Visitors to Harrogate’s Valley Gardens are being encouraged not to feed the ducks because of the risk of attracting rats.

Harrogate Borough Council recently installed a notice warning people of the risks associated with leftover food on the ground.

It said this could cause issues with rodents and overfed ducks.

However, the council stressed it had no plans to close the gardens, as occurred at Quarry Moor playground in Ripon 18 months ago when the number of rats caused a public health concern.

A council spokesperson said:

“We understand visitors to Valley Gardens in Harrogate enjoy feeding the ducks. However, doing so can attract rats that may feed on the food that is left, and also result in the ducks being overfed.

“Therefore, we would urge people not to feed the ducks.

“We have absolutely no intention whatsoever to close Valley Gardens.”

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Knaresborough firefighters were called out in the early hours this morning to a report of a fire in the open caused by power lines that had come down.

The incident happened on Bar Lane at 1.01am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said:

“Crews located the damaged power line that was arcing with the ground.

“Crews handed the incident over to land owners to await the arrival of engineers to make the cables safe.”

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A union official has predicted some Harrogate district schools will close because of the impending teachers’ strike

Members of the National Education Union plan to strike on February 1 and stage further walk-outs in February and March.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of NEU North Yorkshire, said all primary and secondary schools across Harrogate would be impacted by strike action. He said:

“It is likely that there will be a mixture of full and partial school closures. Furthermore, plans are being made to hold picket lines at schools across the area, though these have not been confirmed yet.”

Mr McVeigh-Kaye said teachers in North Yorkshire were “in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis” caused by a below inflation pay offer, school funding and a shortage of teachers. He added:

“Hardworking teachers have had enough and are now taking the only course of action open to them and withdraw their labour.”

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The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, what impact it expected the strike to have on schools, who is responsible for making decisions on school closures and what measures it was putting in place to cope.

It replied in a statement:

“Information about school staff’s union membership is not retained by North Yorkshire County Council, or schools, in line with national rules on data governance, although we expect to be provided with headline data from the union on overall numbers. It is a personal decision for those members whether they participate in the strike action.

“Individual schools will co-ordinate the impact of any strike action, but we will support them with general guidance on mitigating the impact on pupils where possible, alongside the Department for Education’s own guidance.

“Headteachers will also be provided with advice from their professional associations in managing strike action within the protocols for employers when responding to strikes.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she plans to meet union leaders this week to try to avert the strike.

A senior hospital consultant has warned Ripon Grammar School students about the dangers of vaping.

More children are taking up vaping in the UK, with products easily available over the counter in supermarkets.

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite, who is chair of governors and a parent at the school as well as a kidney specialist and clinical director for medical specialities with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, told hundreds of teenagers she was among many medical professionals increasingly concerned about the impact of vaping on health.

Dr Garthwaite said:

“We are seeing increasing numbers of young people presenting to hospital with problems associated with addiction, but also medical problems which are associated with vaping.”

Although originally designed as a form of nicotine replacement to help smokers break their addiction to cigarettes, vaping is far from harmless, warned Dr Garthwaite, who said:

“It was never designed as a safe alternative. The multiple chemicals used to create the vapes, and in particular the flavours and smells, are often dangerous and have unpredictable consequences.”

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite

Dr Garthwaite talked about a sporty 17-year-old A-level student who is now using a wheelchair after suffering from acute nicotine poisoning and severe lung damage after vaping.

She added:

“Although there is no tar or smoke, the nicotine and other sticky carbonated chemicals are cancerous and will stick in the lungs and move into your circulation, causing significant damage to the whole body.

“As health care professionals, we are concerned that vaping is seen as safe and easy for young people. This is not what nicotine replacement was designed for. It was developed to enable those individuals who were addicted to cigarette smoking, and suffering the consequences of this, to reduce their exposure to the toxic smoke and tar released from cigarettes.”

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The government has rejected Harrogate Borough Council‘s bid for £20 million to go towards the redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

Last night’s decision is a significant blow for plans for a £49 million upgrade of the ageing centre and casts further doubt on the facility’s future.

