Neighbours have been left devastated after a fire at a much-loved community pub in Coneythorpe last night.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called to the Tiger Inn at 5.04pm after a fire broke out in the pub’s kitchen, which had only been fitted in January.
Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Acomb were called out to the blaze which lasted for six-hours. Firefighters used an aerial ladder platform, main jets, breathing apparatus and hose reels to tackle the incident.
Owners said the fire was accidental and that they will be aim to reopen the pub “as soon as we possibly can”.
But neighbours say they are devastated as the pub is a pillar of the community in the village.
One resident, Carole Topham said she saw smoke coming from the building before calling the fire service.
She said:
“We saw billowing smoke at first and called the fire bridge who spent hours at the site.
“We are devastated for the owners, this is our community pub and we were looking forward to a Christmas get together.”
The damage after the fire, which broke out in the pub’s new kitchen.
Meanwhile, Karin Terry, another neighbour, said:
“The flames got bigger and bigger.
“We were very worried about a gas tank that was at the back of the building.”
The fire is a blow for the pub, which traditionally hosts a village Christmas party.
A member of the Gill family, which owns the pub, said they were “gutted” and had been looking forward to celebrating Christmas with the villagers.
He told the Stray Ferret:
Emergency sewer work to close road in centre of Ripon“Obviously the family is devastated about it. We had 15 weeks of closed down and reopened on July 2 and was almost as busy before we went into lockdown.
“We will reopen as soon as we possibly can do. We have just been speaking to the fire fighters today, it was an accidental fire and we just want to get back to where we have been.
“We are a bit gutted this year because we do a village Christmas party where all the villagers get together. We were struggling with the lockdown and social distancing and how we were going to fit everyone in.
“There’s about 70 odd people who live in the village and they all tend to get in here, but that’s gone out of the window now. We will just see when we can get reopen better and stronger than ever.”
Emergency work to repair a collapsed sewer in the centre of Ripon begins on Monday.
Kirkgate at its junction with Market Place East will be closed to vehicles, but there’ll be access for residents and businesses up to the point of the working area. A parking suspension on a section of Kirkgate will be also in place.
The current one-way system will be suspended while the road closure is in operation. All vehicles using Market Place East will be diverted along Market Place South to Westgate, Park Street, Firby Lane, Somerset Row, and Water Skellgate.
The repairs are being carried out during lockdown to minimise disruption and are due to end on December 2.
Yorkshire Water has said any remaining work will be postponed until the New Year to enable local businesses to welcome customers over the Christmas period.
Yorkshire Water’s Mark Allsop said:
Covid cases rise by seventy five in Harrogate districtThe emergency repair needs to begin as soon as possible. Work of this nature does take time and by starting during this lockdown period we hope to limit the disruption experienced by residents to a minimum.
“Throughout the works, existing water and waste water services will not be impacted, and we’d like to thank people in advance for their patience while this work is taking place.”
Seventy five more people have tested positive for coronavirus according to figures published today by Public Health England. There have been no further deaths of covid at Harrogate district hospital.
The total number of cases since the pandemic began now stands at 2,910.
On Thursday, the district reported its record daily case increase with 96 positive tests confirmed.
Health bosses said this week that 24 patients were being treated for coronavirus at Harrogate district hospital and that it is coping with the increased number of patients.
Meanwhile, care home visits will continue in North Yorkshire. The county council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.
Officials have said the measure will continue through lockdown, but homes which report an outbreak will have to restrict visits.
Seventy new positive covid cases in Harrogate districtThe latest figures from Public Health England show there have been 70 new positive covid cases in the past 24 hours.
It brings the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic in the district to 2, 835. In Yorkshire and North East NHS figures published today showed 82 further deaths of people who had tested positive for coronavirus — none were in the Harrogate district.
On Thursday, the district reported its record daily case increase with 96 positive tests confirmed.
Health bosses said this week that 24 patients were being treated for coronavirus at Harrogate district hospital and that it is coping with the increased number of patients.
Meanwhile, care home visits will continue in North Yorkshire. The county council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.
Officials have said the measure will continue through lockdown, but homes which report an outbreak will have to restrict visits.
Sixty three new covid cases in Harrogate district over the past 24 hoursToday’s official UK Government figures of 63 new cases in the district brings the total number of people who have tested positive for covid since the start of the pandemic to 2,502.
There were no recorded deaths of patients who tested positive for coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital today. According to NHS England figures, the total number of deaths at the hospital stands at 88.
The England wide lockdown announced over the weekend means all non-essential shops, hospitality and beauty salons will once again have to close until December 2 causing dismay amongst many of the districts retailers. Garden centres though and RHS Harlow Carr are to remain open.
