A&E waiting times performance at Harrogate District Hospital remains “well below” the national standard as health bosses urge people to only attend the department if necessary.

Latest figures show that the hospital had 4,554 attendances to its emergency department in August 2022.

The national standard for emergency department waiting times is to admit, transfer or discharge 95% of patients within four hours.

According to NHS England figures, 62% of patients were seen within that timeframe at Harrogate hospital.

Meanwhile, a total of 82 patients waited longer than 12 hours to be seen.

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In a report to its board, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the performance remained “well below” the standard set nationally.

He said:

“The board should be aware that our A&E performance in August remained well below the national standard and we had a higher number of 12 hour waits in the department than in previous months.

“The situation has improved in September, but the changes that we have initiated and highlighted earlier need to be delivered in order for us to provide the improved urgent care service that we all want to have in place.”

Visiting the Emergency Department at Harrogate District Hospital pic.twitter.com/8cITeTrHkj

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) October 3, 2022

The move comes as the trust has urged people to only attend its emergency department if they have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.

In a statement, the trust said it expected to see a high number of patients at A&E this week.

It said:

“This week we are expecting our hospital in Harrogate to be very busy. As a result, visitors to our emergency department with less serious issues may experience longer waiting times than usual.

“This isn’t ideal and we will endeavour to keep waiting times as short as possible.”

Have you experienced a long wait in Harrogate’s A&E department? We’d like to hear from you. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197. 

Landlords in the Harrogate district are to be offered advice on retrofitting buildings to make them more environmentally sustainable.

Harrogate College is holding an information evening in partnership with Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, entitled Retrofit for Landlords.

It will take place from 6-7.30pm on Wednesday, November 2.

The event will aim to explain how ‘eco-refurbishment’ of buildings can improve efficiency, cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

Read More: 

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Harrogate College principal, Danny Wild, said:

“We look forward to welcoming many landlords to this event, where they can hear about the benefits of retrofitting.

“Working closely with local employers, to ensure our courses and training delivers the maximum possible benefit to them, is one of our key aims.

“We are also striving to become a net zero carbon college by 2030, as set out in our sustainability pledge, and supporting green skills like retrofitting aligns perfectly with our sustainability goals.

“So we are delighted to be teaming up with the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition to stage this event, which sets out how practical steps can be taken to help both our economy and the environment.”

Speakers include Sarah Stark, from Harrogate Borough Council, who will give details about a new council grant for landlords and who will answer questions about EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) regulations.

Representatives from York and North Yorkshire LEP will give presentations on the net-zero business toolkit and energy and retrofit options, respectively.

John Kerr from Zero Carbon Harrogate, will be discussing the work it is doing – including through teaming up with Harrogate College – to provide free retrofit training, and how landlords can access it.

Places at the event can be booked here:  www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harrogate-college-retrofit-event-tickets-425667923217.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

More than 1,000 people attended a business conference in Harrogate yesterday.

Brand Yorkshire held its 12th annual business conference at Pavilions of Harrogate at the Great Yorkshire Showground. Nearly 60 businesses had stalls at the event.

Staff from companies all over the country networked at the event, which attracted many local firms.

Georgina Pogge-von Strandmann, solicitor and branch manager at Ison Harrison in Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“The event has been great to attend. We’re here to explain all of the services we can offer at our new Harrogate branch as a full-service law firm. We’ve spoken to a lot of people, everyone is really friendly.”

Sally Bendtson, who owns Limelight HR, said:

“It’s been really good so far, there is a nice mixture of people we know and people we haven’t worked with yet. Last year we just had a stand but this year we’ve got a stand and I’m doing a talk.”

Brand Yorkshire has been holding business events for more than a decade. They are run by Richard and Mona Norman.

Ms Norman told the Stray Ferret:

“People are still wanting to meet people face to face, especially in Harrogate. We have more than a thousand booked to attend.

“What is music to my ears is when the stand holders come to me, even when the day hasn’t finished yet, to say they are already getting business from the event.”

Boroughbridge chamber holds networking event

The Crown Hotel

Boroughbridge Chamber of Trade is to stage business networking event on Tuesday next week.

The event will also feature a presentation from Kevin Charity, the new chief executive of The Coaching Inn Group, which recently bought the town’s Crown Hotel.

