Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 577 of 1197

Ambulance workers form picket line in Harrogate today

Striking ambulance workers are operating a picket line in Harrogate today.

Members of the GMB union began their 24-hour action at Harrogate Ambulance Station, which is on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital, at midnight.

They were joined by members of Unison at noon.

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

GMB rep and paramedic Neil Summers told the Stray Ferret the state of the NHS was the main reason for the industrial action. He said:

“We are literally sitting outside hospitals with patients in our ambulances for hours and hours because they have nowhere to go.

“The hospitals are full and it means we are not able to do our jobs. We hear calls for cardiac arrests and can’t do anything.”

Todays picket line

Mr Summers said York Hospital was particularly bad but paramedics could still be waiting at Harrogate District Hospital for “up to three or four hours”.

He said there needed to be greater investment in the NHS as well as social care to ease problems caused by bed-blocking.

He said pay was also a concern, as many staff had not had an increase in wages for years.

“My pay isn’t terrible but some people’s is appalling.”

Picket line Jan 2023

The pickets have been joined today by local campaigner Lindis Percy, a former nurse, midwife and health visitor. She said:

“What’s going on in the the health service is shocking and this government has caused it.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning the NHS is under “very severe pressure”.

He added the government has announced further investment for emergency departments, as well as looking into ways of targeting how to get patients who are fit to leave into social care.

Vandals damage Mercedes in Harrogate

Police are appealing for help after vandals damaged a Mercedes in Harrogate.

The incident happened on Alderson Road, off Leeds Road, shortly before 6.30am on Monday this week.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said two men in dark clothing approached the vehicle on foot from the Leeds Road junction. It added:

“One appears to have kept a look-out while the other damaged the windows of an unattended black Mercedes.

“North Yorkshire Police are requesting the public’s assistance to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, officers are asking a female jogger to get in touch. She was wearing a high-vis harness, and may have run past the offenders on Leeds Road immediately prior to the junction of Alderson Road.”

Police also want to contact the driver of a white pick-up truck — possibly a milk delivery vehicle — that pulled into Alderson Road as the damage was taking place.

Anyone else with information or dash cam footage is also asked to email peter.henderson@northyorkshire.police.uk or call on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 1668 Henderson.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230004592.

Harrogate hospital A&E waiting times improve but strikes loom

Accident and emergency department waiting times at Harrogate District Hospital have improved since the Christmas peak but the hospital remains under “considerable pressure” with almost no unoccupied beds available and two days of strike action expected next week.

A challenging winter at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road has seen a higher than average number of admissions to its A&E department as well as a fresh wave of covid and flu inpatients.

The hospital will be under further pressure on January 18 and 19 when members of the Royal College of Nurses strike over pay and conditions.

Workers at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are also expected to walk out today as part of a 24-hour strike.

Members of the royal college who work for Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust are on the list for the second wave of action in an escalation of its pay dispute with the government.

Two days of strikes were held in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on December 15 and 20 but Harrogate nurses did not take part.

Visitors to A&E have experienced long waiting times as healthcare staff have prioritised patients with serious and life-threatening conditions.

Between December 19 and January 1 a total of 1,993 people attended A&E, an average of 142 a day.

Of these, 524 were then admitted to the hospital for further treatment.

However, since the new year the average number of daily visitors to A&E has fallen to 127, helping to reduce waiting times and ease the burden on under-pressure staff.

The overall situation at the hospital also worsened due to the high number of beds filled with patients suffering with covid but since January 4 that figure has fallen from 22 to 17.

The number of patients with flu has also dropped to single digits from over 30 last week.

A trust spokesperson said the fall in covid and flu patients has “made flow through our hospitals a little easier”.

To further ease pressure at A+E, the hospital recently introduced a new “streaming model” for minor injuries so staff can focus on patients with more serious conditions.

Last Friday, the hospital had its largest-ever discharge day with 81 patients returning to their homes or care home.

The spokesperson said:

“We would like to thank everyone involved at HDFT and our partners in social care who helped us which made the weekend a lot easier.”

Two free beds

But despite an improving situation with more free beds in certain wards, the spokesperson said that yesterday there was just two unoccupied beds out of 298.

They added there are still many patients who are able to return home but cannot as they are waiting to be placed into a care home or home.

The spokesperson said:

“We would ask for the families of patients to help us support their loved one’s discharge home as soon as their medical condition allows.

