Businesses debated pedestrianising a key Harrogate street with North Yorkshire County Council for the first time last night.

The plans to stop traffic from entering James Street could still come into force as early as October. It is expected to last up to six months but there is still no set date for the start.

Some raised concerns at the meeting about the look of traffic cones at the meeting last night. However, the council has mooted tree planters as a replacement.

The County Council met virtually with business managers, landlords, Harrogate BID and the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

Read more:

• James Street pedestrianisation ‘timely and appropriate’, says council
• Hoopers store warns: ‘Harrogate is not bulletproof anymore’
• Two thirds of James Street businesses against full pedestrianisation, says BID

Bob Kennedy, of Porters and G23, told the Stray Ferret that the meeting was “courteous” but still has reservations:

“There is a debate to be had about pedestrianisation in the long term. But I do not think it is the right time to hold a trial run. Christmas will be a crucial time for many businesses and this plan to temporarily pedestrianise James Street may be detrimental.”

David Steca, of Steca Barbering, posted a picture of James Street with barely a shopper in sight:

“The reputed busiest shopping street in the affluent up market town of Harrogate at 10am on Wednesday.  Please now take the cones away they help nothing. People are not stupid they can distance. See the full picture or more vacant shops.”

The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council for a comment. We received no reply by the time of publication.

Two Harrogate district MPs voted in favour of the government’s Internal Market Bill yesterday, helping to take it to the next legislative stage.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, and Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty MP, voted in line with the government but Julian Smith, Skipton and Ripon MP, abstained.

The legislation paves the way for the UK to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. MPs voted it through at the third reading last night by 340 to 256.

The Bill sparked controversy after Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, said it would break international law in a “specific and limited way”.

Read more:

• Allow care home visits, says Andrew Jones MP
• ‘No worse time’ for devolution, say council leaders
• District MPs decline to comment on ‘broken’ covid testing system

The Stray Ferret contacted Mr Jones, Mr Adams and Mr Smith asking why they voted the way they did. None had replied by the time of publication.

The Bill will now undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords.

What is the Internal Market Bill?

After the UK left the EU on January 31 it signed the Withdrawal Agreement.

The agreement included a Northern Ireland Protocol, which was designed to prevent a hard border returning to the island of Ireland.

The Internal Market Bill attempts to override parts of the agreement. It would allow the UK to modify or reinterpret state aid rules if the two sides do not strike a future trade deal.

Police have charged a 72-year-old Harrogate woman with producing cannabis after a raid in the town at the weekend.

North Yorkshire Police attended reports of a disturbance on Saturday evening and found “cannabis littering the entire street” on Alexandra Road.

The officers investigated a house on the road and discovered a “large quantity” of cannabis plants inside.

Not long after the police also discovered two other cannabis grows on Somerset Road and on Woodlands Road.

1/3 *Last Night*
Attended a street in #Harrogate following the report of some vehicle disorder. At scene we have found a large quantity of cannabis littering the entire street. A nearby property was identified as insecure and evidence of a substantial Cannabis grow found.. pic.twitter.com/AVmpFtgw83

— Just Dave! (@PC_769) September 27, 2020

Six other suspects travelling in two vehicles left the scene of the original incident on Alexandra Road but Hertfordshire Police intercepted and arrested them.

The six people were charged with possession of class B drugs with intent to supply. They were sent to court, which remanded them in custody.

A man in his 20s was also arrested on Monday and has since been released on bail, taking the total number of arrests up to eight.

The 72-year-old woman was charged with three counts of cannabis production and awaits a trial at crown court on bail.

Harrogate District Hospital has prepared for a second wave of coronavirus this winter by setting aside up to 100 beds for infected patients.

The annual members meeting of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust last night heard the hospital currently has four coronavirus patients.

This is far below the 60 patients at the peak of the pandemic but the trend is heading back in the wrong direction – there were no coronavirus patients at the end of July.

Rising coronavirus cases locally – yesterday’s figure of 19 new infections was the highest daily increase for three weeks – has fuelled fears of a second peak.

But trust bosses are more confident of coping this time.

Read more:

• Daily covid cases reach three-week high in Harrogate district
• First covid death at Harrogate hospital in two months

Tim Gold, chief operating officer at the trust, said at last night’s meeting:

“We are a long way short of the first peak. We know for winter we will need extra beds. We have a really clear plan to open up wards and create up to 100 coronavirus beds. The most important thing is that we know so much more about managing coronavirus than we did.”

