In a letter to the Stray Ferret, Paul Baverstock, a former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party, who lives in Harrogate accuses the council’s conservative Leader, Richard Cooper, and local MP, Andrew Jones, of a lack of leadership and poor visibility during the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Baverstock, who now works  at a senior level in the health sector, says he contacted Mr Jones to put himself forward to help after the MP announced he wanted to create “an army of volunteers” but says he received a generic email response. Mr Baverstock argues that the MP is well meaning but out of step with the urgency of the situation and how local people feel.

Since the advent of Covid 19, both Harrogate’s MP Andrew Jones and the leader of our borough council Richard Cooper have been nigh on invisible and practically silent. ..Andrew Jones, our MP, needs to take the lead and grab the council by the scruff of its neck and get it moving. The people of Harrogate are crying out for it.

Andrew Jones MP

He offers Mr Jones some communications advice:

He should work with local radio station Stray FM to comment immediately – “down the line” – following the PM’s daily briefing. This could become an opportunity for local residents to dial in and discuss their concerns with their elected representative. Mr. Cooper, the leader of the council should join him too. They could live stream these from their respective isolations so we can see them, as well as hear them, becoming truly accountable.

• Mr Baverstock’s letter to The Stray Ferret in full

He urges both Cllr Cooper and Mr Jones to start bring together local experts to provide clear and free advice, use technology and social media to connect people and get their messages out. He ends with:

So come on Mr. Jones and Mr.Cooper.  Get up and onward, get brave, get visible, get creative and give us the energetic leadership and accountability you were both elected to provide, for Harrogate in Westminster and for Harrogate Borough at home. This is not a time for business as usual. Nothing will ever be the same again. We need and deserve better, now and tomorrow.

The Stray Ferret asked both Cllr Cooper and Andrew Jones MP to respond to Mr Baverstock’s letter. Neither has yet done so.

This is the full version of the email letter sent to the Stray Ferret’s Editor:

Dear Madam,

In splendid isolation I look forward to today’s 5pm televised press conferences held by the Prime Minister, flanked by his impressive scientific and medical experts. Like millions of Brits I am anxious for knowledge, for guidance and for reassurance in the daily battle against the silent killer, Covid 19.

Our economy, society and the communities that comprise it are faced with Britain’s greatest peacetime challenge. A situation in which poor decisions and confusing communication will…not might…but will cause thousands of deaths and untold human suffering. A time, if ever there was one, for individual leadership, serious communication and bold example from our elected politicians in order to bring people together in common action and common cause.

Many of the measures announced in parliament and at the Prime Minister’s daily press conference to tackle Coronavirus are to be implemented by our local councils, in this case Harrogate Borough, working with their respective MP’s.

Since the advent of Covid 19, both Harrogate’s MP Andrew Jones and the leader of our borough council Richard Cooper have been nigh on invisible and practically silent.

Andrew Jones, our MP, needs to take the lead and grab the council by the scruff of its neck and get it moving. The people of Harrogate are crying out for it. No time now for limp lettuce consultation and back room intra-party squabbles. We need a local leader to match the energy, clarity and accountability being shown by our national leader, Boris Johnson.

Mr. Jones’ efforts so far appear to be a “Be the best neighbour you can be” round robin email asking the people of Harrogate to volunteer their ideas and help by email or by phoning his office. For those who respond to his office with an offer of help, a second generic email arrives saying thank you for your offer and we are working on matching these individual offers of help with the need for help and we’ll be in touch again. This is well meaning but seems oddly out of step with the scale, urgency and impact of the challenges we all face.  So, in the absence of leadership here are a few ideas offered in helpful spirit. All practical, all costing virtually nothing but time and effort.

Mr. Jones could and should provide a daily briefing for the people of Harrogate, this to join the dots between national government policy and local government implementation.  By so doing, he will energise and amplify our local efforts.

He should work with local radio station Stray FM to comment immediately – “down the line” – following the PM’s daily briefing. This could become an opportunity for local residents to dial in and discuss their concerns with their elected representative. Mr. Cooper, the leader of the council should join him too. They could live stream these from their respective isolations so we can see them, as well as hear them, becoming truly accountable.

