Harrogate’s high care costs are being compounded by the cost of living crisis as bosses warn that they have no choice but to pass on some of the “colossal” price rises to residents.

With care homes being hit by huge increases in energy and food prices, the average weekly cost of a residential care home in the district is now £1,029.

That figure remains the highest in North Yorkshire and is equivalent to almost £54,000 a year.

The climbing costs come at a time of significant workforce pressures as care homes continue to rely upon agency staff and constantly recruit to try to fill vacancies.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of care charity Harrogate Neighbours, described the price rises as “colossal” and said further increases in insurance costs and workers’ wages were adding to the pressures of keeping care services running.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours

She added that the only way for care homes to be able to keep their costs down was for the government to provide more funding and support for services.

Ms Cawthray said:

“There is a serious shortage of funding in health and social care.

“This has been going on year after year and the situation is only getting worse as more people get older and need to go into care.”

After years of funding cuts and promises to fix the broken care system, the government earlier this year announced a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone will have to spend on care over their lifetime.

This was due to be funded by a 1.25% rise in National Insurance, however, the tax rise was reversed by prime minister Liz Truss and funding will now come from general taxation.

The price cap and other measures are to be tested out as part of a “trailblazer” scheme which has seen North Yorkshire County Council chosen as one of six local authorities to introduce the reforms several months ahead of elsewhere.

Read more:

• Reassurances issued over ‘onerous’ social care revamp across Harrogate district
• Social care pilot scheme in Harrogate district ‘could bankrupt council’ without more funding

There are, however, questions over when this will begin next year and if it will entail a huge bill for the county council.

Aside from the trial, Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for health and adult services at the authority, said it was doing “everything possible” to support the care sector, although he added these efforts were being made “within the constraints of the funding allocated by central government”.

He said:

“We continue to make the case to the government for comprehensive reform and funding of social care.

“The council is implementing a three-year deal to address the actual cost of care provided by care homes, ahead of many other local authorities.

“We are now working with the sector on a similar long-term plan for home care.”

Meanwhile, the county council has further plans to build an extra care facility after purchasing a £1.8 million plot of land at Harrogate’s Cardale Park, and there are also proposals to introduce “micro-providers” in more rural areas.

Cllr Harrison added: 

“In the Harrogate area, we are pursuing several projects to try to improve market conditions, including identifying potential new opportunities to provide care directly.

“We are also hoping to see the introduction of micro-providers in rural areas and are working with care providers to pilot new workforce models, attracting people to the sector with the prospect of the rewarding careers which can result from caring for others.”

Springwater School in Starbeck has been rated ‘good’ in a newly published report by Ofsted.

Government inspectors visited the school, which has 97 pupils aged two to 19, in June.

Their report rates the school as ‘outstanding’ in four of the five areas assessed but the overall assessment is ‘good’.

It says leaders at the school, which has pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties, “have very high expectations of how well staff look after the pupils in their care” and that “pupils are given highly personalised support by a team of very caring staff”.

Personal development was described as exceptionally strong and arrangements for safeguarding effective.

The report adds:

“Staff ensure that pupils are fully included in all aspects of school life.

“The learning atmosphere in school is positive. Pupils, and students in the sixth form, try hard when in class. They are keen to join in and eager to learn new things.

“Pupils demonstrate how much they appreciate learning by laughing and smiling.”

Inspectors say pupils receive ‘highly personalised support’.

Sixth form ‘excellent’

Sixth form provision is described as “excellent”. The inspectors said:

“The sixth form curriculum is very well planned. It prepares students for adulthood very effectively. The curriculum includes life skills such as shopping and cooking, as well as important knowledge about how society works. Students also take courses that lead to accreditation. Students in the sixth form are incredibly positive about their experiences of school.”

Staff and leaders’ “holistic approach to managing behaviour” is described as “extremely effective”.

Headteacher Sarah Edwards said:

“The governors and I are delighted with the outcome of the two-day inspection which was rigorous and professionally challenging, as I am sure you would expect.

“I am so pleased that they captured what we as a team already identified as the strengths of the school and its pupils.”

