believed that if the premises are allowed to retain a premise licence this will have an adverse effect on the local community…

“It is the view of North Yorkshire Police that the premises licence should be revoked and would respectfully direct members to Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ‘it shall be the duty of each authority to which the section applies to do all it reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder in its area.’”

The force said it received 14 separate reports from members of the public between May 30 and June 2 over customers drinking from open containers outside. Police say this also breaches the pub’s licence.

 

No further coronavirus deaths at Harrogate hospital

No coronavirus deaths have been reported today at Harrogate District Hospital, according to the latest NHS England figures.

It comes after a further death was reported yesterday, taking the death toll at the hospital to 82.

Nationally, a further six people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England’s hospitals.

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Of that number, one was reported in the North East and Yorkshire region.

NHS England said those who died were aged between 74 and 98 and had known underlying health conditions.

It means the death toll in the nation’s hospitals has increased to 29,187.

County council faces £126m coronavirus cost over three years

North Yorkshire County Council has estimated that responding to coronavirus could cost the authority £126 million over the next three years.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, cabinet member for finance at the county council, is expected to tell councillors at a full council meeting that uncertainty still remained around future costs but that the authority is “well placed” to deal with it.

It comes as the council is anticipating a deficit of £73 million by the end of this financial year, which reduces to £39 million after government funding is taken into account.

Council officials have already said that the authority can avoid bankruptcy and would not need to issue a section 114 notice – which bans any further spending in dire financial circumstances.

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But, Cllr Dadd will tell councillors next week that it is “extremely likely” that there will be legacy costs as a result of the pandemic.

He will say:

“Many uncertainties remain in estimating future years but it is extremely likely that there will be legacy costs which last well into the next three years and initial estimates suggest that we may have a £126 million hit on the council’s finances over that period. 

“It will not be possible to bridge this by use of reserves alone so we are going to have to await developments from the governments’ Spending Review and, in parallel, we will need to prepare plans for how we respond to different scenarios with varying degrees of funding shortfall.”

Meanwhile, local authorities across the country have warned that without support many will be forced to issue bankruptcy notices.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a further £500 million package of funding earlier this month to support council spending pressures.

Funding allocations have yet to be revealed, but the scheme is expected to reimburse authorities for lost income and allow council tax and business rates deficits to be paid over three years instead of one.

No coronavirus deaths at Harrogate Hospital for 10 days

Harrogate District Hospital has reported no new coronavirus deaths for 10 days, according to the latest NHS figures.

It means the total number of deaths of coronavirus at the hospital remains at 81.

Meanwhile, the hospital trust discharged a further two patients yesterday, taking the total up to 141.

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It comes as a further 16 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England’s hospitals.

NHS England said in its latest figures that the patients were aged between 47 and 93 years old and all had known underlying health conditions.

It means the death toll from coronavirus nationally has increased to 29,160.

Government ‘should compensate’ for Nightingale extension

Government should compensate for a loss of business at Harrogate Convention Centre due to the Nightingale Hospital extension, say opposition councillors.

Pat Marsh, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition on Harrogate Borough Council, said the hospital was needed but added that the government should offer support for the impact of having the convention centre out of action for longer.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £3 billion worth of funding to maintain the Nightingale Hospitals across the country until the end of March.

NHS England will be given the money in preparation for a potential second wave of covid-19 this winter.

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But Cllr Marsh said the conference centre “underpins” Harrogate’s economy and the government should be made aware of its economic impact.

She said:

“We do need the hospital as a fallback. But I think we need the government to give us some compensation to filter down to those businesses that are going to be left high and dry.

“The government needs to know what impact it is having. It needs to step up to the plate.”

Earlier this year, local businesses raised fears about the impact of having the convention centre unable to host events for at least a year.

Harrogate Borough Council said it is still discussing with NHS Yorkshire and Humber over what role the Nightingale at the convention centre will play.

The prime minister has confirmed that money has been set aside to keep the Nightingale hospitals available until 2021. We continue our discussions with NHS Yorkshire and Humber about what role @HgtConventions will play, but nothing has yet been decided. pic.twitter.com/e6Z4njx8Vl

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) July 17, 2020

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, has been contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.

If cases remain at a manageable level for existing hospitals, the Nightingales will continue to offer extra capacity for routine testing and treatment. The Nightingale hospital in Harrogate has been offering CT scanning to non-Covid patients since June 4.

It was set up by armed forces and NHS professionals in just three weeks in spring to offer additional treatment facilities for patients from across Yorkshire and the Humber. Staff were trained on site, staying in local hotels, but no Covid patients were ever admitted and the hospital was eventually put on stand-by.

The NHS was not paying any rent for use of Harrogate Convention Centre under the initial contract. It is not yet clear whether rent will now be payable to Harrogate Borough Council, which owns and runs HCC.

Lancashire Stray contractors referred to as ‘local suppliers’

New documents show that Harrogate Borough Council referred to contractors tasked with restoring the Stray as a “local supplier”, despite being based in Lancashire.

