German supermarket chain Lidl has submitted plans to open its first store in Harrogate.

If approved, the supermarket would create about 40 full and part-time jobs on the site of the former Lookers car dealership on Knaresborough Road.

The multi-million pound proposal includes a 1,263 square metre sales area, an in-store bakery, customer toilets and 94 parking spaces.

It would open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

Lidl GB said in a statement a public consultation in November revealed 87 per cent of more than 1,000 responses supported the scheme.

Harrogate Borough Council must now adjudicate on whether to accept plans to redevelop the site, which is surrounded by hoardings.

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Robert Beaumont, Lidl property director for the north of England, said:

“Following this extremely positive feedback, we have now submitted a planning application for the site to Harrogate Borough Council.

“We have been looking forward to bringing a new store to Harrogate for a while and we hope that the council agrees that this is a great location for a new supermarket to serve the local community.”

Lidl entered the UK market in 1994 and now has more than 800 stores across the country, including one in Knaresborough.

The Harrogate district appeared to be much quieter today as people seemed to embrace the national lockdown rules.

With schools, shops and hospitality businesses closed, residents have been instructed only to leave home for a few essential reasons, including shopping for food and medicine, and to exercise outside.

The measures are designed to reduce the coronavirus case rates, which have spiked in North Yorkshire as well as elsewhere in the country, by significantly reducing contact between people.

It is unclear when the lockdown will end, but it will be reviewed again in mid-February.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new restrictions yesterday evening in response to an “alarming” rise in coronavirus cases.

Local health leaders believe that the new coronavirus variant is in North Yorkshire as the country heads into a national lockdown.

While they have no concrete evidence, they say cases have spiked locally in line with the variant’s fast-spreading nature.

The seven-day rate of infection in North Yorkshire has risen from 189 per 100,000 people on December 30, to 346 today.

In the Harrogate district, the seven-day rate has risen to 297 per 100,000 people.

However, all districts in North Yorkshire remain below the England average seven-day rate of 560 per 100,000.

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In a coronavirus press briefing today, local health bosses warned that the coronavirus case rates will likely worsen over the next two weeks.

Dr Victoria Turner, a public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“We have talked for the last couple of weeks about the new variant that has been spreading from the south east of England.

“I mean we will certainly have cases of this in North Yorkshire.

“Now we have to act as if this is the predominant form of the virus across the country. We should treat every cases as the new variant.”

National lockdown hits Harrogate district

The Harrogate district’s streets were quiet this morning on the first full day of the third national lockdown.

In response to an “alarming” rise in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new restrictions yesterday evening.

Mr Johnson said that people across England will be asked to stay at home, only leaving for essential shopping, medical needs, work where it cannot be done from home, and to escape domestic violence.

He concluded his announcement with the same message as he gave when last March’s first lockdown was announced: “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.”

The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will arrive in North Yorkshire by the end of the week – but Harrogate’s vaccine centre remains closed today.

Health leaders in the county hailed the arrival of the new vaccine today in an emergency coronavirus press briefing to reflect the latest national lockdown.

More care home residents will be able to access the vaccine as it is easier to transport, they promised in the meeting.

With coronavirus cases rising rapidly and the test positivity rate more than three times what it was before Christmas, they think the new vaccine is a “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Harrogate District Hospital also started vaccinating yesterday, with 700 staff understood to have booked for vaccine this week.

Good news about the new vaccine seems to be contrasted by an empty Yorkshire Event Centre, which has reportedly been closed for multiple days over Christmas and the new year.

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Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)in North Yorkshire, did not say why Harrogate’s vaccine centre remains closed today. However, she said:

“I know quite rightly that there is an enormous amount of hope from the vaccine and the opportunity to roll that out as soon as possible.

“Deployment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine started yesterday and we anticipate delivery of that vaccine in North Yorkshire towards the end of the week.”

The Stray Ferret has pressed North Yorkshire CCG for further answers about the Harrogate vaccine centre, after being contacted by numerous concerned residents. We asked which days it had been open, how many vaccines had been delivered there and when it was likely to reopen.

In response, a spokesperson for the CCGs said today:

“Health professionals have been working tirelessly over the festive period to offer the coronavirus vaccine to priority groups where supplies have allowed.

“The showground has been taking deliveries of the vaccine and staff have vaccinated many vulnerable patients, including care home residents and staff over the festive period.

“Our message to everyone is to ask them to please be patient. You will be contacted when the time is right.

“Please do not ring your surgery to ask about the vaccine – there is lots of information on the NHS website.

“Our surgeries need to keep their phone lines free for patients requiring urgent care.”

Harrogate Borough Council has defended its temporary homeless shelters after some people raised concerns about their use.

The four yellow container units will be in Tower Street car park in Harrogate for the next three months.

