Nurses at Harrogate hospital set for first strike

Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to go on strike for the first time.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing will walk out on Wednesday (January 18) and Thursday (January 19) next week.

The strike, which is the first national walkout by the royal college, is being held after a dispute with government over pay and conditions.

Officials at Harrogate District Hospital said they were working to ensure the walkout causes “minimal disruption” to patient care.

The royal college said the move was part of an escalation of industrial action.

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: 

“The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.

“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”

A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“While pay is a matter for Government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.

“We understand the importance of good pay and conditions for individuals and their families, as well as wider NHS staff retention and recruitment.

“We are working to ensure there is minimal disruption to patient care and that emergency services continue to operate as normal should any strike action take place, and have tried and tested plans in place to manage any disruption.

“We are committed to keeping disruption to services to a minimum, and any members of the public that need care should continue to come forward as normal.

“If you have an appointment or operation that is scheduled on a proposed strike day we would kindly ask you to be patient and we will notify you as soon as possible to confirm if your consultation or treatment will be affected.”

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Strikes hit Harrogate district

The walkout are set to become the latest to hit the Harrogate district.

Staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service staged a 24-hour walkout on Wednesday.

A picket line was formed at Harrogate Ambulance Station on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital.

It was the second time staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have gone on strike in the last month, although they continued to respond to the most serious category one calls.

Meanwhile, the RMT Union staged another strike outside Harrogate Railway Station in the latest wave of walkouts by rail workers last Friday.

Harrogate’s Leah Galton wins WSL Player of the Month

Harrogate-born Leah Galton has won Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month for December.

Galton, who plays as a winger for Manchester United, picked up the award after scoring against Aston Villa and Manchester City last month.

The former Knaresborough Celtic and Harrogate Railway forward has found the net for United 23 times since signing in 2018.

It is the third time a Harrogate-born player has won Player of the Month in 2022 after Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly picked up the award for September and November.

Galton, who was a student at St John Fisher Catholic High School, has also represented Leeds United, Sky Blue FC and Bayern Munich in her career.

Meanwhile, United manager Marc Skinner also won Barclays Manager of the Month for the Women’s Super League.

Skinner oversaw an unbeaten month for the club in December, which saw them pick up four points.

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Man jailed for indecent exposure at Harrogate Library

A Knaresborough man has been jailed after admitting committing indecent exposure at Harrogate Library and on Kingsley Drive.

Billy Wood, 30, of Windsor Lane, was charged with committing the offences in summer last year.

He also pleaded guilty to using abusive words with intent to cause fear of violence and two counts of possessing cannabis.

Wood appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court to be sentenced yesterday.

Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court the 30-year-old had been reported masturbating in front of staff in Harrogate Library on July 15, 2022.

The following month on August 11, a resident on Kingsley Drive saw a man wearing a white England football shirt across from his house in front of a neighbour’s property.

Reading the witness statement, Ms Tyrer said Wood had been sat on the garden wall and then walked across the driveway.

Wood then proceeded to masturbate in the street in front of the house, the court heard, and the resident called the police.

The witness said:

“I began to feel worried for my neighbour as I was aware she lived alone.”

After arresting Wood, police said the woman was informed of the incident and that she was unaware of his actions.

The 30-year-old was also found to be in possession of cannabis when taken to custody at Harrogate Police Station.

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Wood was also convicted of using threatening and abusive language towards bar staff in The Crown in Knaresborough in July 2022 after he was refused drinks, which staff suspected were being bought for customers who had already been refused them.

Police also found him to be in possession of cannabis after he was arrested on that night.

Sean Wilson, defending for Wood, told the court the 30-year-old had an undiagnosed mental health condition and that he was a drug user.

Mr Wilson said that the defendant had reduced his drug use and needed mental health support rather than a custodial sentence.

He said:

“He has reduced the amount of substances he has been taking. He does have an addictive personality.”

Mr Wilson added a prison sentence would be “more of a crash to his system” by removing access to drugs, but would not give him the mental health support he needed.

However, Magistrate Ms Allan sentenced Wood to 32 weeks in prison for the public exposure offences and a six-week sentence to be served concurrently for the threatening of violence charge.

She told Wood the sentence was “for the protection of the public”.

He was made to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and £85 in court costs.

Wood was also ordered to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for five years upon release.

Harrogate’s Dragon Road car park set for £140,000 resurfacing

Dragon Road car park in Harrogate looks set to undergo a £140,000 resurfacing.

Harrogate Borough Council has advertised for a contractor for the scheme on the government’s procurement portal.

The authority is looking to resurface the car park because it has become worn.

According to the advertisement, the contract is due to start on January 30.

