Cat shot in Markington ‘on the brink of death’

The RSPCA is appealing for information after a cat called Timmy was found with a shot wound on his shoulder in Markington.

RSPCA officers found the seven-year-old ginger tomcat in the village, which is between Ripon and Harrogate, after a resident alerted the animal welfare charity.

Timmy was rushed to the vets where an X-ray revealed an entry wound from a pellet had shattered his shoulder.

The cat had shrapnel all over his body, and the RSPCA said it was “lucky” the pieces missed his vital organs.

Timmy is now recovering well and the RSPCA has launched an investigation.

The vet believed the shot was fired by a shotgun at close range meaning “someone really wanted to hurt Timmy”.

RSPCA inspector Natalie Taylor said:

“This poor cat would have been in terrible pain from the gun wound. Poor Timmy was on the brink of death before the vets operated on his shoulder and saved him.

“His owners are understandably distraught, this was a callous and horrible act of cruelty against him.

“It is very distressing to think that people take pleasure in causing such horrific injuries to defenceless animals. These are deliberate and brutal acts of cruelty.”

Read more:

Ms Taylor said cats and wildlife were often victims of shootings because they are out in the open.

Airgun attacks are most commonly used but the shrapnel suggested a shotgun had been used in this case.

Anyone caught deliberately injuring an animal can face up to six months in prison. They could also be ordered to pay an unlimited fine, if found guilty under the Animal Welfare Act.

If you have any information you can call the RSPCA inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

Ripley Show cancelled due to covid

The organisers of this year’s Ripley Show have announced it will be cancelled due to the pandemic.

On a post on their website, organisers said despite the roadmap out of lockdown and vaccination numbers offering a positive outlook the “proposed conditions are near impossible to comply with on the show ground”.

The show is organised by Ripley and District Agricultural and Horticultural Show Ltd, it said it had explored every avenue to hold the show but said it had to put the health and safety of visitors first.

The event was set to go ahead on Sunday, August 4. But the committee has said to keep the character of the show visitors have come to love it would not be reasonable to enforce social distancing.

The show was also cancelled in 2020 and is usually held on the Ripley Castle Estate.

The show has been going for over 170 years making it a tough decision for the committee to make. Chairman Michael Smith said:

“The committee and I are deeply disappointed to admit defeat, despite our best efforts. We are proud of our fantastic show and giving our visitors and competitors the experience they have come to know and love over the last 170+ years.

Sadly we can’t guarantee a covid-secure show ground and feel it would be unwise for us to go ahead.”

A date for 2022 has already been set, August 14.

The committee at Ripley Show said it wanted to thank Ripley Castle Estate, our loyal sponsors and volunteers, competitors, trade stands, contractors, spectators and the wider local community for their continued support.

Shows, elsewhere in the district, such as Birstwith, Weeton, Tockwith and Nidderdale are still hoping to go ahead.

Plans for the Great Yorkshire Show are being reviewed regularly. Some of the venue is currently being used as a vaccination centre.

Read more:

 

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone, we’ve made it through half of the week. I’m back here early this morning to give you 15 minute updates on the roads near you.

The morning updates, brought to you by The HACS Group, aim to keep the Harrogate district moving.

As always, if you have any updates for me feel free to get in touch on social media or via contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Have a wonderful day.

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Harrogate district roads look calm right now this morning.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

6.45am – Full Update

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

The roads still look clear so far this morning, no traffic hotspots to report yet.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Remember from Monday the roads will be closed, for road repairs, from Pannal to Beech Avenue in Harrogate in the evenings. An eight mile diversion will be in place.

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

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

 

Bilton by-election on May 6 after death of councillor

Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge is to elect a new county councillor after the death of Geoff Webber.

Mr Webber died this month at the age of 75 after a short illness.

He was involved in local government for 28 years, leading the Liberal Democrat group on North Yorkshire County Council and serving as leader and mayor of Harrogate Borough Council.

The election is scheduled to take place on May 6. Nominations must be submitted by April 8.

The Conservative-controlled county council currently has 53 Conservative councillors, four Labour councillors and four representing the Liberal Democrats. There are also eight North Yorkshire Independent and three independent councillors.

The by-election is being run on behalf of the county council by Harrogate Borough Council.

Read more:

Councillors will stand outside the former Harrogate Borough Council offices on Crescent Road in Harrogate to pay their respects to Mr Webber on Monday at 11.45am.

More details of the notice of election can be found here.

A year of ‘outstanding care’ under immense pressure at Harrogate hospital

Today’s National Day of Reflection marks a year since the start of the first lockdown. Steve Russell, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, writes for the Stray Ferret about how the trust has responded. 

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our first national lockdown. This past year has been such a challenge for everyone – not just in the NHS but across our all of our communities. It’s impacted on absolutely everyone in a way that so many of us have never before experienced.