Dr Jackie Andrews, medical director at the trust, added it prepared over summer for the “inevitable” next wave of the pandemic:

“It feels very different this time. That is not to say we are being complacent but with the first wave there will be a lot of confusion and chaos. We needed to learn on the go. But the NHS now has proven treatments which can manage the effect of coronavirus on the body.”

The meeting also revealed the trust is currently spending £1 million a month on staffing, testing and PPE to combat coronavirus.

The government has covered this cost retrospectively and has set aside £24 million for the region from October.

A cat from Harrogate has been found after four months in Poppleton, more than 20 miles from his home. One theory is that he caught the train..

Jasper, the black cat, lived with his owners in Harrogate, who adopted him from Harrogate Cat Rescue.

He was last seen on May 13 but was found again this weekend when his owners got a call from a York vet.

Jasper had found his way to Poppleton and was taken in by a family in June. The family mistook him for a pregnant female and took him to the vets this weekend.

When his microchip was scanned they learnt he had been reported missing.

His owner, Anna Whitehouse, said:

“It still feels so surreal having him back. It was heartbreaking at first when he didn’t remember me or his name. We never used to let him out at night but over lockdown it was so much quieter so we did.

When the Minster Vets in York rang us over the weekend it was amazing, we’d spoke the week before about stopping his insurance because he’d been gone so long.If only we had a camera to know what he’d been doing.”

Jasper had been missing for 19 weeks in total. His owners had searched for him for weeks during lockdown and put appeals on local social media groups. Only to find out he never was in Harrogate.

From being in his owner’s art studio to lounging in the sun in Poppleton, Jasper’s lockdown adventure will remain a mystery.

While many of us were having an uneventful lockdown. Jasper had gone on a summer getaway to Poppleton.

Phil Brierley found the cat in June and he became a part of his family. He said:

“He kept hanging round our door and he looked desperate and hungry – he really was on his last legs. I am a die hard Leeds football fan, so even though we thought he was a girl, we called him Bielsa. He was very skittish at the beginning but after a few weeks he was happy to come sit with you.

We were disappointed to send him back because he’s got a great character but I was delighted he had a family that had been missing him.”

Mr Brierley is certain Jasper jumped on the train near his home by Hornbeam Park station and “popped off at Poppleton”.

Neither family will ever know what happened to Jasper on his travels but both are happy he’s safe and sound, once again.

A Harrogate-based equality initiative is launching a campaign to get rid of the stereotype that beer is a man’s drink.

The Beer Glass Project, which is being run by the community interest company Women On Tap, aims to showcase beer as aesthetic and indulgent rather than something “guzzled in a laddish manner”.

Women on Tap will post photos, key facts and articles on social media during the five-week campaign that sets out to challenge perceptions of beer – how it looks, tastes and who it’s for.

A report by women and beer interest group Dea Latis revealed the UK has one of the lowest percentages of female beer drinks in the world at 17%.

The report identified barriers that put women off drinking beer, including male-orientated advertising, judgement from others and the calorie content.

Women On Tap founder Rachel Auty said:

“We need a reset button to enable us to stamp out inequality so that beer is accessible to all.

“We need to change the way it is represented, talked about and marketed.”

Read more:

• Blues Bar has been denied their appeal to keep tables on the Stray, days after an appeal by the Empress was approved.
• Machines checking your temperature are now in place in some of Harrogate’s pubs and bars.

A different style of glassware will be used to present the beer throughout the project.

Rachel added:

“Women want great glassware and are more likely to choose a drink that is presented in a beautiful and aspirational way. Women are strong and independent and they will choose a drink that helps them make a bold statement about who they are.

“I hope to make more women realise there really is no better way to do that than with a great beer in a fabulous glass.”

To a further 19 positive coronavirus cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, which is the highest increase in three weeks.

Today’s number is the highest since 21 new infections were reported on September 7.

Harrogate District Hospital recorded its first coronavirus death in 72 days today. The total is now at 83 since March.

The infection figures released by Public Health England today take the district’s total since March to 1,021.

In recent weeks the cases have been increasing following low numbers during the summer months. Yesterday, the number of cases in the district exceeded 1000 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Read more:

• Harrogate Hospital reports in first covid death in over two months. 
• Harrogate and Knaresborough MP has said he will support his constituents desperate to see their relatives in care homes. 