The car park had been earmarked as a potential site to create affordable flats or extra care housing.

However, senior borough councillors decided to pause the plans in November in order for the site to continue to support parking at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at the council, proposed the authority should ensure that “adequate parking for Harrogate Convention Centre associated vehicles take primacy over site redevelopment”.

He added that the council should “pause consideration of this site until it is clear that the Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment will be able to accommodate exhibition traffic on site”.

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Business breakfast: Solar plans for business park near Harrogate

Now is your time to shine with the Stray Ferret Business Awards. Businesses of all sizes from right across the Harrogate district can enter our awards free of charge and get recognition from our panel of top judges. Entries close at 5pm on January 16. Get your entry in now! 

A business park between Harrogate and Ripon hopes to install solar panels in a bid to reduce its energy bills and carbon footprint.

Oakwood Park Business Centre has applied for planning permission to create the ground level panels on grass at the north-eastern end of its site.

Acting for owner Alan Cryer, in planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, Arrowsmith Associates said:

“The applicants intend to begin generating electricity to supply the business park and (when possible) feed into the national grid.

“Recent increases in fuel and power costs have intensified their desire in this regard and this application therefore seeks permission for a proposal to install photovoltaic cells (and associated infrastructure) to facilitate such electricity generation.”

The plans are for three rows of photovoltaic panels set away from the business park’s office buildings.

As an all-inclusive serviced office provider, Oakwood Park covers the cost of energy supplies to its buildings for occupants.

Its Fountains Road site, near Bishop Thornton, began as a family home and furniture business, and has been expanded over the years to offer more space for tenants.

The application documents added:

“The granting of permission for this small renewable electricity generation scheme will ensure the continued support of this business site in a rural area, encouraging the retention of office space on site and the potential growth of businesses on site in key sectors.

“This in turn ensures that the site continues to provide an alternative to town centre business sites, supporting the aim of providing a diverse range of sites.”

To view the application, visit the planning pages of Harrogate Borough Council’s website and use reference 22/04725/FUL.

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Free advice for new businesses

Free support is on offer to new and growing businesses to start the new year.

Harrogate Borough Council’s economic development unit is working with the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub and Ad:venture to deliver three drop-in sessions.

Taking place at HBC’s Co-Lab workspace in Springfield House, above Harrogate Convention Centre, they will offer support to anyone with an idea for a new business or questions about running and growing an existing business.

Anyone seeking help to set up, buy or access finance for a business can call in between 9am and 5pm next Wednesday, January 18, or on February 15 or March 15.

Alternatively, for advice outside these times, email the business team.

Meanwhile, a series of free marketing masterclasses is on offer through York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

Delivered by Intandem Communications, they will help business owners plan their marketing for 2023 to enable them to reach their target audience.

The webinars begin in late January and places can be booked via the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub website.

More than half of violent crime in North Yorkshire is against females

More than half of recorded violent crimes in North Yorkshire and York are against women and girls, it was revealed today.

North Yorkshire Police chief constable Lisa Winward told a meeting the under-reporting of such offences meant the known incidents were “just the tip of the iceberg”.

Ms Winward told the area’s police, fire and crime panel watchdog the force was aiming to expose what has been a hidden crime by talking with victims even if they do not wish to report an offence.

Chief constable Winward, who has led the force since 2018, was speaking following a report by police, fire and crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe about the force’s progress against its strategy for addressing violence against women and girls, particularly in the wake of the murder of York woman Sarah Everard.

Last October, a year on from her predecessor Philip Allott being forced to resign after saying women needed to be more streetwise, the commissioner outlined various initiatives launched to improve women’s safety and ensure that they are listened to.

Ms Metcalfe told the panel a new victims’ centre was being developed on the outskirts of York to house North Yorkshire’s sexual assault referral centre and child sexual assault assessment services alongside a video-recorded interview suite for victims.

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However, members of the panel said without details about the scale of the violence against females it was impossible to assess the actions of the commissioner in holding the force to account.

Speaking on behalf of the commissioner, her office’s chief executive Simon Dennis said in York 2021/22 there had been 5,615 violent crimes, of which 52 per cent were linked to a female victim and 34 per cent were marked as domestic abuse.

He said the statistics for North Yorkshire were almost exactly the same.

Mr Dennis said a full picture of the scale of violence against women and girls was difficult to outline due to under-reporting, which was a known issue being addressed by public sector organisations across North Yorkshire and York.

Lisa Winward

Chief constable Lisa Winward

Chief constable Winward added:

“This is a hidden crime across society, nationally and in North Yorkshire, predominantly in domestic settings we find a significant amount of under-reporting because of the fear of police involvement, the fear of reprisals on the victims and this is why we are very closely linked to the national agenda violence against women and girls agenda.