Every local authority is expected to adopt a severe weather emergency protocol, which describes measures to provide emergency accommodation for rough sleepers during severe weather.

Cllr Mike Chambers, the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, told the Stray Ferret:

“I have not been inside but they are comfortable and appropriate for someone who needs some shelter for a couple of nights.

“Each of the shelters has windows, heaters and toilets. We have several hostels and we are an exemplar council for looking after homeless people.”

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New government guidance this year warned of the dangers of coronavirus in night shelters. It also asked local authorities to consider “self-contained accommodation options”.

According to council figures, 29 rough sleepers in the district were taken off the streets during the “Everyone’s In” measures in the first lockdown, of which 10 are still being supported by the authority.

When the Stray Ferret reported that the council had installed these shelters it prompted a diverse range of views from our readers.

Some said they were “excellent” and a “good stop gap”; others argued they “looked horrendous” and suggested using other solutions, such as hotels.

Harrogate Borough Council said at the start of December the containers will be in place for three months.

North Yorkshire Police has arrested 100 drivers on suspicion of drink or drug driving offences so far during its Christmas campaign.

It is the same number as all of last year’s Christmas campaign and there are still 10 days to go.

Officers made about a fifth of the arrests following crashes. About a quarter of the arrests happened last weekend.

On average, those arrested on suspicion of drink driving have provided a reading of nearly twice the legal limit at 68mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

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However, the highest reading was a Bradford man who was almost four times over the legal limit.

North Yorkshire Police warned it will be out across the county looking for tell-tale signs of drink and drug driving:

“Anyone who gets behind the wheel while under the influence of drink or drugs is not only putting themselves at risk but also innocent people.

“Don’t start the New Year without a licence. But more importantly, don’t be the reason that a family loses a loved one.”

Nearly a third of the 100 arrested have faced charges in court; six have been released with no action. The rest remain under investigation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today called a Harrogate mum backing her campaign to get the world to ring a bell on Christmas Eve.

Mary Beggs-Reid came up with the idea last month and nearly 500,000 people have already signed up to take part.

Today she received a phone call from Mr Johnson, who told her that he will be taking part at 10 Downing Street with his fiancé Carrie Symonds and their young son Wilfred.

Mary planned to travel to London to meet the Prime Minister but the new tier four restrictions in the capital meant a phone call was more suitable.

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The Christmas Eve doorstep jingle asks people to ring a bell or bang a pan at 6pm for two minutes to “spread festive spirit and help Santa’s sleigh fly”.

With her now famous bell in hand, which will soon become a family heirloom, Mary told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s wonderful, I can’t believe we’ve got the Prime Minister involved. Lots of people from Lapland joined last week, it’s going to reach everywhere.

“There will be a wave of bells on Christmas Eve. We will see it coming from New Zealand and that will build up the excitement even more.

“We will just have two minutes for the children when something amazing and magical will happen, I can’t wait.”

Mary’s inspiration for the event came from the film Elf, where residents of New York sing together to power Santa’s sleigh with their Christmas spirit.

With news that the Christmas relaxation of rules has been reduced to just one day, she thinks that there will be a lot of interest on Thursday.

The coronavirus vaccine centre has opened in Harrogate for the first time.

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground is housing the local coronavirus vaccination site, which was a hive of activity this morning.

Those over 80, care home residents and care home staff are first in line for the vaccine.

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GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding area will oversee the rollout and appealed for volunteers to help marshal the car park and signpost patients.

The vaccination programme is expected to last several months. Vaccines will be carried out seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

It has been a long road to this point and news of the vaccine centre opening locally has been welcomed by those in line to receive it.

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 31 coronavirus cases today, according to Public Health England figures.

It brings the total cases in the district so far up to 3,998. That is around 2.5% of the local population but only reflects the number of people who have been tested which increased considerably around September.

Harrogate District Hospital has not recorded any further coronavirus deaths in more than a week and remains at 106 deaths.

There are currently 14 coronavirus patients at the hospital, down from 21 last week.

In the local coronavirus press briefing today there were real concerns around the new coronavirus variant, which spreads faster but is not more deadly.

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Richard Webb, the corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“We do not have any confirmed cases of the new coronavirus variant yet but I imagine at the rate at which it spreads it will be heading north at some speed.

“So therefore we have to brace ourselves for the fact that the new strain will reach North Yorkshire very soon.

“We will then have to deal with the consequences of that.”

Local health leaders also highlighted rising coronavirus cases in Scarborough at the press briefing this morning.

The seaside town’s seven-day average rate of infection shot up to 254 per 100,000 people from about 150 a week ago.

It also has the highest positive rates in the north east of England.

With all of those factors coming into play it could mean that the whole of North Yorkshire may either need to move up into tier three or split into different tiers.