Last week, we also marked the one-year anniversary of our first confirmed inpatient with coronavirus. It’s important we reflect on what our teams have pulled together to deliver since the pandemic began a year ago.

A year on, we have treated just over 800 patients who have suffered with covid. Of those, 600 people have been supported through kind and compassionate care and have been discharged home, but sadly 183 patients lost their lives in the pandemic at our hospitals.

Our community discharge team has supported over 4,500 discharges home during this time, providing the equivalent of 7,000 bed days in patients’ own homes.

Our district nursing services adapted and continued to provide outstanding care to patients in their own homes. They have carried out over 113,000 face-to-face contacts and our specialist care teams have added a further 5,000.

Our 0-19 services (health visiting and school nursing) also had to adapt their ways of working but have continued to support 102,000 children and pregnant mothers during this time. They adjusted the type of support they offer as well as trying to safeguard against increasing levels of risk, which lockdown tragically caused.

Read more:

I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of my colleagues across the trust and our partner organisations for their incredible efforts over the past year.

It now feels like an opportunity to look forward. Spring is officially here, the weather is getting warmer, more and more people are having the vaccine and we are easing out of lockdown. We can be really optimistic about getting back to something that more resembles ‘normal’.

That said, we can’t become complacent and we have to bear in mind that covid isn’t just going to disappear.

We will be living in a world where it exists but will be much more manageable. We already know so much more about it than we did at this point last year.

Please, keep following social distancing guidelines, wear a mask, wash your hands. If we’re all still doing this, it’s the quickest route back to doing the lovely things that we really want to do in life.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone, I’m back again on this Tuesday morning covering all the road and rail links near to you.

These 15 minutes updates are brought to you by The HACS Group to keep the Harrogate district moving.

As always, if you have any updates for me feel free to get in touch on social media or via contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Have a great day.

9am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains 

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic Hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26.

Buses 

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

6.45am – Full Update

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning.

Be aware there is a road closure on Storiths Lane both ways from the A59 to Barden Bridge, near Bolton Abbey, after a landslip made it impassable.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Planned works are taking place between Leeds and York, affecting the Harrogate line,, from 5am today until 7am Friday March 26. No delays reported yet.

Buses

 

Time to remember the 1,100 North Yorkshire lives lost to covid

The flag will be flying half-mast at County Hall tomorrow when North Yorkshire takes part in tomorrow’s covid National Day of Reflection.

The end of life charity Marie Curie is organising the day, one year on from the start of the first lockdown.

North Yorkshire has suffered more than 1,100 covid-related deaths since the pandemic began.

Across the county, 23 community support organisations and an army of volunteers has worked with the council to support all those in need. Volunteers have given 110,000 hours of their time since last March to deliver shopping, cook meals and deliver medication.

They have also made more than 56,000 befriending calls and telephone check-ins.

Helen Flynn, executive director at Nidderdale Plus, one of the community support organisations, said:

“At the time when you heard about places in Europe going into lockdown it seemed odd, but very quickly we were in a lockdown as well. We had to act really quickly to wrap our arms round the community.

“I feel that we’ve responded to that need really well and through doing that we’ve all learned so much more about our communities.”

NYCC volunteers

Syrian refugees in Northallerton played a key role in the pandemic response by taking on volunteer roles.

The work by staff at schools and early years centres has also been commended by the county council.

Since last March, library staff and volunteers have made sure the home library service has reached those struggling to get out and about. More than 270,000 e-books have been loaned.

County council leader Cllr Carl Les said:

“It is a time to remember the challenges we have faced in the past year and the commitment, innovation and kindness of our communities that has seen us rise to meet those challenges and to support those residents who have needed extra help.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, and I think that as well as bringing out the best in people the pandemic has been a catalyst for incredible innovation in the way vital services have continued to be delivered and revolutionised.”

Read more:

Council leaders urged residents not to let down their guard despite the lifting of restrictions in the coming months.

County council chief executive Richard Flinton said:

“As we use the day of reflection of look back on this turbulent twelve months, I thank people again for their tremendous effort and remind everyone to continue following the rules and remembering hands, face and space.

“We have come too far to allow a better tomorrow to slip away from us now so please keep going.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone and welcome to a new week. The Stray Ferret is back again giving updates every 15 minutes on the road and rail links near you.

It’s Suzannah with you this week. Please get in touch and let me know what’s happening near you, via contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Brought to you by The HACS Group, this live blog is to keep the Harrogate district moving in the mornings.

Have a lovely day.

Full Update – 9am 

That’s it from me today. I’ll be back again tomorrow morning from 6.30am.