“I think it is the tip of the iceberg, the figures that we have talked about. I think it is about engaging with the victims, sometimes privately, even though they might not want to publicly report or speak about it, so we can get to the root cause of the problem.”

After the meeting, the panel’s chairman, Cllr Carl Les, said despite evidence of improvements in the police response to violence against women and girls the panel would continue monitoring the force’s progress in “ensuring that they are doing what is right for the female members of our community in particular”. He added:

“Clearly this is still a matter of interest and of great concern.

“I think Commissioner Metcalfe has made some good advances on this, but as the chief constable said it’s almost like the tip of an iceberg. Police are now starting to understand more about the problem and therefore they’re putting some mitigating actions into place.”

‘I never tire of seeing families look after their own well’: Senior nurse on 25 years at Marie Curie

As a senior nurse at Marie Curie in North Yorkshire, Susan Ebbage is responsible for supporting both the charity’s staff and patients.

Ms Ebbage allocates nurses to patients after receiving daily updates on their health.

The nurses then visit the patient’s home, introduce themselves to the family and care for their loved one overnight, usually from 10pm to 7am.

Ms Ebbage, who works regularly across the Harrogate district, said:

“This allows the families to have some rest. Patients are reassured by their presence and family members are able to go to sleep. It’s an incredibly emotional time and therefore you can’t put a price on a night’s sleep.

“A lot of the families, particularly in Harrogate, live abroad and that can be horrible for them. It’s about identifying situations like this and trying to give them support where we can.”

Twenty five years

Ms Ebbage has been working in her current role for around eight years and has been with Marie Curie for 25 years.

She lives in the Yorkshire Dales, and while her role is often administrative, she still visits patients in the area when she is needed.

She said:

“I trained at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and was a community midwife. I always loved patient care. I love being able to support them and helping them be able to become independent and regain control. These are all things as human beings we dread being taken away from us.

“If people are dying or ill, I like being able to take good care of them so they don’t feel like a burden.”

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Ms Ebbage said a highlight of her Job was working with families who clearly love the person they are looking after.

But she added that there were also difficult issues that had to be dealt with.

‘Sorrows, sadness and regrets’

She said:

“I never tire of seeing families care for their own well. I get upset when I see families who aren’t interested. But you have to try and understand what has gone on. You listen to sorrows, sadness and regrets.

“We talk to people who tell us quite dark things at times. We have to ask them what to do with that. That might involve getting a minister to go and see them.

“We also have to keep an eye out for safeguarding. It’s not just about abuse or cruelty. Some are difficult to spot straight away. We have to make a case and follow that through.”

Ms Ebbage said the work of Marie Curie was really important.

She added:

“We have struggled like may other charities over the last two years. The nurses have been outstanding. Up to 300 nurses go out seven nights a week across the country.”

Co-ordinated approach

Ms Ebbage explained that the charity worked in conjunction with Saint Michael’s Hospice in the Harrogate area. They have meetings three times a week and share patients. Marie Curie also works with services and charities including Harrogate end of life co-ordination, NHS Continuing Healthcare and Macmillan Cancer Support.

She said:

“We have a co-ordinated approach to care in the Harrogate district. It’s really important and we have got that down to a fine T. In Harrogate there are a lot of care providers. This ensures people get the most appropriate care they need and we are not wasting resources.

Fundraiser

The Marie Curie Brain Game is returning to Yorkshire for a fourth time on Thursday, January 26 and for the first time in Harrogate in the newly refurbished Majestic Hotel & Spa.

Guests will be treated to a drinks reception before enjoying a gourmet three-course dinner. The celebrity-hosted quiz will run throughout the evening and guests will also have the opportunity to bid for exclusive lots in the live and silent auctions, and win prizes in the grand raffle.

This black-tie event invites companies from across Yorkshire to come and enjoy an evening of brain-teasing entertainment and battle it out in the ultimate corporate quiz to be crowned Yorkshire Brain Game champions.

To book a table, click here.

Just 1% of Harrogate council’s art collection on public display

Just over 1% of 2,658 artworks owned by Harrogate Borough Council are currently on display to the public, figures reveal.

A freedom of information request to the authority by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that 37 artworks are on display at its galleries or museums.

The council refused to publish the total value of the collection, saying that doing so could attract thieves.

However in 2019 it valued its 2,642 artworks at a combined £6.7m.

Harrogate Borough Council owns the Mercer Art Gallery on Swan Road in Harrogate. It also owns the Royal Pump Room Museum in the town as well as Knaresborough Castle and Museum.