Coaching Inns took over the historic 37-bedroom hotel in February after its parent company, RedCat Pub Company, purchased the building from Best Western for an undisclosed fee. It is investing about £450,000 in refurbishing the site.

The event takes place at the Crown Hotel from 5.30pm to 7pm. Non-chamber members are welcome.

A Harrogate model boating club has said plans to erect a fountain in the boating pool at Valley Gardens will stop them being able to pursue their hobby.

Claro Marine model boating club meets twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays to operate motor boats on the pool behind the cafe.

Harrogate Borough Council plans to put a fountain in the pool to help improve water quality.

David Finnegan, secretary of Claro Marine, told the Stray Ferret it would make sailing the boats impossible:

“Model boats do malfunction – if we are distracted and steer them underneath the fountain by mistake, the boats’ electrics will be damaged and, if they fill up with water, it’ll sink them.

“A home made model boat can cost up to £1,000 — to get a well made British scale model steam plant for the boat can cost £800.”

Until recently council staff regularly drained and cleaned the pond of leaves and litter and then refilled it.

Last month, though, the pool was drained but not refilled due to the drought and the fountain is due to be installed next year.

Mr Finnegan said the council told him the decision had already been made:

“I am very disappointed at Harrogate Borough Council and certainly upset.  We have members who are elderly and can’t drive so we need a central location.

“It’s a cost-cutting exercise and they’ve made no real effort to get in touch with us

“I have one friend who lives on his own and he loves the hobby. He is a non driver and, for him, this is like the end of the world.

“For us boaters it is such a relaxing and pleasant thing to do”

Mr Finnegan, 68, says there’s a long tradition of boating on the small pond – as a child he paddled in the water amongst the vessels.  The boaters often have spectators who enjoy watching them – particularly children.

A video of the club’s boats being sailed on the pool. 

The Stray Ferret put the club’s concerns to the council. A spokesperson said:

“Currently, the boating pond in Valley Gardens is empty due to maintenance and the continued hosepipe ban in place across Yorkshire.

“Next year, we will be installing a new fountain to help aerate the water and improve its cleanliness (once the hosepipe ban has been lifted).

“It will also provide another distinctive area for people to enjoy and complement the award winning floral displays, Himalayan and Japanese gardens, Grade II listed Sun Pavilion and Colonnades, and games and attractions currently on offer.

“The fountain – supported by Friends of Valley Gardens – is controllable so once installed, if it is problematic for the model boating club, we would be happy to discuss it with them to ensure it can be enjoyed by all visitors of Valley Gardens.”

The Boating Lake, Valley Gardens, Harrogate c.1949

Read More: 

• Stray Views: Dogs without leads ruining Valley Gardens
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Starbeck is to have two Remembrance Sunday events this year at 11am and 3pm amid a disagreement over the best time to honour the war dead.

A remembrance service traditionally takes place at 3pm at the war memorial on Starbeck High Street.

The afternoon time enables local veterans, dignitaries and anyone else wishing to pay their respects to do so first at the large morning parade in Harrogate town centre.

But some people feel Starbeck should follow the rest of the country by honouring the fallen at 11am.

Last year some residents observed a two-minute silence at the war memorial at 11am — and they intend to do so again this year, even though the afternoon service will go ahead as usual.

Starbeck Residents Association has taken over the running of the afternoon service and lead organiser Andy Dennis said this year’s event, on November 13, would be Starbeck’s official event marking Remembrance Sunday. He said:

“I want to be clear with this, as a local group held an unofficial service at 11am last year and this poorly attended event was projected in some quarters as the community’s response to remembrance.

“The 3pm service is always well supported by the community, it is held at this time to allow dignitaries such as the MP and councillors to attend the Harrogate service at 11am and the the Starbeck service later.”

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Starbeck resident Lucky Hubbard said she was one of about 30 people who observed last year’s 11am silence and she intends to do so again this year. Some, including herself, will attend both gatherings. She said:

“I’m an ex-army wife so Remembrance Sunday has always been a big thing to me, and it’s always been at 11am.

“We are not saying don’t go at 3pm — we just want to pay our respects at 11am.”

Ms Hubbard runs a Starbeck knitting group called Knitwits, which decorated local landmarks with poppies last year. This year it is knitting 2,000 poppies to go on the side of St Andrew’s Church (pictured).