More than 100 projects have been awarded a share of £2.1 billion from round two of the Levelling Up Fund.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, led by Michael Gove, rewarded six schemes from Yorkshire and the Humber, including £41 million to West Yorkshire Combined Authority for better bus services.

There was also £19 million to regenerate Catterick Garrison in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency.

But there was nothing for Harrogate Convention Centre or anywhere else in the Harrogate district.

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A council Cabinet report on August 17 said it had submitted a levelling up funding bid on August 1.

It said Investment would “help to ensure that HCC can both sustain and enhance its position within the market place, support the ‘levelling up’ agenda and ensure that the economic benefits that this project delivers to the wider economy are maximised”.

But it also warned:

“Expectations do need to be managed as there are still some significant challenges in relation to this bid, in particular: Harrogate district is a priority three area therefore our chances of success are not high (only 7% of those were funded in round 1 of the fund).”

Control of the centre will transfer to North Yorkshire Council on April 1, when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished.

Last week Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment and said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

A homeless man has admitted committing theft at two Harrogate town centre shops on the same morning this week.

Anthony Fraser, 37, pleaded guilty to stealing products worth £380 from hair and beauty salon Hart & Hart on Commercial Street on Monday.

He also admitted taking products of an unknown value from the nearby barbers shop belonging to Nathan Cosgrove.

Fraser, who gave his address as Harrogate Homeless Project on Bower Street, appeared before magistrates in York yesterday.

He was remanded on bail until February 10, when he is due to be sentenced.

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Di Burton, founder of Harrogate PR firm Cicada, has died at the age of 68.

The company, which Ms Burton founded in 1987, announced in a statement on its website today that she had died this month.

She was also a former member of the Cabinet Office communications review team, a former director of Harrogate Theatre, a board member of the Northern Aldborough Festival and an alumna of Harvard Business School.

Cicada’s statement said:

“If you met Di, you were unlikely to forget her.

“Assertive and inquisitive by nature, her infectious personality always left a lasting impression.

“She will be remembered as one of Harrogate’s best-known and most respected business figures and one of the country’s leading PR practitioners.”

The statement added Ms Burton turned the company “into a thriving PR consultancy that helped a wide range of companies to manage their reputation, raise their profile and boost their bottom line” and that colleagues “benefitted from her enthusiastic leadership and mentoring”.

It said:

“As Di’s husband Andy eloquently puts it: ‘Di was one of those people for whom tomorrow could not come quickly enough. Much of her mind was always in the future; there was always so much more to accomplish’.”

Cicada’s current management team acquired Cicada in 2015, which enabled Ms Burton to retire although she continued to work by training PR professionals.

Ms Burton is survived by husband Andy, children Sarah and Rupert and grandchildren. Her funeral will take place at All Saints Church, Ripley at 2.30pm on January 30.

The family has requested no flowers at the funeral, but instead for donations to either Harrogate’s Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre or Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

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Harrogate Borough Council has defended its decision not to transfer some staff to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Five audit services staff recently discovered they would transfer to Veritau, a shared service group owned by local authorities in Yorkshire and north-east England.

Public services union Unison said on Tuesday it was “dismayed” by the decision, which it said came after more than a year of talks in which it was expected all staff would transfer to the new super-council under TUPE terms.

Unison Harrogate branch secretary Dave Houlgate said it had raised a dispute and called on Harrogate Borough Council to “stand by its staff and resist this late change”, adding:

“We object in the strongest terms to this late change of plan which shows total disregard for the staff involved, denies them the opportunity to move on to new terms and conditions negotiated and agreed by Unison and ignores established procedures and protocols that are in place.”

A council spokesperson said today:

“Engagement with staff, and consultation with trade unions, has taken place at every stage of the transition to North Yorkshire Council. This will continue, ensuring staff are kept informed of progress and have the opportunity to raise concerns. All staff also continue to be offered support.

“The audit service for the new council will be provided by Veritau, a company created in 2009 by North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council. Veritau has provided audit and other specialist services to the authorities, as well as other organisations, for many years. Providing income that will continue for the new council. Veritau already provides services to five of the seven district and borough councils that will be replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

“It is proposed staff currently providing the service in Harrogate will move to Veritau on April 1. Employment protection ensures that they will transfer on their existing terms and conditions. Individuals will have the option of choosing Veritau’s terms and conditions, should they wish to do so.”

