Covid rate rises again in Harrogate district

The coronavirus rate of infection for the Harrogate district has increased for the first time in almost a month.

The seven-day average rate of infection peaked at 303 people per 100,000 on 9 November.

It then fell rapidly to 85 on 30 November, according to the data from Public Health England.

But yesterday’s latest figure, which is for the seven days to December 3, showed the rate had gone up on three consecutive days and is now 95.

That is still below the North Yorkshire average of 105 and the England average of 148.

But it does suggest the sharp downwards trend went into reverse before the end of lockdown on December 2.

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The district’s R number, which refers to the rate at which the virus is spreading, remains low at 0.4.

This means every 10 people infected will pass it on to another four.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is still the local area with the most positive cases, having recorded 21 in the last seven days.

Lightwater Valley fined £330,000 after boy thrown off Twister ride

The company that owns Ripon theme park Lightwater Valley has been fined £330,000 after a child was thrown off its Twister ride and suffered “life-changing” head injuries.

Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd received the fine at York Magistrates Court for the incident on May 30 last year.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, which regulates workplace health and safety, found that although the theme park’s Twister procedures said those between 1.2 metres and 1.5 metres tall must wear seat belts, several children under 1.5 metres were not wearing seat belts on this ride. CCTV footage and statements by members of the public backed up this claim.

Many belts were found not to be functioning correctly. On several occasions, the final position of the lap bar restraint allowed significant gaps to remain in the containment and did not fully contain smaller passengers.

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Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd, which is registered in Sherborne, Dorset pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £333,344 and ordered to pay costs of £16,183.

Speaking after Friday’s hearing,, HSE inspector Andrea Jones said:

“A child suffered life-changing head injuries at Lightwater Valley theme park.

“Our investigation found that the theme park did not implement suitable operating procedures and monitoring of ride operators in relation to the ride restraints.

“This was an entirely avoidable incident. Several children were put at risk and Lightwater Valley has now been held to account for their failings.”

The child’s mother spoke of how “the little boy I took to Lightwater Valley that day is not the same boy that woke up after the surgery. I still grieve for my little boy”.

‘Considering the fine’

Lightwater Valley said in a statement:

“We have from the outset accepted full responsibility for this accident and our sincere and heartfelt apologies go out to the young boy, his family and his friends.

“We have co-operated fully throughout the HSE’s investigation and are carefully considering the fine imposed by the court.

“Since the incident we have been providing support and assistance to the family and will continue to do so.

“The health and safety of visitors to our park remains our top priority and we are determined that an incident such as this will never happen again. We have undertaken a full review of our health and safety systems and procedures following the accident.”

The great house near Ripon that inspired Jane Eyre

Four miles north of Ripon is a house that inspired one of the greatest novels in English history.

Charlotte Bronte stayed at Norton Conyers in 1839 and heard the legend of a mad woman who was confined to the attic in the previous century. Thus was born the idea of Mrs Rochester and Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.

A secret staircase, found when floorboards were lifted in 2004, attracted international attention because it matched the novel’s description of a hidden flight of stairs from near Mr Rochester’s bedroom to his wife’s attic prison.

There is, however, so much more to Norton Conyers than Jane Eyre, even though it is perhaps less well known than other nearby great houses, such as Newby and Beningbrough.

Charles I and James II both stayed at the grade two late medieval house, which has been in the Graham family since 1624. It usually opens to the public 28 days a year although covid prevented this in 2020.

Sir James Graham and Lady Halina in front of the clock tower.

Sir James Graham, the 11th baronet, and his wife Lady Halina have occupied the family seat since 1982 and clearly adore it but the effort of maintaining such a large, historic site is considerable. Deathwatch beetle has been a particular menace.

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The couple are now trying to raise £260,000 to renovate the beautiful clock tower, which is leaning and in danger of collapse. Swarms of wild bees got into the wood and caused it to rot.

The sum would also go towards repairing the roof above the adjacent 17th century stables, Smithy, laundry and bakery. Lady Halina says:

“We’ve received a £60,000 grant from the Country Houses Foundation. We don’t know where the other £200,000 will come from.”

The secret staircase that was discovered at Norton Conyers in 2004.

