Harrogate hospital bosses have said plans are in place to “minimise” the impact of forthcoming ambulance strikes.

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service will walk out tomorrow (December 21) and next Wednesday (December 28) for 24 hours in a dispute over pay.

The move is part of a wave of industrial action taking place across England throughout the winter, with rail staff and nurses also staging walkouts.

In response to the strikes by ambulance workers, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has urged patients to continue to come forward for care.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust said:

“We are working hard to keep patients safe during strikes, while delivering the best care possible, and patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. 

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, with key services continuing to operate.”

The trust added that it has contingency plans in place in accident and emergency, as well as measures to discharge patients, during the days of strike action.

It added:

“The safety of our patients is our utmost priority and we have contingency plans in place to minimise any impact industrial action will have.

“For instance, additional staff will be on duty in our emergency department on these days to manage any increase in walk-in attendances for those people unable to travel to hospital by ambulance.

“We also have alternative arrangements in place to help manage the discharge of patients who are unable to make their own travel arrangements so that they can leave our hospital in a timely manner.”

Harrogate District Hospital, Lancaster Park Road.

Meanwhile, managers at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have urged the public to only call 999 for an ambulance for life-threatening conditions or injuries amid stretched resources during strike action.

An agreement is in place between the unions and the service to cover life-threatening calls.

Nick Smith, executive director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said:

“With continued operational pressures and the added challenge of industrial action, we will have less resources available to respond.  

“Services will be severely disrupted, with the likelihood of significant delays.”

Ambulance staff ‘had enough’

Union membership in

Yorkshire Ambulance Service employs 7,200 staff, of which about 4,000 belong to either Unison or the GMB unions.

It is one of nine ambulance trusts across the country whose workers have voted to strike.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers will be among those planning to walk out tomorrow.

Staff at the ambulance trust voted to stage the strike in protest at a 4% government pay award.

Rachael Harrison, GMB Union general secretary, said workers have “had enough”.

She said:

“The last thing they want to do is take strike action, but the government has left them with no choice.

“(Health Secretary) Steve Barclay needs to listen and engage with us about pay. If he can’t talk to us about this most basic workforce issue, what on earth is he Health Secretary for?

“The government could stop this strike in a heartbeat – but they need to wake up and start negotiating on pay.”

A salon has become the third business in quick succession to fall victim to criminals on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road.

Sara Pugh Hairdressing put four mini Christmas trees in plant boxes outside the shop and decorated them with lights to spread seasonal goodwill.

But one tree has been stolen, another uprooted and the lights on all four vandalised.

Charlie Woolley, a stylist at the salon, said her friend alerted her to the damage when she noticed it on her way to work early on Sunday morning. Ms Woolley said:

“It’s just really bad and immoral. Sara does so much for charity and put so much effort into the Christmas display so it looks nice for children on their way to school.

“It’s so sad that people enjoy doing this.”

One tree was uprooted and another was stolen.

Fortunately the giant toy bear outside the shop, which is brought inside at night, was not harmed.

Last month Dangerfield & Keane, another salon just yards from Sara Pugh Hairdressing, had its Christmas lights vandalised for the first time in 14 years.

Days later two thieves smashed their way into  James Barber Tobacconist on the other side of the road closer to town and stole cigars and whiskey.

Read more:

• Burglary at Harrogate hairdressers this morning
• Thieves smash their way into Harrogate shop

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky gives an update on the fundraising, with five days left of the appeal.

Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help. 

An incredible £22,000 has been raised for Resurrected Bites in less than four weeks thanks to the generosity of Stray Ferret readers.

As well as contributions from individuals across the district, many businesses have donated to the Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal.

Taking us over our £20,000 total this week was a fantastic £5,000 from Windsor Private Office Financial Planning, based in Harrogate.

Every penny from those donations goes directly to Resurrected Bites. Click here to see the latest total.

The Stray Ferret chose to support Resurrected Bites after it warned in autumn that it faced significant financial challenges in running its community groceries and pay-as-you-feel cafes, all using food that would otherwise go to landfill.

It costs £7,500 each month to keep the organisation going, and its income was falling short by £3,000 every month.

Michelle Hayes, founder of Resurrected Bites, said:

“A massive thank you to the Stray Ferret for running the appeal and to everybody who has donated.

“This money is going to give us security for about eight months, covering the shortfall we have. We’re in a much stronger position starting 2023 than we were a few months ago.”