“For people who require medical assistance and are considering visiting our emergency department, unless it’s a life-threatening or severe illness or injury, we would ask them to contact NHS 111 first either by calling or going online. The NHS will help them right away and if they need urgent care, the NHS can book them in to be seen quickly and safely.

“People with life-threatening illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and anyone who arrives at A&E without calling NHS 111 will still receive medical care, with those needing emergency treatment prioritised.”

Harrogate businessman spared jail for sexually assaulting woman in street

A Harrogate businessman who sexually assaulted a woman in the street has been spared prison.

Paul Harper, 41, touched or “groped” the young woman on an intimate part of her body while the victim was walking hand in hand with her boyfriend in Harrogate town centre, York Crown Court heard.

Harper, a married father-of-three, denied the offence but a jury found him guilty following a trial.

He appeared for sentence yesterday for his inexplicable and “predatory” act which occurred at night, in a crowded street “in the middle of Harrogate”, in August 2021.

The court heard that Harper, of Hollins Lane, Hampsthwaite, “brazenly” walked off after the bizarre act, leaving the Harrogate woman “aghast, shocked and distressed”.

Prosecutor Michael Morley read out a statement from the victim, who described the dramatic effect the incident had had upon her.

She said she found the experience “shocking” and described Harper’s behaviour as “outrageous, disgraceful and predatory”.

She couldn’t understand what she had done “which had attracted this man’s attention” and said she had been treated like an “object”. It made her feel “less secure” in a town where she had previously felt safe. Mr Morley said:

“She regarded Harrogate as a fairly safe town and never felt there were problems there, but she feels less safe in her home town now…and upset that her parents saw the state she was in (when she returned home).”

The victim said her “outrage and bewilderment” had been compounded by the fact that incidents such as this in Harrogate and elsewhere appeared to be “commonplace” now, or “just one of those things girls have to deal with”.

She had undergone therapy since the incident to deal with feelings of “anxiety and sadness”.

Defence barrister Helen Chapman said Harper’s business and his employees would suffer if he were sent to jail. He was a man “of some means” and his family were dependent upon him.

Community order

Judge Simon Hickey told the disgraced businessman:

“In a crowded street in the middle of Harrogate, you decided to (sexually assault) a young woman…then you brazenly walked off, leaving that woman aghast, shocked and distressed that she could go out in a public street and still be molested.

“You said at trial, ‘I’m not some seedy guy who goes around imposing myself on young (women)’. I’m afraid that’s precisely what you are and that’s why you decided you could grope a woman when she was simply holding her boyfriend’s hands.”

The judge said he had noted the “significant” effect the attack had had on the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

However, he said he wasn’t going to lock Harper up, “although many women may feel that that’s exactly what should happen to you”.

Mr Hickey said he could veer away from a jail sentence because of the effect this would have on Harper’s family.

Instead, Harper was given a two-year community order and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for five years. He was also given a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.

In addition, he was ordered to complete up to 43 days of a sex-offenders’ group work programme, 80 hours’ unpaid work and a 55-day rehabilitation course. He was also made to pay £3,135 prosecution costs.

Business Breakfast: Last remaining days for Stray Ferret Business Awards entries

Now is your time to shine with the Stray Ferret Business Awards. We are encouraging businesses of all sizes from right across the Harrogate district to enter for our awards and get recognition from our top panel of judges. Entries close on January 16.

There are only a few days left to send in entries for the Stray Ferret Business Awards as the closing date approaches.

The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, is on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate and will celebrate success and excellence in the business community across the district.

The closing date for entries for the 10 categories is on Monday 16th.

The judging panel will meet a week today so submissions cannot be accepted after the closing date.

The event promises to be a celebration of local business – the key note speaker is the Chief Executive of the new North Yorkshire Council, Richard Flinton.

New forager to be showcases at Ripon Farm Services show

Ripon Farm Services is set to showcase its new forager at its new year show next week.

The John Deare 9700 will be unveiled at the event at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Wednesday, January 18.

The show will be held over two-days and showcases leading agricultural machinery.

Geoff Brown, managing director of Ripon Farm Services, said:

“We can’t wait to welcome our customers and guests for what promises to be a very busy event, for the first time since the global pandemic hit three years ago, our show is back to normal, without any covid-related restrictions.

