Eighty-three people in the Harrogate district have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the latest daily figures by Public Health England.
It is the largest daily increase in the district since the pandemic began, beating the 63 infections recorded on October 20.
Today’s figure brings the total number of infections in the district since the start of the pandemic to 2,106.
Speculation is rising that North Yorkshire will enter tier two this week amid the rising number of cases.
The Harrogate district currently has a seven-day rolling average of 203 positive cases per 100,000 people, which despite rising sharply is nevertheless below the England national average of 220.
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According to government figures, the R rate for the district is 1.3.
Harrogate central, Harrogate west and Pannal, Boroughbridge and Marton-cum-Grafton and Killinghall and Hampsthwaite have experienced the highest number of infections in the district in the last seven days.
Ripon has experienced the lowest number.
Harrogate District Hospital has 12 coronavirus patients – three of whom are in intensive care.
Police drugs bust near Harrogate’s Valley Gardens
Police seized 50 wraps of suspected class A drugs, a knife and some cannabis after swooping on two men near Harrogate’s Valley Gardens yesterday.
The men, aged 23 and 26, were taken into custody where the 23-year-old was charged with possessing a knife and possessing class B drugs. The 26-year-old was charged with driving offences.
Both men remain under investigation on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.
The men, who are from Leeds, are believed to be part of county lines drug dealing across county borders.
According to North Yorkshire Police, officers on active patrol spotted the pair in a vehicle near Valley Gardens at about 5pm.
A police statement said:
“After searching the two men from Leeds and their vehicle, officers recovered 50 wraps of suspected class A drugs, a hunting knife and some cannabis.”
Read more:
- Police charge Harrogate woman, 72, after major cannabis find
- Arrests after heroin and crack cocaine seized in Harrogate
North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite teams focus on county lines drug dealers who travel from outside North Yorkshire to sell drugs.
The force appealed to anyone with information about drug dealing in their area to contact it on 101.
If you prefer not to speak to the police and remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Hydraulic loader stolen from sewage works near SpofforthNorth Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses after a hydraulic loader was stolen from a sewage works between Spofforth and Little Ribston.
The burglary happened between Friday and Monday at the Yorkshire Water sewage site.
The suspect or suspects cut a fence to get on to the site, having travelled through fields from the Plompton direction.
They then stole the loader and escaped in a vehicle in an unknown direction.
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A police spokesperson said:
“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and if they have witnessed anything or anyone acting suspiciously in that area.”
Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Thornborrow. Alternatively, email jackie.thornborrow@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200188204.
Harrogate couple open town centre jewellery shopA couple from Harrogate with an online jewellery business are to open their first physical store in the town’s Victoria Shopping Centre this weekend.
Sam McDermid and Neil Thompson set up Infinity & Co in 2014 selling jewellery gifts.
On Sunday they will open a shop under the same name in the former vaping store Tobacco Not Included in the shopping centre.
Ms McDermid said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be opening our first store in my hometown of Harrogate.
“I started my career in retail and it has always been a dream of mine to open my own shop.”
Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce has helped Victoria Shopping Centre to promote retail space for local organisations needing a boost during the pandemic.
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James White, Victoria Shopping Centre manager, said he was “thrilled” to welcome Infinity & Co, adding:
“We are very keen to play our part in the recovery of the retail and hospitality sector in Harrogate.
“We would love to hear from anyone who feels we might be able to help them, especially if they are interested in taking on a pop-up store or window display.”
Infinity & Co is giving away a pair of earrings worth £45 with every purchase during its first week.
D-Day looms for Coach and HorsesConcerns have been raised about late night noise at the Coach and Horses in Harrogate ahead of a key decision on the pub’s future.
Samantha Nelson, daughter of previous landlord John Nelson, has applied for a licence to sell alcohol from 10am to midnight seven days a week.
Ms Nelson has also applied to serve late night refreshments from 11pm to 12.30am every day of the week.
Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee will consider her requests on Thursday next week.
The council revoked her father’s licence in July after council officers claimed Mr Nelson showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules. This decision is due to be appealed at York magistrates court.
A report for the licensing sub-committee says the council has received two letters in support and two opposed to Ms Nelson’s application.
One in favour describes the Coach & Horses as “Harrogate’s best pub”.
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Another says: “The last thing the town needs is another permanent pub closure with an unsightly empty building on a major thoroughfare or, even worse, a convenience store opened in its place.”
The same person describes Ms Nelson as “a very capable person” and says “responsibility for past indiscretions should not be visited upon the applicant”.
Those opposed mainly express concerns about “excessive noise” for local residents. One suggests restricting the opening hours until 11pm.
Lawyer Paddy Whur, acting on behalf of Ms Nelson, told the council the hours applied for replicated those of the previous licence and that late night refreshments allowed for the sale of hot drinks: Mr Whur added:
“Mr Nelson is now to retire from the business and have no business interest or management control at the premises. Samantha Nelson will run the premises after a significant re-investment in them.”
Watchdog refuses to release correspondence with Ripon MP over £3,000 an hour role
A parliamentary watchdog has refused to publish its correspondence with Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith about his £3,000-an-hour advisory role.
The Stray Ferret revealed in August Mr Smith would be paid £60,000 for 20 hours work for low carbon transport company Ryse Hydrogen.
Because of his former government role in Northern Ireland, Mr Smith sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments about a potential conflict in taking the role with Ryse.
In 2019, when Mr Smith was Northern Ireland secretary, Jo Bamford, the executive chairman of Ryse, became owner of Ballymena-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.
The Bamford family owns JCB and are Conservative Party donors.
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We asked Acoba, which advises former ministers on employment and conflicts of interest after leaving office, to provide details of its correspondence with Mr Smith.
The FoI response said Lord Pickles, chair of Acoba, considered that disclosure of the correspondence “would be likely to inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views; and would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs”.
It added:
“The information being withheld includes that which was provided voluntarily by Mr Smith to
enable Acoba to properly advise on the application that had been made.“Disclosure of the information requested would, or would be likely to, make applicants
reluctant to share information as freely with Acoba in future, especially if there was any
perceived sensitivity about the information. This in turn would compromise the advice that
Acoba is able to give.”
The response said the publication of its letter to Mr Smith on its website had fulfilled public interest requirements.
The letter said the appointment was not a conflict of interest, provided Mr Smith does not lobby on behalf of the company or advise on government contracts in the two years after he departed as Northern Ireland secretary in February this year.
The Stray Ferret is to request an internal review of the decision.
Harrogate Nightingale ‘could open with five days notice’
The Harrogate Nightingale hospital will be ready to take patients at five days notice by the end of the week, according to its medical director.
Dr Yvette Oade said it was “hard to predict” when the hospital, which was set-up at a cost of £27m to cater for covid patients in Yorkshire and the Humber, might be needed.
But she said people should be “very concerned” because the infection rate was rising rapidly across the region and hospital admissions were increasing.
The government said last week the Harrogate Nightingale was being put on standby.
Speaking on BBC Look North last night, Dr Oade described the hospital as “an insurance policy” that would be required if hospitals in the region reached maximum capacity. She added:
“You only draw on your insurance policies when things have not worked to plan.
“Right now the hospital isn’t needed, our colleagues are doing a great job around the region.
“People should be very concerned. Infection rates in Yorkshire and the Humber are one of the highest in the country. We’ve seen hospital admissions rising quickly.
“By the end of this week we will be ready to open to patients if given five days notice.
“Right now the hospital isn’t needed. It’s hard for me to predict when this hospital might be needed. The important thing is if we are needed then we will be ready.”