We launched the appeal on November 29 to run for four weeks until Christmas. With an initially modest target of £5,000, we soon realised we were going to pass that in a matter of days.

We increased the target to £20,000 and your donations continued to roll in.

Knowing the challenges of the cost of living crisis and the extra strain on many household budgets these days, we have been overwhelmed by just how generous our readers have been in supporting Resurrected Bites.

It’s all down to the willingness of its members and volunteers to be open about the challenges facing them. From the young Ukrainian family working to build a new life in Knaresborough to the single mum and full-time NHS employee whose circumstances changed dramatically, they have illustrated how vital Resurrected Bites is to so many local people.

Their powerful stories have also highlighted how easily many of us could end up in the same situation.

It’s often said that many households are just one pay day away from being in serious financial trouble. If you were to lose your job, or find yourself unable to work, could you cover your bills and still put food on the table?

Read more:

• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘I shouldn’t need this – but it’s a lifesaver’
• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘We had good jobs but we were still struggling’
• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘My life collapsed like a wicket’

That situation is facing new people every day. Michelle said just this week, there have been more people coming through the doors of the community groceries, looking for support to get them through the toughest of circumstances.

She said:

“It has been heartbreaking this week, with people who haven’t heard of us before getting in touch very late in the day saying they have nothing for Christmas, no presents for the kids.

“The situation is certainly not improving.”

Resurrected Bites is there to support people with dignity, providing affordable groceries – and reducing food waste at the same time – for as long as people need them.

While calls for help have continued to come in, so have donations of food. Resurrected Bites is often chosen as the recipient of ‘reverse advent calendars’, where organisers put an item in a box every day through December and donate it all at the end of the month.

Anyone wishing to give food can do so at Resurrected Bites’ warehouse at the rear of Disability Action Yorkshire on Hornbeam Park Oval, Harrogate, on Wednesday, December 21 or Thursday, December 22, between 9am and noon.

Meanwhile, we may have passed our £20,000 fundraising target, but our appeal continues right up until Christmas.

Later this week, we’ll bring you stories about how Resurrected Bites is helping to make Christmas magical for everyone, ensuring people are fed and children don’t go without presents.

Please keep donating to the appeal. It really will make all the difference to local people this Christmas and beyond.

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas. 

It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it. 

Click here to contribute now. Thank you. 

Leaders at Ripley Endowed Church of England Primary School have been praised by Ofsted for tackling the school’s inadequate rating.

The school was judged to be inadequate at its most recent full visit by government inspectors in November last year after three consecutive ‘requires improvement’ assessments.  The report was highly critical of the quality of education, leadership and early years provision.

The rating meant the school, which has about 50 pupils, was placed in special measures and forced to seek to join an academy.

Ofsted inspector Marcus Newby conducted a subsequent monitoring visit on November 8.

His report to interim co-executive headteacher Victoria Kirkman, published yesterday on Ofsted’s website, was full of praise for recent improvement efforts by the new leadership team.

Victoria Kirkman

Although the previous judgement cannot be changed as part of a monitoring visit, meaning the school is still rated inadequate and in special measures, the report has raised hopes of an upgrade when the next full inspection is conducted.

The report to Ms Kirkman said “leaders have taken swift and effective action since the previous inspection” and said she had “instilled confidence in staff and parents”.

It said there had been “extensive changes to staffing” that have brought about “strength and stability”, adding:

“You have wasted no time in addressing the previous weaknesses of the school’s curriculum.

“The school’s existing approach to phonics and early reading is now taught with precision. Reading books match pupils’ phonic knowledge accurately. The strategies that children develop in their youngest years, such as segmenting and blending, are used with confidence. Pupils enjoy reading.”

Read more:

• Ripley primary school seeks to join academy after ‘inadequate’ rating
• Nidderdale primary school still ‘good’ under new head, says Ofsted

Ms Kirkman said:

“We are delighted with the outcome of the recent Ofsted monitoring visit at Ripley, which recognised the significant and rapid school transformation since the previous inspection.

“This is due to the hard work of all stakeholders in working together to ensure future success of the school and the life chances of  children in the federation. We now focus on the next  inspection and continue our relentless drive for further school improvement.”

Ms Kirkman is also executive headteacher at Admiral Long and Birstwith CE Schools, which have recently been inspected and judged as ‘good’ by Ofsted.

A senior county councillor has backed giving greater powers to North Yorkshire Council area constituency committees.

