Harrogate mum told to drive to Oldham next month for coronavirus test

Two Harrogate parents have voiced their frustration with the coronavirus testing process in the week children return to school.

Both are worried that, without enough testing capacity, covid-19 will spread in schools and children could take it home to vulnerable family members.

There are no permanent testing sites in Harrogate and some people have been sent to testing facilities nearly two hours away.

One mum, who asked to remain anonymous, said she has been shielding after chemotherapy and was reluctant to send her two children back to school this term.

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Her youngest son went back to school on Tuesday. A couple of days later, he developed coronavirus symptoms so she tried to book him in for a test.

She tried to get a home test but none were available. She tried to book in for one of the coronavirus testing sites, but the closest was in Oldham and the earliest date available was mid-October. She said:

“The schools cannot send the classes home until they have a confirmed positive test result. If there is such a long wait for tests then a lot of the time the damage will already be done and these children could take the virus home to vulnerable family members.”

Luckily, her son’s school had ten emergency coronavirus test kits which they have used and sent off for analysis. They are still waiting for the results.

No results

Another parent, who also wanted to remain anonymous, managed to get his 16-month-old daughter booked in for a test in Leeds. Two days later, without any test result and with his daughter’s condition worsening, the father took her to hospital in Harrogate.

The hospital tested her for coronavirus and a few hours later the results came back as negative.

Both parents have written to Andrew Jones MP calling for more coronavirus testing capacity. The Stray Ferret contacted Mr Jones but did not get a response before publication.

Harrogate council threatens to remove tables from outside bars

Harrogate Borough Council has told the owners of two bars in the town that they must remove their outside tables and chairs by next week.

Simon and Sharon Colgan run both The Blues Bar and The Empress, and took advantage of the relaxed rules on outdoor dining in recent months.

The couple told the Stray Ferret recently that the alfresco-style dining had doubled bar sales compared to the same time last year.

But the party appears to be over. Mr and Mrs Colgan said they received an “aggressive” letter from the council telling them that they can no longer use Stray land.

The letter said the changing weather in autumn meant the Stray could be damaged, or customers could be put at risk, if the grass continues to be used. It advised that unless furniture was removed by next Thursday, the council would remove it and dispose of it.

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Sharon told the Stray Ferret that she would be willing to contribute towards maintenance of the Stray if it became an issue:

“There can be a small amount of damage from tables and chairs but we are willing to look after the grass. If the council had a conversation with us then we would have made that clear, but they have just sent us a letter out of the blue with a week’s deadline.”

Yorkshire Hotel has taken full advantage of the temporary outdoor seating rules.

The Blues Bar and The Empress appear to be the only businesses affected. Simon Cotton, the group managing director at The Yorkshire Hotel, said he has not seen any such letter after using the grass along West Park.

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret:

“Over the summer we have taken a pragmatic view of allowing businesses to use public open spaces so that they can operate while adhering to social distancing requirements.

“Given the time of year and the impending bad weather, we are now asking all businesses who have been using Stray land for tables and chairs to remove them. This is to prevent damage to the Stray and also reduce the risk of injury should it become wet and muddy.”

North Yorkshire County Council had previously said it would be “happy to review any requests for longer term use of the public highway” for alfresco dining.

Harrogate police officer ‘bitten by man claiming to have coronavirus’

A police officer has alleged that he was bitten and spat at by a man claiming to have coronavirus in Harrogate.

The police attended a shop on Railway Road at around 5pm to reports that a 32-year-old man was being abusive and threatening towards customers and staff.

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When the police got there the suspect allegedly resisted arrest and said he had coronavirus.

They managed to arrest a man from Bradford on suspicion of racially-aggravated abuse. He remains in police custody for questioning.

After a 12 hour shift, the last thing I expect is my colleague to have to visit A&E after a suspect bit him & spat in officers faces during arrest in #Harrogate The individual is now in custody for numerous offences & thankfully my colleague is safely home #ProtectTheProtectors pic.twitter.com/IrAQCN52ef

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) September 10, 2020

In the arrest one of the officers was spat at and suffered a bite to the hand. He needed to attend A&E for medical treatment.

North Yorkshire Police said the officers adhered to coronavirus safety measures throughout the incident and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact the force on 101 and quote reference number 12200158787.

Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111.

Harrogate strip club applies for new sex entertainment licence

Harrogate Borough Council is set to decide on the renewal of a sexual entertainment licence for the town’s only strip club.

Kings Club, Oxford Street, needs permission to continue its topless pole dancing, topless stage strip tease and full nudity lap dancing.

It is separate to the strip club’s alcohol licence, which will not be affected when the council meets next week to decide on the application.

The government closed all clubs in March and has not yet given them the green light to reopen. This licence renewal is a sign that Kings Club is confident in its return after a few difficult months.

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Harrogate council’s licensing sub-committee will meet on September 17 to grant or refuse the licence renewal.

When the Kings Club closed it said that it will reopen as soon as possible to “restart the party”. The club added in its announcement:

“We are grateful to the government for the financial support they have so far offered which will soften the financial blow for our staff and management. We look forward to the party of the decade when we return.”

Harrogate district Parkruns on track to return next month

Harrogate district Parkruns look set to return by the end of October.

Parkrun sees runners of all abilities take part in a 5km run every Saturday morning. But the organisers paused the event at the beginning of March, just ahead of the national lockdown.

Now, after months of drawing up plans and waiting for social distancing rules to relax, Parkrun is ready to resume.

Parkrun holds three events in the Harrogate district: in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

Crowding at the starting and finishing lines is one of the main concerns. The official Parkrun framework admits there is no way to maintain social distance at these points.

But Tom Williams, the global chief operating officer of Parkrun and Harrogate resident, told the Stray Ferret the benefits outweighed the coronavirus risks:

“We are a charity but it has been a huge challenge to support people’s health and wellbeing in a virtual way. I believe that by bringing back the Parkrun it will make a big difference.

“Where we have already brought the Parkrun back [in other countries] we have seen runners return in their numbers so we expect the same in the UK.”

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The government has banned social gatherings of more than six people from Monday, but with some exceptions.

Mr Williams said he did not think the new rules would affect Parkrun because it is an outdoor sports event with minimal contact but he said it would monitor the situation.

In one of Parkrun’s recent surveys, almost 80% of respondents said they would return to Parkrun in four weeks’ time if the events were to come back in a safe way.

Horror film festival coming to Harrogate this Halloween

A horror film festival is coming to Harrogate this Halloween in a supposedly haunted Victorian ball room of the Crown Hotel.

Harrogate Horror Film Festival will return with coronavirus safety measures in place, including limited places for its film screenings and splitting into two rooms if there’s enough demand.

Organisers Dead Northern will kick off the week on October 26 with a pub quiz. There will be lots of pop up events around the town leading up to the weekend at the Crown Hotel.

Highlights of the festival include an exclusive screening of Host, a film made during lockdown, as well as a night of dinner and live entertainment at Cardamom Black.

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The organisers had planned to hold a daily ghost walk, but that is now up in the air following the government’s ban on gatherings of more than six.

People will be able to watch some of the shorter independent films for free during the week but there will be a charge for the more polished viewings.

Josh Lawson, one of the founders of Dead Northern, told the Stray Ferret that only the ghost walks will be affected by the new government restrictions:

“Dead Northern has been in talks with cinemas about the new rule of six. We think it is something we are exempt from. We can keep people in bubbles of six and apart from others.

“It will be less family friendly compared to last year. There will be films like Ghostbusters but we need to bring in a more adult audience because of coronavirus.”

Tickets will go on sale next week on the Dead Northern website from £5 for a screening and goes up to £100 for the full week. The full week ticket includes every event except the evening at Cardamom Black which will cost an additional £40.

New bakery to open in Harrogate

A new bakery shop plans to open in Harrogate this month to serve up fresh bread, cakes and sandwiches.

Bakeri Baltzersen is the newest venture from the team behind Baltzersen’s cafe. The bakery will open on the same street as the cafe and coffee shop on Oxford Street.

The owners originally planned to open in May but were forced to put their plans on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Now work has once again started at the Bakeri Baltzersen unit next to Harrogate Theatre and the key cutting and shoe repair shop Timpson.

The sign is up and so are the shelves for the bread as workmen start to decorate the premises in keeping with the Scandinavian style of Baltzersen’s.