Borough council officials awarded Glendale Services the contract for the Stray back in April – seven months after the UCI World Cycling Championships.

As revealed by the Stray Ferret in May, the contract, worth an estimated £40,926.29, was handed to the company under “urgent circumstances”.

Now, local Liberal Democrat councillors have criticised the council for “denying the opportunity” to local firms to tender for the work.

A previously exempt document before the council’s cabinet member for environment on May 29 stated that the authority had “engaged with a local supplier” to carry out the works.

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Glendale Services, which is based 65 miles away in Chorley, began work on site which was met with fierce criticism from local suppliers. At the time, Mark Smith, managing director of local contractor HACS, said he was “disgusted” with the decision.

Geoff Webber, Liberal Democrat councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, said he was disappointed that the contract did not go out to tender:

He said:

“The report now shows that they accepted the recommendation to award the contract to Glendale on the basis that it was a ‘local supplier’.

“I find it incredible that Chorley, only eight miles north of Wigan, is considered to be local. So much for supporting local businesses.”

The Stray starts to turn green

Grass has started to show on West Park Stray since the reseeding work.

Glendale has carried out groundworks elsewhere in Yorkshire, including at Kirklees College in Huddersfield.

But senior councillors have insisted that the company has offices in the county.

Cllr Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment at the authority, told a full council meeting last week that the council had to bring in a contractor because the authority did not have the equipment to do it in-house.

“We always had to bring in outside contractors to do it.

“The drainage was done by a company out at Green Hammerton way and the other contractors do have local offices

“The rumours that we contracted it out to outside bodies, even though one of them has a head office in Lancashire, they do have a local office in the district.”

It comes as the council expects the overall works to the Stray to cost  £129,971:

Yorkshire 2019, the organisers of the UCI, has agreed to pay £35,500 to help restore the Stray.

Harrogate hospital investigates bullying culture in estates department

Hospital bosses in Harrogate will launch an investigation into a “culture of bullying” in the trust’s estates department which some staff described as “toxic”.

Behaviour cited in a report included defacing tools or belongings with offensive graffiti, collectively ignoring or ostracising people and damaging belongings of individuals, including gluing of equipment or lockers.

It comes as Harrogate and District Foundation Trust commissioned consultancy firm Deloitte to carry out a review into the trust’s culture and leadership.

The review included Harrogate Integrated Facilities (HIF), a subsidiary of the trust which runs the hospital’s estates.

Following interviews with 52 members of staff and 63 surveys, the report found “widespread concerns” over bullying, leadership and poor recruitment practice in the estates department.

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The report said a “significant number” of those interviewed explicitly stated that bullying was taking place or described events that could be labeled as such. But, it added that it was concerned that some of the reports were dismissed as “banter”.

It said:

“We find it concerning that a significant number (over 20) of those interviewed from within estates dismissed the issues described above as ‘banter’, ‘childish pranks’ and ‘fine, a bit of a laugh’. 

“We were also concerned at the number of staff during interview who felt that some of the behaviours identified above could be excused, on the basis that it was felt recruitment processes had been mishandled or people ‘weren’t up to the job’ or ‘didn’t fit in’.”

Meanwhile, Deloitte found that the approach to recruitment at HIF “did not demonstrate good practice” and recommended a thorough review of its policies.

Among the findings included a number of applicants who were shortlisted and appointed without demonstrating essential criteria and some posts which were not advertised in line with policy.

Further concern was raised over the lack of leadership in estates, with 45 of the 52 members of staff raising concern over communication, decision making and senior management isolating themselves from other workers.

Steve Russell, chief executive of Harrogate Hospital

Steve Russell, Chief Executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the hospital is committed to addressing the findings in the report.

Following the report, the trust board agreed launch an investigation which will be carried out by an external body into reported bullying and poor recruitment practice in the department.

Steve Russell, chief executive at the hospital trust, said the organisation was committed to addressing the findings in the report.

He said: 

“Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is a values driven organisation; Respectful, Responsible and Passionate. We emphasise the need to treat each other with kindness, civility and compassion. Our strategy is focused on the pursuit of quality improvement and we believe that improving the experience of all our colleagues will lead to better care for our patients.

“To help further improve in delivering the best possible employee experience and in turn the best possible patient experience, a specialist team from Deloitte were commissioned in August 2019 to undertake a neutral assessment and to help us understand in more detail views of which areas we should and could improve upon.

“Deloitte found many important positives about the trust as a place to work and the culture that is fostered. Almost everyone they spoke with described the trust as a ‘great place to work’ and described the culture using words such as ‘friendly’ and ‘family’. Many who had worked elsewhere in the NHS compared the Trust positively to their other experiences.

“At the same time, Deloitte found areas in which there are issues that we need and want to address. We are naturally disappointed to hear this, but pleased, that now identified, we will be to create a better working environment for colleagues and become the outstanding place to work delivering the level of care that we all aspire to.

“We are committed to addressing the findings of Deloitte’s work. We have already put in place new measures to support individual services to develop, and we are taking specific actions to better support staff.”