Currently, county councillors in parliamentary constituency areas such as Harrogate and Knaresborough meet every two months to discuss and debate issues from education and transport to housing and the environment.

These area constituency committees can propose motions and make recommendations to the council’s executive, but in practice, the bodies have little power.

The impending abolition of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire will concentrate decision-making into the hands of the new unitary authority in Northallerton, which has led to concerns that local councillors will find it harder to influence decisions affecting their areas.

However, Conservative councillor for Mid-Craven, Simon Myers, who also has responsibility for planning on the council’s executive, said he supports area committees “taking some of the burden” off North Yorkshire Council.

He said:

“I was involved with running Craven District Council for many years and I know how many decisions we took.

“The idea that the executive can take all those decisions from Bentham to Scarborough is to me, too much work. I can see using area committees to take some of that burden as a valid thing to do.”

Read more:

• 20mph speed limits to be investigated in Harrogate and Knaresborough
• Harrogate council error sees Pinewoods conservation miss out on over £30,000

At a meeting of the Skipton and Ripon’s area committee last week, Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for Aire Valley, said local government reorganisation presented an opportunity for area constituency committees to become “more than talking shops”.

Cllr Brown said:

“We have to decide whether the area committees are with people with a vision for the area and are thirsty with ideas, or do we want to lobby the MP and listen to a few reports?

“We’d like to be hearing officers on important issues like economic development, we’d like powers on things like planning. We’d like to send a message to the executive that local area committees need to be significant.”

Last week, North Yorkshire County Council announced the new authority will create six new planning committees to oversee decisions across parliamentary constituency areas to run alongside the current area committees.

Harrogate Borough Council has revealed the cost of Harrogate Hydro‘s delayed refurbishment has increased by about £1 million to about £12.8 million.

The Stray Ferret reported this month the reopening of the leisure facility, originally scheduled for next month, had been pushed back until summer next year.

The council said this was due to discovering “some additional areas of work that could only have come to light when the building was closed and a strip-out of the internal fabric had taken place”.

In a press release today, the council gave a breakdown of the additional costs, which will be met by taxpayers. They are:

• Replacement of the defective external soffit boarding – £306,893
• Renewal of the existing moveable floor in the diving pool – £299,918
• Replacement of corroded steel frame elements – £330,258.66

The refurbished Hydro will include a pool, new diving structure, 400 square metre fitness suite, sauna and steam suite and new reception and café, as well as a reconfigured car park, bicycle storage and electric vehicle charging points.

The existing gas boilers have been replaced with air-source heat pumps and 250 solar panels, along with new metering and energy monitoring and control systems, which are expected to halve the carbon footprint of the leisure centre.

How the Hydro used to look.

Councillor Stanley Lumley, the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at the council-controlled Brimhams Active, said:

“At a time when some local authorities across the country are reviewing their investments in leisure facilities, we remain committed to ensuring people across the Harrogate district can keep fit and active for many years to come.

“By carrying out this additional work now, while the facility is closed, we can ensure the building is fit for purpose and can conform to the latest legislation and building regulations.

“And at a time of increasing energy costs, we are helping to offset this by making the leisure centre as energy-efficient as possible. And thanks to a government grant of some £1.8million, it will be able to utilise renewal energy.”

The council added the new leisure and wellness centre In Knaresborough was on target to open at the end next summer.

It will provide a six-lane 25-metre pool, activity pool with flume, sauna and steam room, fitness suite and studio, spin studio, café, electric car charging points and bicycle storage.

Read more:

• Harrogate Hydro reopening delayed until summer
• Harrogate council company to run leisure centres in Selby
• Harrogate leisure chief defends Ripon pool location amid ground stability concern

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 are for businesses across all sectors in the Harrogate district.

Over the next few weeks we will reveal what our judging panel is looking for when it comes to each of the 10 categories.

First up is the Inclusivity Award, which is sponsored by Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors.

This award is designed to give vital recognition to a company that has demonstrated working practices with a proactive approach to inclusivity.

These businesses have made employees and customers feel welcome, safe and free to be themselves, regardless of nationalities, gender, race or sexual orientations.

Companies looking to enter for the Inclusivity Award need to provide details of its policy for inclusivity and, if applicable, provide and example where it has given significant support to an employee or customer.

By giving vital recognition to those who have inclusivity at the heart of their business, we hope others will follow their example.

Does your business deserve to win the Inclusivity Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards? Entries close on January 16. It’s simple and quick, so enter today!