Read more:
- Exclusive: Harrogate Nightingale hospital unable to open safely
- Harrogate Nightingale hospital put on standby
Last week Lord Newby, the Ripon-based Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords suggested the hospital might not be able to open fully because it “simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely”.
Asked about staffing, Dr Oade said the Harrogate Nightingale would need staff from other NHS organisations.
She added:
Police appeal for information about dead Knaresborough man“If we get to the stage where we need the Nightingale hospitals it’s likely that because our acute trust will be so full that some of those procedures that they are currently doing will need to be halted.”
The coroner’s office is appealing for information to find the family of a Knaresborough man who died at home this month.
Police officers have been unable to trace the family or next of kin of Brian George Abbott, 73, who died on October 15.
Mr Abbott, who lived in Finkle Street, was discovered after a concerned neighbour raised the alarm when post began to build up at his home.
His death is not believed to be suspicious.
North Yorkshire Police has appealed to anyone who knew Mr Abbott or has any information that could help find his family to contact the coroner’s office.
You can do so by calling 01609 643614 or emailing coroner@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.
Exclusive: Harrogate Nightingale hospital “unable to open safely”
A peer has expressed concerns the Harrogate Nightingale hospital will not open because it “simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely”.
The government said this week the hospital was on standby to receive covid patients.
But Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, told the Lords yesterday:
“It is widely believed in Yorkshire that, as far as the Nightingale hospital in Harrogate is concerned, this will not happen because the hospital simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely.”
Lord Newby, who lives in Ripon, asked Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, the Conservative leader of the House of Lords, if she could “assure the House that this is not the case”.
Baroness Evans replied that the hospital was already being used for CT scans — which did not reassure Lord Newby.
Speaking today to the Stray Ferret, he said:
“I raised the issue yesterday because I had heard from several NHS sources that the Nightingale hospital had neither the equipment nor more importantly the staff to open fully.
“I was not at all reassured by Baroness Evans’ response. She said that the Harrogate Nightingale was currently being used for CT scans and implied that it was on standby to open for covid cases.
“She explicitly refused to answer my specific question about whether the hospital had the staffing levels which would allow it to open safely for covid patients.”
Read more:
Lord Newby said he doubted NHS England would want to admit there would be real difficulties getting the Harrogate hospital working with covid patients on any scale.
An NHS England spokesperson for the hospital said:
Harrogate Town appoints first club chaplain“As part of our comprehensive activation plans we have developed a model that can be scaled up as and when additional critical care beds are required in the region.
“This ensures that the right skill mix of staff will be available from NHS trusts in the region, and via NHS Professionals and through direct recruitment if required.”
Harrogate Town has appointed its first ever club chaplain to provide pastoral and spiritual help to players and their families.
Rob Brett, who is a Christian but not ordained, said he would offer a friendly face and a listening ear to everyone at the club, regardless of faith.
Most professional football clubs have chaplains but this voluntary role is a first for Town, which was promoted to the English Football League for the first time this year.
Mr Brett, who has lived in Harrogate for more than 20 years and is regulated by Sports Chaplaincy UK, said:
“I will be available to listen, without judging, to whatever it is that people want to share, including family and relationship difficulties, mental health issues and financial problems.
“What I’m told will be in strictest confidence. I won’t necessarily come up with solutions, but rather help people to work out for themselves how to ease or resolve their anxiety.”
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Town manager Simon Weaver welcomed the appointment. He said:
“We are an extended family at Harrogate Town and we look out for each other.”
“Having Rob around gives us someone else to share our personal problems, which we may not want to do with team mates, bosses or colleagues or even our nearest and dearest.”
The club’s newly appointed support liaison officer Phill Holdsworth (left) and an associate director of the club, Mike Partridge.
The club also announced today it had appointed Phill Holdsworth as supporters’ liaison officer.
Mr Holdsworth is a club volunteer and season ticket holder.
Managing director Garry Plant said:
“Phil is very well qualified to deal with off-field suggestions or issues supporters may have.”