She is also involved with a fundraising event for the Yorkshire Trench project on Saturday, November 12, as well as a veterans’ breakfast after the Sunday morning two-minute silence.

Some of those supporting the morning silence are involved with Starbeck Community Group, which has had an uneasy relationship with Starbeck Residents Association in recent years.

Ms Hubbard said:

“It’s a shame that this spat keeps rearing its ugly head.”

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are set to vote on strike action over a government pay offer.

The service employs 7,200 staff and covers all of North Yorkshire, including the Harrogate district.

The GMB Union, which represents 1,500 ambulance workers, said it held a consultative ballot over strike action which saw 90% vote in favour of a walk-out.

Turnout for the vote was 80%.

It comes after the government offered staff a 4% pay increase.

Following the outcome on the consultative ballot, Unions are now set to move towards holding a formal vote on industrial action.

Deanne Ferguson, GMB organiser, said:

“Ambulance staff should not be worrying about how they’ll heat their homes this winter or feed their families, whilst carrying out a crucial service across our communities.

“The service is crumbling, and it is having an impact on everyone – it is only surviving because of the amazing workers holding it together, through goodwill.

“GMB members have had enough, they are angry – and that’s why they want to move to a formal ballot for strike action.

“They’ve made history with their turnout and vote.

“GMB Union will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members as we fight for an above inflation pay rise for our NHS heroes.”

Dates for the formal ballot will be announced in the “coming days”, the union said.

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Harrogate Borough Council has refused to say whether its chief executive will receive a payout package when the authority is abolished in April.

Questions over possible payments to Wallace Sampson were raised after a proposed redundancy package of around £225,000 for Hambleton District Council’s chief executive was criticised by “dismayed and angry” union officials.

But when asked if its most senior officer would receive something similar, Harrogate Borough Council only provided the following statement:

“We respect the contractual rights of all our employees, and relevant employment law.

“This applies to all employees irrespective of their salary or position.”

Mr Sampson, who is paid a £118,447-a-year salary, will along with the other district council chiefs in North Yorkshire see his role scrapped when a new unitary authority covering the whole county launches in April.

County officials have repeatedly insisted that most staff will be transferred across to the new North Yorkshire Council.

However, there have been some uncertainties over job security which has led to an increase in staff quitting ahead of the eight existing councils merging into one.

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• Union asks Harrogate council if chief executive will get exit package

Unison – which represents over 6,000 local government workers in North Yorkshire – said it was seeking clarity from the existing councils after Hambleton’s proposal which it said “will not go down well” with staff and taxpayers during the cost of living crisis.

The union said in a statement:

“We have already had contact from our members who work for Hambleton District Council to express their shock and disgust at this proposal.

“We will also be writing to the other district and borough councils across North  Yorkshire to make sure they are not tempted to do the same.”

‘Inappropriate expenditure’

The comments come after Harrogate Borough Council was last year told to change its rules on payouts for departing staff after auditors raised concerns over what they described as “inappropriate expenditure”.

Figures published in the council’s annual statement of accounts showed £354,000 was paid out to 19 former employees in 2019/20.

This was an increase from the previous financial year when £278,000 was agreed for 15 staff.

The statement of accounts also showed one member of staff received a £62,000 exit package in 2019/2020, although it is not known what job title they had or how much they were earning before they left their role.

The only member of staff who was named was former director of community Paul Campbell who was paid £55,065 in compensation for loss of office.

It was later agreed that all payments – which can also include allowances and hardship cash – have to be approved by the borough council leader and chief executive, and reported on an annual basis.

Any payments over £100,000 now also require approval from full council.

Previously, the payments were signed off by a monitoring officer and only those made to senior staff were reported annually.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire County Council’s chief executive Richard Flinton was earlier this year appointed to carry out the same role on the new unitary authority at a crucial time of change for the county.

He will earn up to £197,000 a year with responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.

The owners of the former Flaxby Park Golf Club have appealed a decision by Harrogate Borough Council to refuse its plans for 350 ‘eco lodges’ and a hotel on the site.

The borough council turned down the proposal in March on the grounds that it would cause an “unacceptable” impact on the environment. The site is close to junction 47 on the A1(M).

Now, Flaxby Park Ltd has taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate – the body which deals with planning disputes.