Following Boris Johnsons’ lead, Andrew Jones and Richard Cooper could and should bring together relevant local experts, such as the Chief Executive of Harrogate Hospital, the Head of Mental Health charity Mind in Harrogate, or local employment lawyers or employee representatives, to provide clear and objective information and advice, free from partisan political concerns.

Using virtual meeting technology such as Zoom or Houseparty, Andrew Jones should be calling together the local Church, Third Sector and business leaders of Harrogate to place himself visibly at the head of a volunteer army to help deliver care, food, virtual conversation, to provide a loudspeaker for the myriad of local initiatives, Facebook pages and support groups springing up around town. Jones’ army should be morning briefed and tasked everyday with an urgency worthy of the consequences of Covid 19.

So come on Mr. Jones and Mr.Cooper.  Get up and onward, get brave, get visible, get creative and give us the energetic leadership and accountability you were both elected to provide, for Harrogate in Westminster and for Harrogate Borough at home. This is not a time for business as usual. Nothing will ever be the same again. We need and deserve better, now and tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Paul Baverstock

Former Director of Communication for the Conservative Party

Louise Pullan, Owner of The Flock and Fold cafe near Thurscross Reservoir

Louise Pullan pleads with people to stay at home comes after almost record numbers visited Thruscross yesterday and walkers returned again today. After yesterday’s crowds at Thruscross and Fewston amongst others, Yorkshire Water said it was shutting its reservoir car parks and urged people to be responsible and stay away.

Louise and her husband Richard run the Flock to the Fold cafe at Breaks Fold Farm -they followed the governments advice and closed the cafe but were astounded at what they witnessed yesterday and again today . Over the weekend, Louise said, so many cars arrived that they had to shut and padlock the farm gates to stop people parking in their yard.  North Yorkshire County Councillor, don Mackenzie tweeted:

Sorry @YorkshireWater to report that residents telling me Thruscross reservoir car park full of cars again this morning. This may be because there is no gate or other means to secure the area in which case please post ‘closed’ notice at very least. @JulianSmithUK @northyorkscc https://t.co/Os3wMMWscS

— Don Mackenzie (@Mac1Don) March 23, 2020

Yorkshire Water responded by saying it was doing everything it could but it had 29 car parks and only a small team that was able to shut them.

Today it was the turn of the district’s parks and gardens to close after large visitors numbers over the past few days.  The RHS announced it was shutting Harlow Carr in Harrogate today saying it was not able to ensure people adhered to social distancing measures.  This follows a similar announcement yesterday from the National Trust that all its parks and gardens ,including Brimham Rocks and Fountains Abbey, would close from today.

In a Statement the RHS said:

After careful consideration, it is with great regret that the RHS has taken the sad decision to close our four RHS Gardens from today, Sunday 22 March.
Our online plant shop, rhsplants.co.uk continues to offer a wide selection of edible and ornamental plants.
Our utmost responsibility and concern is for the health and safety of our staff, members, visitors and volunteers. Yesterday was a very busy day at our gardens, and we felt we were no longer able to guarantee the Government’s requirement for social distancing.

Yorkshire Water also announced this afternoon it’s shutting its reservoir car parks due to large number of visitors.

Unprecedented numbers of people have been out and about at our reservoirs this weekend. To help keep everyone safe and maintain social distancing, we’re shutting our reservoir car parks and asking everyone to stay away for a little while

Elsewhere church services across the region were streamed for people who stayed at home.

A cameraman films this morning’s Eucharist in Ripon Cathedral

Some stores in Harrogate town centre cleared out stock last night as they took the decision to temporarily close.

Staff were clearing out stock at LK Bennet on James St yesterday evening

Last night, at around 7.30pm staff at some retail stores were clearing the shelves to leave the shops empty of stock whilst they temporarily close. The lights were on at LK Bennet on James Street with a single member of staff on the phone sitting at a desk in the back of the empty shop- sacks of rubbish sitting in the entrance.