“We are absolutely delighted to be showcasing John Deere’s pioneering self-propelled 9700 forager harvester model. We are confident this new machine, following on from the success of John Deere’s 8000 Series, will prove a very popular attraction.

“In addition, we are featuring the latest innovations from our Technology Team to help our customers reduce input costs and improve profitability through more efficient production.”

For more information on the Ripon Farm Services new year show, visit the company website here.

Harewood House to close bird garden in face of ‘£4m bill’

A popular tourist attraction on the edge of the Harrogate district is set to close one of its main features.

Harewood House has announced its bird garden will close this year, in the face of growing costs and a £4 million refurbishment bill.

The Harewood House Trust said it could not justify spending the money in order to bring the 50-year-old site up to scratch.

Trust chairman Emily Shard said:

“It is with huge sadness that the trustees have reached the conclusion that the bird garden must close.

“Harewood and the Lascelles family have long been committed to the care and conservation of wildlife and nature, but the wellbeing of the birds is paramount. The investment needed to create a modern zoo and maintain this each year is too much for the trust to afford.

“We therefore realise that we must make this change and focus on the long-term ambition of this wonderful place, and on the opportunities that Harewood has to support our environment, represent the people and the communities that live in this area today, and to continue to develop Harewood, to serve its best purpose into the future.”

The trust said its latest zoo inspection had found the birds were well cared for, but that their environments were not up to modern standards.

Its birds will be rehomed over the next six months to more suitable environments and the final closure date of the bird garden will be confirmed later in the year.

Harewood plans to retain its farm experience and said it will look at ways to improve the area around its courtyard for visitors, opening up new views of the estate. The bird garden will be replaced with a new woodland garden encouraging native wildlife, including red kites, otters and water birds.

A spokesperson added:

“We realise that many of Harewood’s visitors love the bird garden and have children who love it too.

“It has been an incredibly difficult conclusion to reach but it is the most responsible and ethical decision to make, to ensure the health and care of these beautiful creatures, but also to ensure Harewood can stand the test of time and be here for as long as it has stood already.”

Harewood is reliant on income from grants, including from organisations like Arts Council England, as well as membership and visitor entry money, to continue operating.

The estate is owned by the Lascelles family and is run by a charitable trust.

Council leader faces call to drop £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway if public oppose it

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council has faced a call to drop Harrogate’s Station Gateway project if the results of a consultation this week reveal public opposition.

Cllr Carl Les and council chief executive Richard Flinton spoke to business leaders at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting at Rudding Park last night.

After a presentation by Mr Flinton about the new North Yorkshire Council, the two answered questions from the audience when the topic of the Station Gateway came up.

The £11.2 million project has been in development for three years after funding was won from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund.

It aims to make the town centre more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians and has been welcomed by those who want more active travel in the town. But some aspects of the scheme, such as reducing Station Parade to single-lane traffic and a part-pedestrianisation of James Street have proved to be unpopular with some business owners.

The results of a third round of consultation were expected to be published before Christmas but were delayed after the council received over 5,000 individual comments. Mr Flinton told the meeting the results of the consultation will be published in a report on Friday.

Drawing some gasps from the audience, the chamber’s chief executive, David Simister, asked Cllr Les if the council would drop the project should a majority of those who took part in the consultation oppose it.

In response, Cllr Les said:

“There’s a possibility of a huge amount of investment coming to in the town, we don’t want to lose sight of it”.

If the report is approved by the council executive, it will be discussed at a Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee meeting in spring before the Conservative council’s executive makes a final decision in June.

Cllr Les suggested the opinions of councillors sitting on the area committee, which has a majority of Liberal Democrats, could be influential in deciding whether the project goes ahead. He said:

“I think whatever decisions the executive wants to make about the Transforming Cities Fund, leaving aside the fact that it’s a huge amount of money that could benefit the town, I would want to be guided by them [on the area committee] as well. I would not want to be doing something that is not in step with my colleagues”.

Second consultation to be held on whether to form Harrogate town council

A second consultation is to be launched into the creation of a Harrogate town council.

North Yorkshire County Council will write to households across Harrogate as part of an eight-week survey starting on February 20.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of North Yorkshire which do not have a parish or town council.

The second consultation is expected to be more detailed than the first one, which merely invited people to say whether they supported the idea.

Residents will be sent information including the number of councillors, assets and reasons for why it is needed.

A further survey on the matter was approved by senior county councillors today.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

Cllr Michael Harrison, the Conservative executive member for health and adult services who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate, said while he supported the second consultation, he had reservations over the town council.