Click here or the banner below to enter for the Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis.

Rail operator Northern has warned of ongoing disruption until January 9.

The company, which operates the Leeds to York line that passes through Harrogate and Knaresborough, has published a calendar highlighting its travel guidance to customers over Christmas and the New Year.

It shows the next day of normal service is not for another 21 days.

Northern has blamed the situation predominantly on the RMT union, even though it only has strikes planned from January 3 to 7. However, an RMT national overtime ban from December 18 to January 2 has also affected services.

The union has accused the government of interfering in negotiations with Network Rail to reach a settlement on jobs, pay and conditions.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said:

“The main cause of the disruption remains industrial action by the RMT union and we can only apologise to our customers for the inconvenience it will cause to their journeys.”

Northern’s new timetable came into effect just before this extended period of disruption, so it is advising customers to use the new Check My Timetable feature on its website to see the changes specific to their local station.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

Read more:

• Long-term roadworks to affect villages near Knaresborough
• Harrogate hospital pledges ‘minimal disruption’ as nurses’ strike looms

Tributes have been paid to well-known Hampsthaite funeral director, Roger Bowers, who has died.

Born and raised on Hollins Lane in the village, Mr Bowers was the owner of the family-run business W.Bowers Funeral Directors.

He took on the firm, which was founded by his parents William and Josephine in 1945, and grew it to cover two offices in Hampsthwaite and Harrogate and host funerals across the district.

Stephen Hessell, partner of the funeral directors, said Mr Bowers was dedicated to the business even in his later life.

He said:

“He had not given up on the business right until the very end.

“He was always there for us.”

A popular figure in his home village, Mr Bowers was particularly supportive of Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School, where he organised Christmas carol singing once a year.

He also sponsored bowls tournaments in Dacre and the town crier competition at Knaresborough Feva festival.

Read more:

• New foodbank planned for Jennyfields
• Further tributes paid to ‘stalwart’ Harrogate councillor who has died

Mr Hessell said giving back to his local community was important to Mr Bowers and was something he continued to do in later life.

He said:

“It meant a lot to him even in those last four years or so.

“One of the things he enjoyed doing was getting a deck chair outside his house and speaking to people who wandered by. He would enjoy that a lot.”

Mr Bowers (left) with Stephen Hessell

Illness and a decline in mobility had prevented Mr Bowers from the day-to-day running of the business since 2018.

He died on December 13, 2022, aged 79.

Mr Hessell said he would remember Mr Bowers as a friend who was always there.

He said:

“I’m going to miss his kindness for sure.

“If you needed to talk to somebody, I would sit with him for an hour. I’m going to miss him terribly.”

A private funeral will be held in accordance with Mr Bowers’ wishes. No details will be published of the service.

Pupils past and present turned out in force to bid a fond farewell to North Yorkshire’s longest serving lollipop woman.

Mary Fisher has helped generations of schoolchildren cross the busy Pateley Bridge to Harrogate road outside Summerbridge Community Primary School since 1975. After 47 years and about 18,000 shifts, she retired on Friday.

Mary’s final patrol took longer than usual as dozens of children and adults turned out to cross the road and give her a hug.

At the school, children lined up to say thank you and give three cheers to the woman who has done so much to serve the community.

One of many hugs for Mary on her last day. Pic: Nevin Ward

Nevin Ward, a former chair of governors at Summerbridge school and near-neighbour of Mary, said Mary never forgot a child’s birthday and always gave them a small present. he added:

“She’s one of those lovely, selfless people who believes in being kind.”

An online fundraising campaign, set up to raise £100 to buy Mary a present, generated about £1,600.

A vacancy for a lollipop person now exists.

Friday’s emotional farewell at the school. Pic: Nevin Ward

Mary and her late husband Jim, who was a chimney sweep and volunteer firefighter, came to North Yorkshire in 1954 and moved to Summerbridge two years later.

They had four children, who all went to Summerbridge school and Mary developed an attachment to the school that eventually saw her become a lollipop woman.

Two years ago, when she celebrated her milestone of 45 years, she said:

“I love being outside and active as well. I have to be out and about rather than sat inside. Not a day goes by where I think I don’t want to get up today and do it.”

Read more:

• Mary, 87, retires after 47 years and 18,000 shifts as a lollipop woman in Summerbridge
• Firefighters rescue family trapped on black ice in Nidderdale
• Gallery: Stunning photos of Nidderdale in winter