A HBC spokesperson said there was “finite capacity” to exhibit more of its pieces but added it regularly rotates artworks across its locations and also lends pieces to exhibitions across the country. A further 70 artworks will be put on public display later this month, they said.

The collection will become owned by the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

A HBC spokesperson said:

“Harrogate Borough Council’s collection of artworks includes thousands of different items including reproductions, uneditioned prints and a number of pieces of fine art.

“We are very fortunate to have inherited items from people or organisations who have kindly donated to us, so that residents and visitors have the opportunity to see a vast array of art from different periods and movements.

“Due to the nature of our museum venues in Harrogate, and understandably, there is finite capacity to exhibit these valuable pieces and we also want to ensure that when someone visits an exhibition they are encapsulated by the theme or narrative.

“What we put on display therefore varies from year to year and will depend on what exhibition is on show at that time. This is common practice by all museums and galleries across the world – helping to ensure displays stay fresh and dynamic and encourage repeat visits as well as new visitors.”

The spokesperson added:

“Last year we held an exhibition from some of the biggest names in Modern British Abstract art, including John Hoyland, Patrick Heron, Gillian Ayres and Albert Irvin.

“And in the coming weeks we launch our new exhibition, ‘Now You See Me’. It showcases 100 portraits from the Harrogate Art Collection, ranging from one of the earliest works in the collection – a portrait of Sir Francis Slingsby from the 1590s – to our most recent acquisition, a photowork by Irish artist Dorothy Cross, purchased by the Contemporary Art Society and the Friends of the Mercer Gallery.

“We look forward to welcoming new and returning visitors to enjoy this exciting exhibition, which opens on January 21.″

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Is Harrogate district set for snow next week?

The Harrogate district could be set for its first significant snowfall of the winter.

According to the BBC’s weather forecast, which is provided by MeteoGroup, light snow will fall on Monday followed by heavy snow showers on Tuesday. Further snow is possible later in the week.

But the Met Office forecast for next week does not include any snow for the district.

Both sites, however, agree there will be a return to icy conditions with some areas struggling to get above sub-zero temperatures until Thursday.

Despite today’s drier weather, some roads remain flooded.

Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted about three cars getting stuck at Cattal.

Further flood related incidents today.
3 cars stuck in flood water at Cattal, who had followed each other into the water.

Can I remind people the Fire Service DO NOT recover people’s cars

Whilst at the scene 3 further cars drove past appliance and into the water??????? pic.twitter.com/vXoFfX43ku

— Group Manager Bob Hoskins (@Golf_One4) January 12, 2023

 

Environment Agency flood alerts remain in place for the Lower River Nidd catchment area and the Lower River Ure, which burst its banks yesterday.

However, the flood warning for the caravan park at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, has been removed.

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Gaming festival in Harrogate set to expand

A popular gaming festival will expand again when it returns to Harrogate this spring.

AireCon, one of the UK’s largest analogue gaming festivals, will take place over four days and use more space than ever before at Harrogate Convention Centre.

It will run from Thursday, March 9 to Sunday, March 12, featuring more than 80 exhibitors along with space and time for more than 40 hours of gaming.

A spokesperson for the event said:

“Keeping community at its core, AireCon 2023 will offer more table space than ever before so attendees can meet and game as they please outside of the exhibition space.

“The beloved Bring ‘n’ Buy area is back to help visitors complete their collections alongside a whole host of tournaments, events, RPGs and a carefully curated selection of the finest street food trucks from across Yorkshire on hand to keep everyone fed and watered.”

As well as dedicated gamers, AireCon aims to encourage new players, with Leeds-based board game chain Travelling Man offering free loans of its games for people to play during the event.

There will be a family zone for introductions, demonstrations and gaming sessions run by Imagination Gaming for children of all ages, as well as the AireCon Inter-School Tournament featuring teams competing in a number of different tabletop titles.

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AireCon has been in Harrogate since 2017, having first been held in founder Mark Cooke’s flat and then a smaller venue in Bradford.

It has expanded significantly since then, with more directors coming on board to work with Mark and the latest new features in gaming brought to each year’s event.

The AireCon spokesperson added:

“An essential, inclusive event for any new gaming fan or longtime tabletop enthusiast, AireCon 2023 is an unmissable opportunity for thousands of gamers, creators, families, independent companies and more to get together, share ideas and have fun playing classic games and exploring new ones; whether they’re attending with friends or coming down to the convention solo.”

Tickets range from £7 to £22 for an adult each day and are free for under 18s, with some of the events during the weekend also requiring tickets. For details, click here.