Kell Bank school prepares to celebrate the end of an era

A celebration tinged with sadness is to be held to mark the closure of a 200-year-old primary school near Masham this summer.

Kell Bank Church of England Primary School can accommodate up to 50 pupils but currently has just six.

Because of dwindling numbers, North Yorkshire County Council has issued a closure notice, which means the school will close permanently on August 31.

Staff want to celebrate the school’s history and, as part of this, are asking people to come forward with their memories and old photos for a commemorative newspaper.

The school has also put out a call to find the oldest former pupil. It is hoped whoever it is will join the youngest pupil at a ceremony in July.

All submissions for the celebration need to be in by June 11.

Laurie Hoyes, a school governor, said:

“Kell Bank School was founded in 1820 to provide an education for the local children of Fearby, Healey and the surrounding villages.

“This wonderful local school, ideally placed to learn from nature, has excelled and achieved so many accolades during its long, educational journey and has provided a safe environment and vast source of knowledge to generations of local people.

“The celebrations in July will be tinged with great sadness, as Kell Bank is to close at the end of the summer term.”

Ms Hoyes, alongside other members of the school community, hopes the exhibition will highlight the key role the school has played in local people’s lives.

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Markington woman suffers severe burns from oven cleaner

A professional cleaner from Markington says she suffered severe burns from an oven cleaner readily available for anyone online.

Vicky Buck has been cleaning for nine years but last month was left shocked when a cleaning product burnt through her skin, deep enough to cut her nerves.

Ms Buck runs her own cleaning company in the district, Ultraviolet clean. She said it was the Vanquish Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner that burnt her.

Whilst wearing protective clothing Ms Buck said “less than a teaspoon” of product fell through the tongue of her shoe and left her with a 50p size burn on the side of her foot.

Her sock had fused to her skin and she will be permanently scarred. It had also burnt through her gloves but luckily her hands healed.

After speaking to doctors at Harrogate District Hospital she has been referred to a burns specialist.

oven cleaner burn

This is the burn Ms Buck was left with after a small drop of oven cleaner dripped onto her skin.

The incident happened on April 16, a few days before her 45th birthday, since initial treatment Ms Buck returned to A&E today after continuous pain. The doctors dug out the remaining dead flesh in hopes it will heal faster.

She said it was “surreal and grim” watching them remove the black skin without being able to feel it due to nerve damage.

She said:

“The bottle says professional use only and I am professional that has taken courses on chemical products but it still burnt me. It shouldn’t be so easily available, how many people could this happen to?

People really need to get the professionals in to do this. It’s no more oven cleaning for me.”

She says she is sharing her story in hopes others will be hesitant when using cleaners

The product is still available online for around £9 via a large online seller. Ms Buck suggested a product such as this should only be available to those with a licence.

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Ms Buck says when it first happened she had to take a few days off work as it was so swollen she couldn’t put shoes on or use her car pedals.

Ms Buck is on a number of cleaning forums with other professionals often asking for advice on good products, she hopes that going public with her story will stop people buying the product so easily.

The product manufacturer, Clover Chemicals Ltd, had been approached for a comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

Harrogate companies face recruitment ‘nightmare’

A Harrogate recruitment agency has said it is struggling to fill positions with new workers following the recent ease in covid restrictions.

Travail Employment Group in Harrogate said it has plenty of jobs available but is unable to find the people to fill them.

It has seen a change in employment trends post-pandemic, going from some of the busiest months ever for recruitment to having more vacancies than they can fill.

Lisa Headford, branch manager at Harrogate Travail Employment Group, said:

“We’ve found that now we could grow further if we had more candidates. We have a lot of vacancies we are struggling to fill.

“I think the pandemic has definitely shaken things up for recruitment. We have plenty of jobs available so no one should be out of work.

“There are lots of reasons why, but everyone is struggling to recruit.”

Two Harrogate companies have also said they have experienced similar difficulties in finding new staff.

The companies have both advertised for a number of jobs but only received a small number of applicants.

Cleaning company It’s Clean received a huge increase in applicants during lockdown, with many people on furlough eager to pick up hours elsewhere.

Recruitment manager Louise Brear said now she was struggling to fill positions:

“Over the last couple of weeks I’ve advertised lots of jobs and had nothing. I’m not sure if it’s because people came to us from hospitality over lockdown and are now heading back.