In documents submitted to the inspectorate, planning consultants Lichfields, which has lodged the appeal on behalf of the developer, said the reasons for refusal were “unfounded”.

It said:

“The appellant will show that the council’s reasons for refusal are unfounded and that there are no technical issues arising from the proposed development, which cannot be addressed by appropriately worded conditions or Section 106 planning obligations.

“The appellant will therefore submit that planning permission should be granted for the development proposed by the appeal without delay.”

The proposal includes plans for 350 holiday lodges along with a hotel, outdoor swimming pool, spa and sports area as well as a pub/cafe, farm shop, gift shop and activity hub.

Read more:

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The scheme would be built on the former Flaxby golf course, which has been closed since 2014, off the A59 York Road.

In March, council planning officer Kate Broadbank said the development would have a negative impact on the district’s natural environment as well as harming views from the nearby Temple of Victory, which is Grade II* listed.

Ms Broadbank wrote:

“The scale and layout are considered to have an unacceptable adverse impact upon the district’s natural and historic environment.

“In addition, the application site is not considered to be accessible to local services nor is it demonstrated that an acceptable connection to public utilities can be achieved.”

An aerial computer generated image of the proposal. The A1 (M) is to the east and the A59 is to the south.

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.

History of the site

In 2008 The Skelwith Group bought the site from farming family the Armstrongs for £7m. It published plans for a 300-bedroom five-star hotel on the site that it touted as the future “jewel in Yorkshire’s tourism crown”.

But the plans never materialised and in 2016 the company went out of business.

Flaxby Park Ltd, a company made up of businesswoman Ann Gloag and regeneration specialists Chris Musgrave and Trevor Cartner, bought the 260-acre golf course site from administrators in 2016.

Its original proposal for the site was to build 2,750 homes and a rail link at Goldsborough. But these plans ended after the council chose the Cattal and Green Hammerton area as the site for a new settlement in the district instead.

In October 2020, the developer challenged the council’s decision in the High Court but was unable to overturn it.

Former Calendar news presenters Christine Talbot and Gaynor Barnes are to attend this month’s Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival.

The pair will be putting their presenting skills to use when they each interview one of this year’s guest writers.

Christine will interview Antique Roadshow star Ronnie Archer-Morgan about his autobiography, Would it Surprise You to Know…? at 11.30am on Saturday, October 22.

Gaynor will have a conversation with Radio 5’s Nihal Arthanayake – whose book is coincidentally titled How to Have Better Conversations at 1pm on Saturday, October 22.

The festival runs from October 20 to 23. Further details are available here.

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• Robert Harris and Chris Ryan coming to Harrogate literary festival
• Tim Stedman returns for 22nd panto at Harrogate Theatre

A charity 10k run is set to take place in Harrogate in aid of the Harrogate Homeless Project.

Called “Run, Walk, Move”, the initiative is being held to raise money for the charity on its 30th anniversary.

The charity has urged people to run or walk either as individuals or as a group throughout October, with each runner contributing £10 to the cause.

This Sunday (October 9), Harrogate Triathlon Club has organised a 5k and 10k starting from the Harrogate Homeless Hostel on Bower Street at 10.30am.

Jon Chamberlain, who is part of the Harrogate Triathlon Committee, said the runs would include areas of interest around the town.

He said:

“We are doing a bit of a circle around Harrogate where we can find some interesting places.”

He added that he hoped that the run would help to raise around £400 for the Harrogate Homeless Project.

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After the end of the run, those participating will meet up at North Bar social room for coffee and cake along with the chief executive and chair of the charity.

All money raised as part of the anniversary fundraiser will go towards providing hot meals, laundry facilities, showers and clothing for those who experience homelessness.

Prizes are being provided by Up and Running, which has donated a £75 voucher for fastest 5k, 10k and half marathon times and a £100 voucher for the top fundraising team.

Francis McAllister, CEO of Harrogate Homeless Project, said: 

“The Virtual Run has been set up to be as inclusive as possible, enabling people of all abilities to take part and set their own personal challenge.

“We hope to get as much of the Harrogate district as possible walking, jogging or running for homelessness this October in support of our 30th anniversary fundraising and publicity campaign.”

For more information on how to get involved visit the Harrogate Homeless Project website here and the Harrogate Triathlon site here.