The clock tower bell dates back to 1724 but hasn’t sounded since 1986, when the clock last worked.

Clock experts Smith of Derby have been hired to get the clock and bell working for the first time in almost 35 years.

Visitors regularly talk of Norton Conyers’ special atmosphere. Archaeologists have been working there for more than 25 years and new discoveries are constantly being made: just six weeks ago restoration work on an ancient door discovered symbols designed to ward off evil spirits.

Lady Halina says:

“There is so much more to the house than Jane Eyre. But it is a lot of work. The house is our blessing and our curse!”

The four poster bed that James II stayed in.

£100,000 emergency charity appeal launched

A £100,000 appeal has been launched to help small charities in North Yorkshire survive the winter.

Two Ridings Community Foundation, which coordinates giving in North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire, is running the Surviving the Covid Winter appeal until January 26.

Donations will fund grants of up to £10,000 to voluntary organisations.

Two Ridings Community Foundation usually runs a winter fuel appeal but has altered its plans this year to help charities struggling on the frontline in the battle against covid.

Not-for-profit groups based in North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire with annual turnover of less than £500,000 will be eligible to apply for grants to use as unrestricted funding.

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Jan Garrill, chief executive of the foundation, said:

“There is seemingly no precedent for these times. What I do know is now is the time to give. Whether you are able to donate £10 or £10,000 we urge you to support this campaign.

“In these times, it is important that we look out for one another and stand shoulder to shoulder with people and communities”.

Information on how to donate is available here.

Stray FM licence should have been re-advertised, says Harrogate peer

Stray FM should have had its licence re-advertised rather than be allowed to lose its “special identity” to “out-of-town owners”, a Harrogate Conservative peer has said.

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate said Ofcom, which regulates commercial radio, needed to do more to protect “well-loved” radio stations that were being “absorbed into the mega-conglomerates that now seem to control the sector”.

Speaking in a Lords debate about radio licenses, he added:

“In the region where I live in Yorkshire, a large number of local stations have lost their special identity as their out-of-town owners dispose of local staff and content, and simply hijack the licensed frequency to pump out centrally edited music that is obtainable in various other ways, either from national broadcasters or through web streaming services.

“That simply should not have been allowed.”

Lord Kirkhope, who is a lawyer and former MP for Leeds North East, has a long-standing interest in radio.

He helped set up a hospital station in Newcastle in the 1960s and subsequently applied unsuccessfully for for the Tyne and Wear franchise that went to Metro radio in 1973.

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He told the Stray Ferret he had Stray FM, which owners Bauer Media rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio in September, and other local radio stations in mind when he made his comments in Parliament.

He added licences should not have granted “without adequate local content”, adding:

“In those cases I consider there has been a breach of the spirit of the regulations if not the legality.

“In some of the obvious local cases like Stray FM those licences should instead have been re-advertised.

“After all, I might have been interested myself in maintaining the local spirit and I think there are others who might have joined me.”

Bauer Media has always maintained the station retains local content and services, as well as a presence in Harrogate.

 

Leeds nearest hospital to get first vaccines

Leeds will be the nearest place to receive the first coronavirus vaccines, according to national media reports this morning,

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday 50 hospitals were ready to receive the vaccine within days.

The Department of Health has yet to publish an official list of hospitals or details of how the jab will be administered. But the names of the 50 hospitals appear to have been leaked to the national media, some of which have published them today.

According to the reports, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, whose hospitals include Leeds General Infirmary, is the nearest to the Harrogate district.

The Harrogate Nightingale is not included on the list.

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The vaccine must be kept at -70°C until it is used, which means sites chosen to administer it must have adequate storage facilities.

Hancock has also said there will be a community rollout of the vaccine, including GPs and pharmacists.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust if it could confirm it was not on the list.

A spokesman replied:

“Any comment on decisions on which hospitals are on the list would be something for the NHS England regional communications team.”

Harrogate district health bosses expect ‘long journey’ to tier one

Health bosses in the Harrogate district said today they expect it to be a “long journey” from tier two to tier one.

The government is due to review the tiers every two weeks, which means the first opportunity to change will be on December 16.

But with infection rates in North Yorkshire nearly double those in tier one areas, any hopes of change before Christmas appear slim.