The Green Party has urged Harrogate Borough Council to plant more wildflowers on the Stray rather than proceed with plans for 60,000 crocuses.

The council called for volunteers this month to plant the crocuses on parts of West Park Stray damaged by last year’s UCI World Cycling Championships.

Rebecca Maunder, chair of Harrogate and District Green Party, has written to the council saying “it is not too late to alter the plans to provide more benefits to biodiversity”,

Ms Maunder said wildflowers, such as native daffodils and snowdrops, would improve the biodiversity and help bees and insects on the Stray.

She added:

“It would be great to see Harrogate Borough Council, with its reputation for quality parks and open spaces, leading a positive response to the challenge of the decline in biodiversity.”

But the council has told her it does not intend to change its plans.

Read more:

• West Park Stray; 12 months of mud, repair and debate
• Call for volunteers to plant 60,000 crocuses on Harrogate Stray

A council spokesman said:

“We understand the need to encourage biodiversity and already manage a number of native wildflower meadows across the district. The thousands of plants and flowers in our numerous parks and gardens also support this.

“We are also looking at biodiversity as part of our wider horticultural plan for the future.”

New directors are being sought to lead Harrogate Business Improvement District in the coming year.

The BID is preparing to hold its annual elections and is inviting BID members to put themselves forward.

Requirements include attending a BID board meeting each month as well as giving at least two hours each week to BID activities.

The board is currently planning Christmas lights displays for the town centre, new planters and hanging baskets for outside shops, and schemes to support businesses facing a tough retail climate in the run-up to Christmas.

Harrogate BID acting chair Sara Ferguson said:

“I’m incredibly passionate about Harrogate town centre, and last year, I put my name forward to join the BID board. I stood for election because I wanted to be a loud voice for the town’s independent businesses.

“I will be standing again as there is still plenty to do. The job is not finished yet. The last 10 months have not been without their challenges, However, in that time, we have achieved a number of objectives with plenty more in the pipeline.

“The qualities we are looking for in a board member include having the time to devote to the BID activities, totally committed to the aims of the BID, willing to make bold decisions and, above all, wanting to see Harrogate town centre thrive.”

Ms Ferguson became acting chair earlier this year when then-chair Bob Kennedy stepped down, along with three other board members. They cited undue council influence and a lack of progress on important projects in their joint resignation letter.

Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper also left the board in June and was replaced by the authority’s director of economy and culture, Trevor Watson.

Though nominations are limited to BID members, organisations can join the BID by filling in the application form on the BID website by Thursday, October 15. Applications will be presented to the BID board on October 19.

BID members will then be invited to express an interest in becoming a director of the BID. There can be up to 15 directors, with nine currently in post.

If more than 15 people put themselves forward, a ballot of members will be held.

Read more:

• Harrogate BID aims to bring town centre businesses together
• BID prepares to brighten Harrogate with new Christmas lights

The principal of Harrogate College has welcomed the government’s announcement that it will pay for adults to retrain and study at further education colleges.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this morning the government will fund adults who do not have Level 3, or equivalent qualifications such as A-Levels, to study at a college course in England from April 2021. It will be funded via the £2.5bn national skills fund.

Harrogate College at Hornbeam Park offers a range of Level 3 qualifications in subjects including construction and healthcare. Principal Danny Wild told the Stray Ferret that the measures will help boost the local labour market post-covid.

He said:

“It’s really, really positive news thats going to allow the workforce to keep pace with the changing labour market. That’s only going to help productivity and employment opportunities across North Yorkshire.”

Read more:

• Harrogate College to offer extra support to new students

• Harrogate College welcomes cash boost for apprenticeships

Currently, the government will only pay adults up to the age of 23 to study what they deem to be essential courses, such as English and Maths.

However, the Prime Minister said this morning he wants to see a “radical change” in how the country trains people as it recovers from coronavirus. The Labour Party said the funding would not reverse the impact of “a decade of cuts”.

Mr Wild said sectors in Harrogate including construction, digital, science, and healthcare will all benefit from the increased skills funding.

He added:

“The skillset people need to work in these sectors they didn’t need 10 years ago. People need an opportunity to upskill or retrain and this is what these measures will help with.”