It was a similar picture at SpaceNK around the corner.

At 7.30pm, Harrogate’s usually busy Saturday nightlife would normally just be coming to life. But last night everything was shut except the town’s takeaway restaurants. Some bars had decided to switch their lights off – others kept them on.

North Bar on Cheltenham Parade

Revolution Bar on Parliament Street

It was a scene none of us could have imagined a few months ago.

Many churches across the district are streaming their Sunday morning services this morning..

Canon Jim Callaghan, the Catholic Dean of Harrogate, has written these reflections after a tumultuous week: 

Two weeks from now the Church throughout the world begins the celebration of Holy Week; the days in which we commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), the Lord’s Supper (Maundy Thursday), Jesus’ Passion and Death (Good Friday) and the joy and glory of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The Diocese of Leeds is the Catholic Church across most of what was Yorkshire’s historic West Riding and our Mother Church is Leeds Cathedral. The Harrogate Deanery has three parishes in Harrogate, plus one each in Knaresborough, Ripon, Bishop Thornton, Pateley Bridge and Wetherby. On an average weekend, these churches have an attendance of more than 2,000 at Sunday Mass.  That number easily doubles at Easter, with our young people returning from Universities and Colleges to be with family for the Easter Celebrations, not to mention tourists and other visitors to the area.

In the past few days our Bishops, in common with all other major faith groups, heeding advice from H.M. Government, have suspended all public worship until further notice.

This temporary suspension of the public celebration of the Mass is for the Catholic community “unprecedented and disturbing” in the words of our own Bishop.  Other religious believers and the wider community will share our sense of dislocation; a feeling of being displaced from where we ought to be.

In these challenging days and weeks however, we remain in communion with Christ and with each other.  Our Priests will continue to celebrate the Eucharist privately each day, praying for the whole community, and we would encourage all our people to unite with us spiritually.

St Robert’s Catholic Church, Harrogate

We hold in prayer especially those who are already sick and housebound and all who care for them, those in Harrogate District Hospitals and all our Doctors, Nurses and related staff who are at the forefront of the NHS.  Indeed, our prayer for them is one of solidarity and thanksgiving for all that they are doing.

Our churches remain open each day as places for private prayer and reflection, though without any formal services.  In our churches and in our houses this Sunday we will pray for each other and for the whole nation.

May the Lord Bless us, protect us from all harm and bring us safely home to Him.

From today, you can join the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds online, as he celebrates Sunday Mass at Leeds Cathedral.  Live-streamed at 11.00 hrs via YouTube: www.leedscathedrallive.org.uk

These images of Harrogate town centre were taken at 11.30 this morning:

Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues will remain closed from today after the Government announced last night would be their last evening of trading for the foreseeable future.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Yorkshire has risen by one to 14 – with one death at Harrogate District Hospital.

If you work in the tourism industry or run a hospitality business in the district, please get in touch to tell us how you’re coping with the changes.

4pm – Call for hospital volunteers

Volunteers are urgently needed to help at Harrogate District Hospital across all areas and departments.

Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust has put a call out for new volunteers as some of its existing team are keeping away during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Trust says volunteers will mostly be working in administrative or manual handling roles, depending on their skills and abilities, supporting the work of staff in caring for patients, carers and visitors.

Anyone interested can email hdft.volunteering@nhs.net.

12pm – Bus timetables revised

The Harrogate Bus company has announced changes to its timetables in order to keep vital services running for essential journeys.

The late night services on the 36 bus between Leeds and Harrogate will not operate from today, long with those on the 1N route. The company will also operate a Saturday service from Monday to Saturday for the foreseeable future, while Sunday timetables will continue as usual.

📣 We’re making some changes to our bus times 📣

Our late night Saturday buses on #the36 & 1N will not run from Sat 21 March.

And from Monday 23 March we’ll be using Saturday times on most routes Mon-Sat.

The X6 will be running as normal.