Roads

Traffic Hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

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Buses

Full Update – 8.45am 

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Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains 

Buses

Full Update – 8.30am 

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Traffic Hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains 

Buses

Full Update – 8.15am 

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Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

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Buses

 

Full Update – 8am

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Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

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Buses

Full Update – 7.45am 

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Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Buses

Full Update – 7.30am

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Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Buses

Full Update – 7.15am 

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Traffic is building in these areas:

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Buses

Full Update – 7am

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Traffic is building in these areas:

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Buses

Full Update – 6.45am 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Buses

Full Update – 6.30am 

Roads

Roads are looking ok so far this morning, no traffic hotspots as of yet.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

Trains

Buses

 

Charity Corner: Making ‘Time Together’ the priority

Time Together is a small charity based within the Harrogate district which helps autistic people and those with additional needs to live independently.

The charity was setup in 1995 after a number of institutions closed. People with disabilities or additional needs were left “scattered” across the Harrogate district struggling to adjust to a new community.

Time Together was set up to bring people together, over the years it has evolved into the charity it is today offering one-to-one and group sessions to ensure people get all the support they need.

This could be helping them with their weekly shop or giving them the space to have a good catch up with friends.

Time together volunteers

Time Together volunteers will support clients with day to day tasks such as cooking.

Since the pandemic, the charity has only been able to hold a small number of group sessions online. One to one sessions have continued.

The aim of the charity is to support their client’s wellbeing by encouraging them to engage in their local communities.

The charity works with 40 clients, assisting them in various ways and encouraging them to socialise with other people in the community.

The charity is currently looking for local businesses that could offer volunteering or work experience placements for their clients. Service manager, Louise Terzza, said all of the people they support would be a great asset to local businesses.

Louise added:

“Some people need us for one hour a week others for much more, our aim is to offer our clients whatever support they need. There are lots of barriers for people with disabilities and we want to help them overcome that.”

Time Together client

The charity works with around 40 clients supporting them in various ways.

The pandemic has come with its challenges for the charity. People are feeling isolated after adjusting to life with limited socialising.

Louise said coming out of lockdown will be “challenging and positive” for clients, many have used the time to create their own goals that the charity will help them achieve.

All their fundraising events have also been cancelled, taking around £12,000 away from the charity. It is now relying on local grants and donations.

Time Together

The charity is hopeful green space will become available soon.

Read more:

As lockdown eases the charity wants to use the outdoors as much as possible to keep their clients safe. They are currently on waiting lists for an allotment to teach clients new skills and work on their mental health.

To donate to Time Together, you can click here.

Growing support for meetings to remain virtual post-Covid

There is growing support amongst Harrogate councillors for meetings to remain virtual post Covid in a move which could mean almost all decisions are made online.

Emergency regulations which allow local authorities to meet remotely were introduced in March last year. Harrogate Borough Council has since held all of its full council, cabinet and committee meetings online.

The rules are due to expire in May but as the government is said to be considering making them permanent.  The council is now looking into how remote meetings and live streaming could continue in the future.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred, who has been pushing for the live streaming of meetings since before the pandemic, told the council’s general purposes committee on Thursday that Covid had shown there is a “clear” interest in people being able to watch meetings online.

He pointed towards recent meetings which have had more than 100 views on YouTube, and said:

“People are clearly interested in the deliberations of their local council and we ought to continue to give them the opportunity.

“For me, one statistic sticks out above them all. On 26 January there was the planning committee debate on the Harrogate Spring Water application. 800 people viewed that as it was happening.

“You can’t get 800 people into the civic centre. You can hardly get that number of people into the Harrogate Convention Centre.

“If you then look at how many people viewed it over the next fortnight – 2,200. That one statistic proves we need to be giving people the opportunity to continue to view these meetings at a time and place of their choice.”

Read More:

Ripon Independents councillor Pauline McHardy added:

“We shouldn’t exclude members of the public that do want to listen into meetings but are too far away or perhaps don’t drive.

“These are supposed to be public meetings and we should be open, transparent and always above board.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Phillip Broadbank also said:

“It is time to do this. People really want to take part and see what their local authority is doing.”

A previous vote against streaming meetings

Before the pandemic struck and in January last year, Harrogate councillors voted against an idea of live streaming in-person meetings because of claims it would have been too expensive.

The costs were not initially made public but later revealed as ranging between £5,000 to nearly £48,000.

At the time, councillor Richard Cooper, leader of the Conservative-run council, said he could not justify spending the money when predictions of online viewership were low, but he now believes there should be a place for both remote and face-to-face meetings when lockdown is lifted.

He said there would be environmental benefits from councillors, officers and members of the public making fewer car journeys.

It was agreed on Thursday that the council would look into how decisions should be made in the future which could involve councillors only coming together for some in-person meetings.

A report to the general purposes committee said: “The view of councillors seems to be that larger, more complex meetings such as council and planning committee are better held in person.”