The Prime Minister has said he hoped these restrictions would curb the infection rate to allow people to see their families in time for Christmas.
The number of positive covid cases in the district has risen by 55 in the past 24 hours. The district has recorded 253 positive cases in the past week.
Whilst other parts of England moved to higher restrictions over the weekend, Harrogate remains in the lowest category of the government’s three-tier local lockdown system.
It brings the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 1,692. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this week the government would consider a district-by-district approach to its tier system.
Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the main cause of spread of coronavirus in the county was between households.
He said he supported the new tier system as it would help to tackle the spread in the county.
A further 33 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to the latest Public Health England figures.
It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,370
Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, has urged people to stick to the rules in order to keep cases down this weekend.
He said:
IMAGE GALLERY: Harrogate runs the London Marathon“I know that many people are making a concerted effort and I am grateful for their sacrifices but unfortunately not everyone is sticking to the guidance that we know makes the difference.
“This is not about blaming or finger wagging. This is about fighting the virus, supporting our businesses, keeping our schools open and saving lives. I want to be very clear that while many people experience minor symptoms, for some residents who become infected they will sadly not recover. We will see more lives lost and I appeal again for everyone to show real restraint to help avoid that.
“This weekend people may be tempted to get together or meet at pubs and other places in larger groups to socialise. covid-19 thrives on a crowd and is easily transmitted when your guard is down. Please play your part and protect your friends and family.”
Today saw the VLM — the Virtual London Marathon. Here are some images of runners taking part in Harrogate – some kindly sent to us by the Harrogate Harriers. Did you run the VLM today and raise money for your nominated charity? If you did please share them with us and we’ll add them to this image gallery. contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
Stephen Clegg
Tracy Iles finishing her Virtual London Marathon
Theresa Oldroyd on her VLM
Adam Prentis, chairman of Harrogate Harriers said:
“Today it was simply fantastic to see so many people coming out to support the incredible Virtual London Marathon runners around Harrogate. Some were Club runners, many were social runners, but all have continued to train really hard for months with the principle objective of raising thousands of pounds for their chosen charities. Congratulations to all who undertook the Marathon today. Really great effort.”
Debbie Songhurst at 23 mile point
Nicole Sutton from Ripon
COLUMN: It’s easy to say now is not a good time for devolution
This political column is written by John Harris CBE. John is a former Chief Executive of South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council and has been a Harrogate resident for the past 10 years. John is a supporter of One Yorkshire which campaigns for a single Yorkshire authority.
What is going on? Doubt and uncertainty is growing about the devolution prospects for North Yorkshire and the English counties. Is this to be yet another government U turn?
County areas were to get executive mayors with devolved funds but with unitary local councils, Two tier local government is confusing, costly, and needs to be abolished. North Yorkshire needs a more efficient, effective and economic unitary council structure, ideally with Harrogate combined with York and Selby. The major functions lie with two existing bases (North Yorkshire County Council/York City Council) so the transition disruption to effect the government proposed change in 2022 can be overestimated. An Executive Mayor would focus new energy and investment – a step towards an eventual promised land of proper devolution with a One Yorkshire outcome.
Devolution is needed. The process was in place for North Yorkshire – it is so easy to say this is not ‘the right time’, finding reasons to put things off. North Yorkshire was offered this deal independently of the White Paper; will we lose out?
So what is going on?
Nationally, uncertainty and speculation about government intentions has grown as disquiet amongst conservative supporters has increased. Publication of the autumn devolution White Paper covering all English counties is rumoured to have been shelved:
Where is the formal government invitation to the nine North Yorkshire councils to propose, by September/early October, a new unitary structure? Although proposals have been worked up, the shire district council leaders say now is not the time for a major reorganisation – covid19 and Brexit. The County Council however argue that, as four fifths of local council expenditure is at county level, disruption would be minimised by their unitary proposal based on their existing base, achieving substantial cost savings.
It needs to happen as planned for 2022. My own guess – the hot money is on the government backing off; a North Yorkshire unitary would be a long odds each way bet.
Next week Strayside Sunday with Paul Baverstock will return.
23 more positive covid cases in Harrogate districtA further 23 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district in the last 24 hours.
Latest Public Health England figures take the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,094.
These figures have come out later than usual due to a technical issue the government says is now resolved. A notice on the coronavirus statistics page added:
“This means the total reported over the coming days will include some additional cases from the period between September 24 and October 1.”
Yesterday North Yorkshire’s Local Resilience Forum, a partnership between public agencies, called for people to go home safely this weekend following the 10pm curfew at pubs and restaurants.
The forum made the call in an effort to avoid crowds in towns across the county.
Pictures from York last weekend showed crowds gathered in the city centre streets following the 10pm closures.