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A Harrogate couple who run a mobile business selling tacos hope the discovery of some tinned jalapenos by the side of a road will lead them to whoever stole their van.

Tom and Emma Peak set up Tacoporium six years ago and sell their Mexican treats at weddings, festivals and corporate events.

But the business suffered a blow when one of the two vehicles they use, a white Ford van, was stolen from the back of their house just off King’s Road on Sunday night.

Fortunately, it isn’t their main vehicle but it contained numerous items including cutlery, trays, a cooking back — and jalapenos.

Today the couple received an email from Ryedale District Council accusing them of fly-tipping a list of items that had been dumped near Malton.

Mr Peak explained to the council the van had been stolen and now hopes that knowing where the goods were deposited will help narrow down the police search of where to look for the still-missing van.

He has even seen the funny side, posting on Instagram:

“Now let’s find that van and nail these fools who don’t appreciate a good quality pickled pepper.”

He told the Stray Ferret:

“They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. They put no value on my jalapenos whereas they are the best money can buy.”

Mr Peak plans to drive to Malton this week to collect the abandoned items — and reassured customers the business would continue despite the missing van.

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Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has paid a six-figure sum to a patient who suffered a stoke and cardiac arrest after an operation, leaving him severely disabled.

The trust and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were found jointly responsible for the treatment of the 74-year-old patient, who suffered a minor stroke in January 2016.

Having developed some slurring of speech and a headache, he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, where he was admitted to the stroke unit and underwent a CT scan of the head.

As part of the legal case against the two trusts, solicitors acting on behalf of the man made several allegations of negligence. It was alleged imaging was wrongly reported and surgery was unnecessarily performed.

During the surgery the patient suffered a stroke and later a cardiac arrest from which he was successfully resuscitated.  He was left severely disabled and brain damaged.

Solicitor Elizabeth Maliakal, a specialist in medical negligence claims at Hudgell Solicitors, led the legal case on behalf of the patient, whose daughter was appointed his deputy by the Court of Protection to manage her father’s affairs.

Ms Maliakal alleged the operation had been carried out without the patient or his family being fully informed of the risks involved, and without being informed that the benefits of surgery were small. She said the case centred on two key aspects of care and treatment:

“Firstly, there was no need for surgical intervention and, had my client not undergone surgery, he would have avoided the stroke which occurred during surgery and the later cardiac arrest.

“Secondly, he was inadequately consented over the decision to operate and, given doubts about his mental capacity to consent, his family were not consulted over the decision either.

“Had an appropriate discussion taken place regarding the relative risks and benefits, neither my client nor his family would have consented.

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Ms Maliakal (pictured above) added:

“Whilst our medical experts felt that he may well have gone on to suffer further strokes in the near future, had he not undergone the surgery, they were of the opinion that he would not have been left as profoundly disabled as he is now.

“He has been left with a catastrophic injury.  He is paralysed, has little vision in his right eye and reduced vision in his left eye. He is unable to talk, he is doubly incontinent, needs to be fed through a tube and requires hoists to be moved.  He now lives permanently in a nursing home.”

‘Denied liability’

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust agreed a six-figure sum for damages. The precise amount has not been revealed.

The compensation agreed covers the cost of future care, nursing home fees, private medical treatment, medication expenses and aids and equipment.

Mrs Maliakal added:

“This was a hard fought case. Initially both trusts denied liability and it was only after court proceedings were commenced that settlement discussions took place. The negligent treatment left my client severely disabled, and in need of round the clock care, which could and should have been avoided.

“As part of our investigations into the case we instructed independent medical experts, including a vascular surgeon, a stroke physician and neuroradiologist. The Trusts agreed to compensate

A joint statement for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“The trusts sincerely regret the difficulties experienced by the claimant and are pleased to have been able to reach an amicable compromise of his claim.  The trusts wish the claimant and his family well for the future.”