He said:

“Members will be aware of my concerns more generally about proceeding to the next stage of consultation. I have made my views both informally and on a one-to-one basis.

“We are removing a layer of local government by moving to a unitary authority and we are immediately going to be replacing it in the Harrogate area with another, so there is an underlying concern there.

“We are creating a likely future tax liability on a population without any real idea of what that tax would be or what the residents would get for paying that tax and I think that was one of the comments that came back in the consultation.”

However, Cllr Harrison added he understood it would be “an anomaly” to leave an unparished area in a county full of parish areas.

He said:

“I do acknowledge that there is an aspiration for double devolution with the new unitary council which clearly you could not achieve without a town or parish council for Harrogate.”

The consultation is set to be held instead of a local referendum, which the county council said was not “legally possible” after a request from Harrogate Borough Council.

The county council added it could not “fetter its discretion” to hold a referendum and that a further survey of residents may elicit a similar outcome.

Cllr Harrison told senior councillors that it was “vital” that every household was written to as part of the consultation in the absence of a referendum.

River Island to close in Harrogate as landlord plans apartments

A town centre shop in Harrogate is set to close in just over three weeks’ time.

River Island is holding a closing down sale as it prepares to close its doors on Cambridge Street for the last time on February 4.

A spokesperson for River Island said:

“The closure is due to change of use of the building by the landlord.”

Plans were approved in summer 2020 to refurbish the ground floor of the building and convert the first floor, as well as adding a roof extension, to create 14 apartments. Work would need to begin on the building by June this year to comply with the terms of the planning permission.

The building is owned by a Santander pension fund.

Last summer, Cosy Club opened in the same stretch of units, becoming the first bar along the street. Sainsbury’s Local and Skipton Building Society also opened branches earlier in the year.

Further east on the same street, plans were approved last February to convert the upper floors of some retail units into flats.

Today, York-based property company Grantside announced it had acquired the 10,000 sq ft building and was intending to use the flats as holiday lets.

Steve Davis, chief executive of Grantside, said:

“This is a great opportunity and a brilliant location – in the heart of Harrogate town centre.

“Our vision for the building is to bring it back into full use through the conversion of the upper floors into apartments, which will be used as holiday accommodation and help the town’s economy.”

Rain highlights concerns about state of Harrogate district drains and gullies

Heavy rain in recent days has heightened concerns about the state of drains and gullies in the Harrogate district.

The Stray Ferret has been contacted by residents in separate parts of the district frustrated about how quickly flooding occurs because of blockages in the drainage infrastructure.

Huby resident John Chadwick said flooding caused by blocked culverts, drains and ditches was a major problem in Huby and Weeton and concerns raised by the parish council had brought “minimal results”. He said:

“There is a particularly serious issue at the moment at the junction of Woodgate Lane, Crag Lane and the main A658.

“When there is even little rainfall, water cascades off the fields on the north side of the A658. Because the ditches are blocked, water flows down over the main road and then down onto Woodgate Lane. Recently this froze over causing a risk to life. This is not an exaggeration, a vehicle could easily have skidded.

“I walk my dog regularly in the area and even as a complete novice in the subject, I can see that the problem would be easy to solve by clearing ditches, gulleys and drains.”

A drain in Huby

Mr Chadwick urged North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, to do more to tackle the problem, particularly as a school bus stop is located at the junction.

Sharow resident James Thornborough sent photos of Sharow Lane, which he said flooded within an hour of heavy rain on Saturday.

“The blind bend road was flooded where the sewage operation is running 24/7. It took just one hour of torrential rain to achieve the pictured lake. The electric power packs for the traffic lights were submerged in water.

“Yorkshire Water jetted the drains about six weeks ago, which is not a sustainable solution because every other drain on Dishforth Road is blocked, offering a downhill runway.

Sharow Lane last weekend

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“Funding for the upkeep of drains and gullies is part of our annual highways maintenance budget of around £55 million which covers planned maintenance programmes as well as responding to problems as they arise.

“Over the last financial year we invested an additional £500,000 to improve how we maintain road drainage systems across the county.

“We have in-house high-pressure jetting capability on our gully cleansing machines which assist in unblocking drainage systems and ensuring they are operating effectively.”

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Two free beds

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Community order

New forager to be showcases at Ripon Farm Services show

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