“We had so many applicants during furlough and now it’s completely stopped. We have more customers now too so we need more cleaners.”

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It was a similar story for The Wild Plum in Harrogate, which has been looking for a new supervisor and chef for around a month.

The chef role has now been filled and interviews organised for the supervisor position, but the cafe’s general manager Rachel Atkinson said it had been a “struggle”.

She said:

“We did struggle, it was a bit of a nightmare actually. I know of other people who also struggled to fill jobs. We have someone coming in to be interviewed so hopefully it is successful.”

Ms Atkinson thought the reason for their difficulties may have been due to people changing careers during lockdown.

Both businesses were hopeful they would find recruits, but said they had not experienced issues like this before.

Communities thanked for covid response with commemorative plaques

Two commemorative plaques are to be installed in Pateley Bridge and Bewerley this summer to thank the communities for their “amazing” response during the pandemic.

Pateley Bridge Town Council and Bewerley Parish Council are installing the markers in their towns as a way to thank and recognise community members who collectively came forward to help out.

The idea has been discussed at a few council meetings in recent months but at Tuesday’s annual council meeting it was agreed to arrange an unveiling for July.

Both councils felt it was important to hold the ceremony once lockdown had eased to allow for a proper celebration of people’s hard work.

One plaque will be placed halfway up Pateley Bridge high street, aside other plaques, and the other on the outer wall of Bewerley youth shelter. They will be funded by the two councils.

Mayor of Pateley Bridge, Mike Holt, said he came up with the idea a few months ago after trying to find a way to recognise various people and companies’ efforts.

He said:

“On the whole, the community came together in a tremendous way. The plaque will be there forever to remind people of the past year. I think it’s important for us to come together and remember the people who came together at the time.”

Further arrangements for July’s unveilings will be announced as covid restrictions ease.

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GP praises vaccine progress but warns against relaxing too soon

A Harrogate GP has praised the progress of the covid vaccination programme, but says it is important people continue to follow government guidance.

Dr Bruce Willoughby has worked as a GP in a number of Harrogate practices and now acts as the GP clinical lead for primary care and population health within NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

As the vaccine programme continues to be extended to younger people and coronavirus cases decrease, Dr Willoughby has said this should not be a sign for people to relax.

The CCG is urging local residents to keep staying two metres apart from people outside their household or bubble and only meet outdoors. It says that social distancing measures such as washing your hands for 20 seconds and wearing a face covering are still vital.

Dr Willoughby said:

“While we are making excellent progress with our vaccination programme, we know that we must remain vigilant to keep the virus at bay in our communities as we continue to protect as many people as possible.

“We know that a vaccine reduces your chance of catching covid by around two thirds. And in addition to all that, you’re up to half as likely to pass it on to somebody else that you live with.

“I know we are looking forward to greater easing in government restrictions but this is no time for complacency, we still need to keep the virus under control, while we take the steps, safely, back to normal life.”

Dr Willoughby also encouraged anyone who has been invited for their vaccine to book an appointment. You can do so here.

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The current phase of the vaccine rollout means anyone aged 40 and over can book in for their jab.

Nearly 100,000 first doses of the covid vaccine have been delivered in the Harrogate district.

Wildflowers to be planted on Stray

Harrogate Borough Council will be planting 5,500 wildflowers on the Stray in the coming weeks. It is working with Bilton Conservation Group to create groups of six volunteers to work over two weekends.

The young wildflowers called “plugs” are coming from Cumbria and will be around 5″ tall.

They are to be planted between the Empress Roundabout and the Prince of Wales Roundabout, where 60,000 crocuses were planted last year. More plugs are also planned to be planted in a small meadow by the railway line.

Planting was due to have started in April, but was delayed due to poor weather conditions.

Keith Wilkinson MBE of the Bilton Conservation Group says the wildflowers are “very welcome”.

“Harrogate Stray looks great in spring with its cherry blossom – but then there’s a lull. These wild flowers will make it look spectacular through the summer and come back year after year.

“Bilton Conservation Group is always happy to make the town green. We’ll always help with green initiatives.”

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Crocus planting

The Bilton Conservation Group planting crocuses on the corner of West Park Stray in October last year.

The news will come as a delight to the over 600 people who signed a Green Party petition last October urging the council to plant wildflowers on the Stray.

30-minute delays at A61 Wormald Green roadworks

Three-way traffic lights on the A61 near Wormald Green are bringing misery to motorists, with reports of delays of up to 30 minutes this morning.