Richard Webb, director of adult social care at the county council, said at a coronavirus media briefing today:

“We need to work really hard to stay at tier two and hopefully reduce in due course to tier one.

“I think the advice that we are getting is that it might be quite a long journey to get out of tier two and into tier one.

“I know there will be some parts of the county that are very anxious to see that change. So we are going to have to continue to work hard to drive infection rates down.”

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Infection rates have shrunk considerably since the second half of November.

The Harrogate district’s seven-day average rate of infection is now 90 people per 100,000. This is lower than both North Yorkshire and England, whose rates are 104 and 152 respectively.

The R number for the district, which refers to how rapidly the virus is spreading in the community, has fallen again this week from 0.6 to 0.5. This means every 10 people with covid will infect five.

Public Health England reported another 25 cases today.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is by some distance the district’s covid hotspot. It has recorded 27 infections in the last seven days.

The next highest sub-districts are Harrogate West and Pannal and Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith, both of which have had 14.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite actually has the fourth highest number of infections of all the sub-districts in North Yorkshire.

 

 

Two arrested in Harrogate police drugs swoop

Police have seized drugs from a house in Harrogate and arrested two people.

Officers based in Harrogate entered a flat on Knaresborough Road on Friday and recovered drugs, including edible cannabis, and other drug paraphernalia.

A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug and an 18-year-old woman was also arrested for being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.

Both were later released. Enquires are ongoing.

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PC Nicholas Woods, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“Drugs have a negative impact on our communities, and I encourage everyone to look out for common signs of drug dealing and to report it.

“Harrogate Police will continue to proactively disrupt drug activity and help make Harrogate a safer place to live and work.”

North Yorkshire Police urged anyone noticing suspicious drug activity to report it using the non-emergency number 101, or pass information on anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

Harrogate district farmers fearful of post-Brexit future

Farmers in the Harrogate district have expressed fears for their future as the industry prepares for its biggest shake-up in almost 50 years.

The government confirmed this week farmers will lose 50 per cent of the support payments they receive from the European Union by 2024.

George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said the government’s new system, named Environmental Land Management, will pay farmers if they prevent floods, plant woods and help wildlife.

But details of replacement support payments when the post-Brexit transition period ends on 31 December remain unclear.

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the farming charity that organises the Great Yorkshire Show, said:

“It has been clear for some time that the current system of support payments will change, but there remains real anxiety about what the government’s future agricultural policy will mean for family farming businesses and livelihoods.

“Many farmers stand willing to embrace the changes ahead, however a lack of practical detail about how new support arrangements will work for farm businesses continues to make it difficult to plan for the future.”

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Mr Pulling added the society “will continue to support the farming community throughout the forthcoming transition” by “offering opportunities for skills development and knowledge exchange” and by promoting agriculture.

Sheep farmers are expected to be among the worst hit if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The EU is the UK’s biggest export market for lamb: 90% of all lamb exports go to the EU so the industry could be devastated by tariffs.

This could have severe implications for sheep farmers in the district.

Beckwithshaw farmer David Wilson, chair of the Dalesbred Sheep Breeders Association, said many farmers could go out of business if the situation was not resolved.

Mr Wilson, whose son is the fifth generation of the family farming business, said:

“The future of farming is at stake. We just don’t know what is going to happen. We don’t know if we are coming or going.”

 

 

Harrogate district covid rates fall by two-thirds during lockdown

The Harrogate district is set to end the second lockdown with a far lower rate of covid than when it started.

Government figures today reveal the district has an average seven-day rate of infection of 92 people per 100,000, compared with 277 people per 100,000 on November 5.

This means the rate has fallen by about two-thirds since lockdown began.

The England average is currently 154 and the North Yorkshire average is 107.

The R number has fallen from a peak of 1.6 last month to 0.6 today. This means every 10 people with covid will infect another six.

Public Health England recorded another 18 positive test results today, which is well below the 95 on November 9.

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There were no further deaths reported today at either Harrogate District Hospital or in the district’s care homes.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the district’s covid hotspot, with 26 infections in the last seven days.

The next highest is Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith with 18.

Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley and Ripon North and West have not recorded a single new infection for at least seven days.