Behind the scenes of Bakeri Baltzersen.

In recent months Baltzersen’s has been using part of its cafe as a temporary bakery shop. It will return to being a coffee shop when this new bakery opens.

Paul Rawlinson, the owner of Baltzersen’s, took inspiration from his Norwegian grandmother for the cafe, which opened in 2012. The business expanded in late 2018, opening a coffee shop in the neighbouring unit on Oxford Street.

News of the venture is a boost for the town’s traders at a time when many businesses are struggling to survive as a result of the pandemic,

Harrogate family pet shop to close after more than 50 years

A Harrogate family pet shop will close after 52 years because the owners have seen footfall and sales drop.

Mick Stothard, who started working at A P & K Stothard Pet Store when he was 10 years old, will retire and the shop will shut its doors on October 3.

He believes that there is not enough support for independent businesses in the town and called for local councillors to step up to help.

A P & K Stothard in 2014 when it owned more unit.

Peter and Kath Stothard, Mick’s parents, started the pet store in 1968 with just £47. It had spanned over four units along the street before it reduced in size to one unit in recent years.

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Mr Stothard told the Stray Ferret that he will transfer most of his stock over to his son and daughter’s shop, Posh Paws on Leeds Road, which will continue to trade. He added:

“We are just not getting enough people through. The town centre is struggling, there are so many shops that are closing down.

“It is all I have ever known. It will be tough to say goodbye after so many years. It is much more difficult now.”

What the pet shop used to take in one week is now taken over four or five weeks. This latest closure follows Bookstall Newsagents, The Cooperative Bank and Gambaru Fitness all closing their doors in recent weeks.

However, it has not been all bad for businesses on Commerical Street. A new fishmonger opened today, with queues out of the door.

Harrogate street spends days in darkness

A street in central Harrogate has spent the past three working days in darkness after the power company failed to fix a fault.

Businesses on Victoria Avenue said that the constant power cuts have been very disruptive.

Northern Powergrid has been trying the fix the issue since Friday. However, businesses report that, each day, the power goes off for several hours and offices have had to close as a result.

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Many on the street are offices, but there are also opticians and dental practices which have had to cancel some appointments.

Andrew Gray, the director of Truth Legal and a landlord on the street, told the Stray Ferret that all of his tenants have gone home:

“It has been massively disruptive. I have a team of lawyers, together with five sets of tenants in this building, and they are all trying to work from home. With coronavirus some businesses are already prepared to switch to home working but there are some office staff who don’t have laptops.”

David Simister, one of the directors at Different PR, also told the Stray Ferret:

“There haven’t been this many power cuts since the Winter of Discontent. It is a nightmare to deal with but I have been able to work from home as a result. Following on from coronavirus this has been the last thing many businesses on this street need.”

Northern Powergrid’s live power map shows that 40 properties have been affected. A spokesperson said:

“We have had engineers out again today. They dug up the road to get access to the faulty cables. It will only be a temporary fix but it should stop the power going out on an intermittent basis.”

Persimmon Homes submits plans to demolish Ripon Cathedral Choir School

Persimmon Homes has submitted plans to demolish the former site of Ripon Cathedral Choir School and build 12 apartments.

The housebuilding company originally received permission to convert the building on Whitcliffe Lane into flats and build 105 more homes in the vicinity.

But it now claims the historic building, which was home to Ripon Cathedral Choir School until 2012, is not “structurally sound” and should be rebuilt in a “like for like” manner.

A Persimmon report found significant fire damage, cracks in supporting walls and decay in the roof structure. The company said its original plans to convert the building would therefore put its workforce and future home-buyers at risk.

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Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission to redevelop the site in February 2019. The council’s deadline for comments on the revised application is September 21.

The building was originally constructed as a late 19th Century grandstand. It was converted in the early 20th century into two semi-detached dwellings, then extended for use as a school.

Ripon Cathedral Choir School began using the site in 1960 until it closed in 2012. It had planned to merge with a local preparatory school but this fell through.

Its closure left Ripon Cathedral choir without a dedicated space to rehearse. The choir now rehearses in a former burial vault but the £6 million extension of the cathedral is intended to provide it with a new home.