Ms Edwards said the school had worked hard on “developing and implementing a suitable curriculum designed to meet the very diverse needs of all of our learners” since its last inspection in 2019, which raised “some concerns that standards may be declining”.

Ms Edwards thanked staff and added:

“I remain extremely proud of what Springwater delivers. There are four out of five of the judgements at an outstanding level, and the inspection team identified that ‘the quality of education has improved’.

“I am confident that the report and inspection experience captured our strengths brilliantly.

“Springwater is a brilliant place where children thrive and in turn the dedicated staff team have an enormous satisfaction in seeing children and young people flourish regardless of the special educational needs.”

Ms Edwards added there was “an extremely high demand for pupil places at this popular and over subscribed special school”, adding:

“As a result, there continue to be vacancies in support roles and the school would love to hear from any member of the community who would be willing to volunteer, to support pupils to access learning activities and community visits.”

Read more:

• Praise for Harrogate school as Ofsted rating improves
• Richard Taylor school in Bilton receives ‘good’ Ofsted rating

Police said this evening that a missing Harrogate schoolgirl has been found safe.

North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for information this afternoon after the girl had failed to return home since Thursday.

But officers said tonight she had been “found safe and well”.

We have consequently updated our coverage by removing details of the girl in order to conceal her identity.

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• Harrogate dogs seek new homes after shocking cruelty

The RSPCA has said that two dogs who were so thin their ribs were protruding when police seized them are now healthy and seeking new homes.

Rocco, a mastiff, and Smudge, a lurcher, were taken from a home in Harrogate when Robbie Nelson refused to sign them over to the animal welfare charity last year.

A vet who examined the dogs concluded both animals were malnourished.

He gave Rocco a one out of nine score on a body condition test, which is classed as a state of emaciation, while Smudge scored two out of nine.

Robbie Nelson, 24, of Woodfield View, was banned from keeping animals for five years when he appeared in court in July.

Read more:

• Harrogate man banned from keeping animals after cruelty case
• Malnourished dogs found in Harrogate flat covered in faeces and urine
• Harrogate man banned from keeping animals for five years

His brother Charlie Nelson, 28, of Woodfield View, Harrogate, was also disqualified from owning pets for five years when he was sentenced this month.

RSPCA inspector Tom Hutton found the dogs underweight and living in accommodation littered with household waste, scrap bikes and dog faeces when he was called out by police to a flat on Starbeck High Street on March 18, 2021.

The flat was covered in dog faeces.

The RSPCA said today that under its care, Rocco and Smudge have returned to a healthy weight and condition and the charity will “now look to find them loving new owners”.

Inspector Hutton said:

“We thank North Yorkshire Police for alerting us to the dreadful situation Rocco and Smudge were in. It meant we were able to rescue them and now we will be able to find them new homes where they are loved and cared for.”

Rocco (left) and Smudge now, looking healthy and seeking new homes.

A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine following a drugs raid by North Yorkshire Police.

Police used a warrant to enter a house in Ripon and seized a large quantity of powder, believed to be cocaine.

According to officers, a number of other items including scales, mobile phones and cash, were also seized during the operation in the south of the city on Friday.

A local man and woman, both in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of possessing class-A drugs with intent to supply and taken into custody.

They were interviewed and have been released under investigation to allow further enquiries to be carried out, including forensic tests of the substances.

Inspector Penny Taylor said:

“Information from communities is vital to help us tackle drug offending, and I’d urge anyone who has information about drug activity to share it with us.

“All reports are taken seriously and could help us make a real difference in your community.”

Anyone with information about drug dealing in their community can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, and select option 1 to speak to the force control room.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and the charity will share the information with North Yorkshire Police.

Read more:

• Ripon MP Julian Smith says ‘huge tax cut’ is ‘wrong’
• Suspected Ripon rogue trader receives court ban

Bargain lovers in Bilton are to set to take part in the Harrogate district’s first jumble trail.

Jumble trails are a relatively new idea in which residents sell items from their drives and garages. They are similar to American yard sales.

Car boot sale fanatic Dave Matthews, a former taxi driver and property developer, has set up a Facebook group for the first jumble trail, which already has 300 members.