More here 👉https://t.co/cb5cL0O6iS pic.twitter.com/dNMB3zWR3F

— The Harrogate Bus Company (@harrogatebus) March 20, 2020

CEO Alex Hornby praised his team and said: “We’ve been running all our buses as normal until now but as we see less people travelling and pressure on staffing increases, we have made the decision to change to Saturday times going forward. We trust everyone understands the reasons for this but note that we are maintaining the general span of the operating day and many frequencies are similar.”

11.45am – Antiques fair postponed

The Antiques and Collectors Fair due to be held at Ripley over Easter weekend has been postponed.

It adds to the long list of cancellations and postponements of events across the Harrogate district. Many organisers are hoping to find new dates later in the year, based on government guidance at the time.

11am – Instant payments to county council suppliers

Businesses which supply to North Yorkshire County Council will receive immediate payments as the authority works to mitigate the effects of coronavirus on the economy.

Small and medium suppliers will receive instant payment – subject to bank clearing times – instead of the current 30-day period. The Council is currently planning to have the new payment rules in place until the end of 2020, subject to a review in August.

County Council leader Coun Carl Les said: “We are clear how important our supply chains are to our service delivery, and we want to be there for the smaller businesses that supply us and are crucial to the economic vitality of our county and country.

“We will be doing our best to support them through this period, and in addition would urge them to seek the wider support available from central government.”

Hundreds of teenagers spent the afternoon seeing their friends for what they think will be the final time in a big school blow out on the Stray.

There were jubilant scenes on the West Park side this afternoon with some of the pupils drinking.

It was a gathering organised online between teenagers from the town’s secondary schools with some fearing it will be their last party.

Some of them, whom we cannot name, told The Stray Ferret that they were worried about what the future holds now exams have been cancelled.

One of the teenagers said with a can of Strongbow dark fruits in hand:

“These are dramatic scenes but it feels like something has been ripped out of our hands.

While we complained about A-levels and the work, it was the only thing we were doing.

There’s nothing we can do, we’re just going to be stuck in our homes,”

Some of them were drinking Corona beer.

A second, who seemed worried that things were getting out of hand, added:

“Some are more responsible than others. We have tried to keep our bit quite tidy but some are really quite partying a lot. I think as long as everyone is sensible it’s okay.

Everyone knows the risks, well some of us know the risks. I think it will calm down.

Because school was cancelled so last minute it was the final opportunity for everyone to say goodbye, particularly for those in Year 13.

We don’t know what’s going on with the exams just yet. I think a lot of people are gutted that the exams aren’t running.

It’s a shame but it is what it is and it’s out of our control. The plan is to self isolate from tomorrow but make the most of it today. I’ve heard some people say that they would put themselves through for exams next year because they really do care.”

For many it will be the last time they see their friends for a while.

Another added:

“We’ve got nothing to do because our exams have been cancelled and school has been cancelled.

“It really sucks for us all. People keep asking whether we are happy about exams being cancelled but no it’s ****.

“We’ve got nothing to look forward to, we didn’t even get our last day.

“We were told last night at about 7pm that today wasn’t happening. We just had no time to prepare or say goodbye.”

“But at the end of the day: **** it, we are done.”

All leisure centres in the Harrogate district including the Turkish baths and swimming pools will close tonight and will remain closed until further notice.

Harrogate Borough Council made the decision to close its community centres today to try and “encourage greater social isolation.”

Swimming pools, community centres, tourist information centres, Turkish Baths Harrogate, both museums in Harrogate and the Mercer Art Gallery will close.

The Turkish Baths will close tonight.

Anyone who is a member of those venues will not be charged for April or May and their membership will be suspended.

The council said that its other service will continue to run as normal as the number of coronavirus cases in North Yorkshire rises to 13.

People who have existing bookings or lessons will be contacted by the council over the coming days.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said: “This is with effect from tonight and these buildings will remain closed until further notice.

“The decision is in line with updated government guidance and reflects the need for us to do what we can to encourage greater social isolation in light of the spread of the coronavirus.”