Northern Powergrid installed the lights to allow engineers to repair a fault to the underground power network that supplies nearby homes.

The lights are near Monkton Moor Garage on the A61 and there is no easy diversion for traffic heading into Harrogate or in the opposite direction to Ripon.

A Northern Powergrid spokesperson apologised for this morning’s delays and said it will be putting someone on site tomorrow from 7am-7pm to improve the traffic flow at the lights.

The Stray Ferret received several calls about the roadworks this morning for our live traffic blog. Some motorists were stuck in jams for 30 minutes and consequently were late for work.

The delays have been ongoing since 7am this morning and although they peaked during rush hour, traffic has remained heavy all day and is likely to build up this afternoon as people head home.

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North Yorkshire County Council‘s roadwork map shows the work is ongoing until Friday next week but Northern Powergrid said it hoped to complete the project sooner.

The spokeswoman said:

“We would like to thank everyone for their patience whilst we carry out these unplanned emergency works, the repair is being treated as urgent and as soon as our work is completed the traffic lights will be removed to allow traffic to return to normal.”

Contact the Stray Ferret, if it is safe to do so, from 6am each weekday on 01423 276197 with any traffic and travel updates.

Harrogate care supplies shop closes to move online

After being forced to move online during lockdown, one Harrogate business has now decided to permanently close its store and move fully online.

Change Mobility operated on King’s Road for five years before closing for good last week. The pandemic accelerated its move online.

The company decided on the move after listening to customer feedback and assessing sales during lockdown.

Change Mobility is the sister company of Beaucare another Harrogate-based business that supplies products to care homes, hospitals and individuals.

Change Mobility sells a range of care supplies from living aids such as grab rails to wheelchairs.

It will still provide home visits and a click and collect service from its office on Hornbeam Park.

Heather Mawray, managing director of Beaucare, said:

“The retail market has been difficult over the last 12 months. This has accelerated our move to a different operating model. During the pandemic many customers have required home deliveries, this will continue as a key feature for Change Mobility going forward.

“Advice and assessments will be available in person at home visits arranged at times to suit the customer, this has been welcomed by many of our customers who would have previously found it difficult to travel to the store.

“We are really looking forward to continuing to support our Change Mobility customers and ensure they receive outstanding service.”

The company told the Stray Ferret no jobs had been lost due to the move.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and happy Thursday – it’s nearly the weekend! I’m back this morning with updates every 15 minutes and a list of all the temporary traffic lights that could delay you today.

It’s Suzannah here today. If you see anything, and it is safe to do so, please give me a call on 01423 276197 or get in touch on social media.

These blogs, brought to you by The HACS Group, are keeping you updated as the district’s roads get busier.

9am – Full Update 

That’s it from me for this week, Leah will be with you tomorrow.

Have a lovely day.

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7am – Full Update

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The roads are still looking ok so far this morning, keep coming back to the blog to see today’s traffic hotspots.

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6.45am – Full Update 

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The roads are still looking ok so far this morning, no traffic hotspots to report.

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6.30am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking ok so far this morning, no traffic hotspots to report.

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Harrogate disability swimming squad jump back in

A disability swimming squad in Harrogate jumped straight back in this week after finally getting back to club sessions following the easing of restrictions.

The swimming team, Hotshots, returned to the water last night after months away with the members just as eager as the coaches.

Run by Harrogate District Swimming Club at Harrogate Hydro the group encourages disabled people into the water offering them training and the chance to compete in local competitions.

An arrangement with Harrogate Borough Council to add extra pool time means the club’s disability swimming squad can return.

The team’s first session back was on Tuesday night with their coach Lisa Gill. She was very excited to see all the swimmers back again, some haven’t been in the pool for over a year.

Club representative, Brian Charlton, said:

“It’s something we’ve been pushing for for a long time so it was great to see the swimmers back in the water last night. To see the smile on their faces was just amazing. I was speaking to one of the members’ mums who said this was her happy place and that is why we do it.”

Last night five swimmers came to the practice but Mr Charlton has high hopes to return to the team to its previous size of 20 members.

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Currently, group sessions can only include under 18’s but due to different rules Hotshots can invite people of all ages to its practices.

With the return of the Hotshots squad the club now have 60 swimmers under the club squad scheme.

The club has said it is working with the borough council and the new arms-length company running leisure services, Brimham’s Active.