He hopes the event, on October 23 from 11am to 4pm, will foster community spirit and give people the chance to clear out their homes in the run-up to Christmas. Mr Matthews said:

“I love car boot sales, hunting for bargains and watching YouTube channels of yard sales and I thought it would be a great idea to do a huge community car boot sale out of people’s front gardens, yards, drives or on the street.

“Jumble trails have been done down south but I believe it’s the first time there’s ever been one in Harrogate.”

Mr Matthews, who has lived in Bilton since 2019, will create an online and physical map showing the homes taking part in the days leading up to the jumble trail.

He said one person taking part had indicated they would be selling a Lambretta scooter.

Mr Matthews said 40 to 50 homes having stalls would be “a good turnout”, adding:

“I hope to do it again next year and make it a regular event.”

People can either join the Bilton Jumble Trail Facebook group, or email biltonjumbletrail@hotmail.com to book a stall or for more information on the event.

Read more:

• Richard Taylor school in Bilton receives ‘good’ Ofsted rating
• Harrogate Hydro set to reopen in May 2023

A Pateley Bridge man has pleaded guilty to performing a lewd act in a car park on Harrogate’s Station Parade.

Thomas Watson, 29, of Millfield Street, appeared before magistrates in Harrogate on Thursday last week.

He was charged with outraging public decency by masturbating in a public car park on September 3 this year.

Watson was remanded on unconditional bail until October 13.

Pre-sentence reports will be prepared before he next appears in court.

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• Harrogate district planning rules could be ‘radically streamlined’
• Pateley Bridge mum’s fear over £660 sixth form bus cost

There are yet more delays for Harrogate’s active travel schemes, which have yet to produce final designs despite being awarded government cash almost two years ago.

North Yorkshire County Council won £1 million for cycling and walking improvements on Oatlands Drive, Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough in November 2020, but final designs have yet to be revealed as part of more consultations.

The council previously said designs for the Victoria Avenue and A59 schemes – which include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reduced speed limits – were “likely” to be revealed this summer.

However, this has now been pushed back until at least the New Year.

Victoria Avenue is one of the routes earmarked for better cycling.

And for the Oatlands Drive plans, the council previously said a consultation was “likely to start soon after” Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend in June.

Three months on, the council says it now hopes to ask the public for their views from the start of October.

This comes after original plans for a one-way traffic system on Oatlands Drive were scrapped after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.

Read more:

• Transport chief denies inflation will lead to ‘cheap’ Harrogate Station Gateway 
• Beech Grove decision leaves Harrogate in slow lane for cycling

It was later agreed that the funding would instead be used for a feasibility study looking into improvements for the wider area.

Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transport at the council, said in a statement this week:

“We are still in the detailed design stage for active travel schemes on Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough.

“Following discussions and guidance from Active Travel England we would like to amend the designs further for improved pedestrian and cycling use.

“A public consultation with final designs is likely to take place in the New Year.

“The study of Oatlands Drive will review the existing designs and prepare new ones, based on the data we collect, to give us some options for active travel and traffic calming improvements in the Oatlands area that could be trialled.

“We hope to launch the public consultation at the start of October.”

The latest delays come on top of several setbacks for Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path project which was first awarded funding in 2017. A first phase of the project was completed earlier this year, but a start date for phase two remains unclear.

Otley Road cycle path

There have also been setbacks for the town’s £11.2 million Gateway project which has been hit by a legal threat from a leading property company.

Hornbeam Park Developments made a proposed claim for a judicial review against the council this year over claims that it “failed conscientiously” to take into account the feedback of a previous survey.

This sparked the launch of yet another consultation, which was held in summer and gathered over 2,000 responses ahead of a council decision over whether to submit a final business case for funding.

Elsewhere, plans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon were shelved altogether in summer when a council bid for £1.5 million was rejected by government.

Liz Truss may have only just entered Downing Street but opposition parties in Harrogate and Knaresborough have begun manoeuvrings for the next general election.

This week the Green Party became the first to name its prospective parliamentary candidate. The Liberal Democrats are expected to follow suit by the end of the year.

Conservative Andrew Jones has won four successive elections in Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2010, securing 53% of the vote at the last campaign in 2019.

The next election is widely expected to take place in 2024 — and some think his biggest threat comes from opposition parties working together rather than splitting the vote. But the early signs are this is unlikely to happen.

There was little appetite for a pact at a Green Party hustings event this week. Paul Ko Ferrigno, the only candidate standing for leadership, insisted he was fighting to win, and even if he didn’t he was more interested in shaping the debate than doing deals.

Asked if he was willing to risk letting the Tories in with this approach, Mr Ko Ferrigno said:

“Yes — but if what I’ve done is shift the conversation so the next time round the Tories are being more green in their approach, more forward in their approach, because of the way we have been campaigning, then that’s OK.”

The Greens still harbour ill feeling from the last election, when their candidate, Shan Oakes, stood down.

Green Party members at this week’s hustings.

Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn for the Greens on North Yorkshire County Council, told this week’s meeting:

“We had a national agreement with Lib Dems. Shan agreed to stand aside. The problem with that is you have to trust the people you deal with.

“The trust for us has disappeared. That’s not good for a future progressive alliance.”

Cllr Warneken added, however, that a final decision on pacts would be taken locally.

Labour and Lib Dems

The Stray Ferret asked Chris Watt, vice-chair, Harrogate & Knaresborough Labour Party, which took 11% of the vote in 2019, if it would consider an opposition pact. He replied:

“Being a much larger party, Labour operates a national system with local parties making the final decision on their candidate.”

Mr Watt added Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour “have asked to move forward with selecting a candidate as soon as possible”.

Read more:

• Green Party chooses man to fight Andrew Jones in Harrogate and Knaresborough
• Andrew Jones MP hits back over sewage vote

The process to select a Liberal Democrat candidate is being re-run after the national Lib Dems upgraded Harrogate and Knaresborough to a target seat.

“I’m hoping to have the procedures completed Christmas time.”

The transport boss of North Yorkshire has moved to defend the county’s on-demand bus service after concerns were raised that it could become a “blank cheque” of public funding.

YorBus was launched as a trial to provide services in poorly-served areas in Ripon, Masham and Bedale, and allows passengers to book via an app.

It has been hailed by North Yorkshire County Council as an “innovative” approach to public transport and the authority has repeatedly stated its ambition to roll-out the scheme across the county.

However, there have been concerns over the running costs which are higher than normal bus services subsidised by the council.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at the county council, has now said “incorrect” figures were discussed at a recent meeting and that the costs are reducing as more passengers use the service.

Read more:

• On demand Yorbus sees over 13,000 trips in first year
• YorBus: On-demand service’s running costs are twice as much as regular buses

He also said it is “unfair” to compare YorBus with normal services because of its flexible offer.

Cllr Duncan said: 

“The average cost per passenger journey as of August 2022 is £11.68 – that’s £3 more than the average subsidy per journey on for the fixed services.

“This figure has reduced from £35.00 per passenger journey in the month it launched (July 2021), and this continues to reduce as passenger numbers increase.

“Comparing YorBus with fixed timetable routes is in many ways unfair. While YorBus has a higher subsidy per journey at present, it is available to around 14,000 people within its zone of operation.

“Conventional services may have a lower subsidy level but operate on a fixed timetable.

“This can only benefit those lucky enough to live along the bus route.”

In total, YorBus cost the council £229,000 last year, and another £230,000 has been set aside for the remainder of the trial period which will run until June 2023.

Passenger fees were also recently increased in August with a single journey costing £2 for adults and £1 for a child, while under-fives travel free and concessionary bus passes can also be used.

Keane Duncan 

At a council meeting earlier this month, concerns were raised over the running costs and that taxpayers outside the trial area are not seeing any benefits.

Settle Cllr David Staveley said that with 850 active YorBus users out of 611,000 population in North Yorkshire, there will be many residents who “might not think it is the best use of taxpayers’ money”.

He said:

“I’m just a bit worried that it sounds like a blank cheque.”

In response, Cllr Duncan said in a statement this week:

 “YorBus is very positive in the sense that it maximises the number of people we can offer transport to and is much more flexible.

“People can be picked up and dropped off at any bus stop in the zone.

“It’s also worth remembering that YorBus is a pilot.

“We’re continually reviewing the service and making improvements so we’re in the best position to decide whether we can expand it to new zones in the county.”