Another 113 covid infections reported in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district has reported a further 113 covid cases, according to today’s government figures.

The district’s covid rate now stands at 483 infections per 100,000 people.

Across the county, the average stands at 439 and the England rate is 440.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England.

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Today public health officials in North Yorkshire said the army could be drafted in to help with the Harrogate district’s booster vaccine rollout amid concern about the new coronavirus variant Omicron.

The council is looking at ways to increase capacity for vaccines after the minimum gap for boosters was halved to three months.

The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate will re-open as a vaccine site for coronavirus booster jabs on Monday.

Military could be drafted in to help Harrogate district booster vaccines

The army could be drafted in to help with the Harrogate district’s booster vaccine rollout amid concern about the new coronavirus variant Omicron.

Public health officials in North Yorkshire said today they were looking at ways to increase capacity for vaccines after the minimum gap for boosters was halved to three months.

More sites, more vaccines and use of the army are among the options being considered.

The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate will re-open as a vaccine site for coronavirus booster jabs on Monday.

It was scheduled to operate for just over a fortnight until December 22 but in a press conference today, public health officials confirmed they were in talks to extend this until March.

So far in North Yorkshire and York, the booster rollout in over-75s is 89% complete, 70 to 74-year-olds is 86% complete, 65 to 69-year-olds is 72% complete and 60 to 64-year-olds is 53% complete.

Boosters are below 50% for the remaining cohorts. Among 55 to 59-year-olds it is at 39%, 50 to 54-year-olds are at 32% and 40 to 49-year-olds are at 19%.

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Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said:

“Across North Yorkshire we are currently adapting our vaccination programme to deliver a significantly enhanced booster offer.

“This includes exploring some of the following options. We are looking at more sites coming online, including both hospitals and pharmacy sites.

“We are looking at some of the existing sites we have got doing more vaccinations. We are also looking to recruit more support to help deliver vaccinations.

“We are thinking about support from military personnel nationally and also we anticipate a national effort to recruit additional volunteers to help deliver the programme.

“All of these actions are underway across North Yorkshire and they are happening at pace.”

Jennyfields residents urged to be patient over gas leak payments

Jennyfields residents still waiting for £60 gas compensation payments have been told they will be issued automatically.

About 3,500 homes in Jennyfields were without gas for 48 hours after a major gas leak on Ripon Road in October.

Northern Gas Networks, which distributes gas to homes and businesses in Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria, automatically issues £60 compensation payments through customers’ gas suppliers for loss of supply for more than 24 hours.

But six weeks after the leak, which the company said affected more people than any other incident it had dealt with in the last 18 months, some people have yet to be paid.

Eileen Brown, customer experience director for Northern Gas Networks, told the Stray Ferret some payments had been delayed because gas suppliers had gone out of business.

Ms Brown said Northern Gas Networks would process the payments when it was notified of the new suppliers. She added if it made the payments before then they could be delayed even longer because they would get tied up in lengthy administration processes.

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She pledged all 3,500 homes would be fully compensated automatically and asked residents not to call Northern Gas Networks requesting payments.

“Payments will be coming to them. They don’t have to do anything for it.”

Asked how long people could expect to wait, Ms Brown said it was likely to be weeks rather than months but added the timings were “beyond our control” because of the need to wait until customers were transferred to new suppliers.

Some customers on the priority services register are also entitled to £48 compensation payments for the provision of alternative heating. Again, Ms Brown pledged they would be made.

‘1 in 43 years occurrence’

The leak occurred when sub-contractors damaged a pipe during deep excavation work about three metres below the surface of Ripon Road, near the Hydro.

Northern Gas Networks converted the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields into an emergency hub to respond to the incident.

A total of 355 Northern Gas Networks engineers and volunteers helped that weekend, aided by 30 voluntary organisations. The company gave away 800 electric heaters, “slightly fewer” electric hobs, 50 oil filled radiators and 1,500 food vouchers worth £10 each.

The company’s response was widely praised by people in the area.

Ms Brown said the loss of gas supply happened on average once every 43 years and most customers would not experience this again in their lifetimes.

Asked how much the incident had cost Northern Gas Networks, she said she was unable to say but added:

“We do the right thing for customers. The cost is the cost. It’s about being there for customers.”

 

Viper Rooms bids to extend weekend opening hours until 6.30am

The Viper Rooms nightclub on Parliament Street has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to extend its opening hours on Friday and Saturday nights until 6.30am.

Harrogate’s only nightclub reopened in July after being closed due to covid restrictions since March last year, except for one night on Halloween last year.

It currently serves alcohol until 4am and closes at 4.30am. The application seeks to extend both by two hours.

Owner Paul Kinsey told the Stray Ferret the nightclub is still busy at 4am, so closing later would stop revellers leaving the club all at once. He added there was also a demand from customers to stay out later.

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Mr Kinsey said:

“Since reopening we have monitored customer trends closely and we have seen that we are still very busy at 4am.

“Therefore to have a more orderly dispersal of customers and not move several hundred people onto the streets at one time. It’s more sensible to trade later and allow a staggered dispersal of customers as well as catering for customer demand for a later finish to their night.

“We have trialled the later closing hours in recent weeks and it has gone without any issues at all.

“It’s not our intention to trade every night until 6am. it’s just having the permission to do so if needed.”

Harrogate train station lift fixed after not working for two days

The lift on platform three at Harrogate train station was fixed today after being out of order for 48 hours.

Passengers were alerted to the fault on Tuesday morning, when the cause was said to be a power cut.

It meant that if they wanted to use the opposite platform, they either had to use the stairs — which is difficult for older people, people with buggies and wheelchair users — or leave the station and travel along the path to the other side of the station.

Rail operator Northern yesterday told the Stray Ferret the lift was due to be repaired later that day. It apologised for any inconvenience. But the lift only began functioning again this morning.

The engineer at the station told us he hoped the repairs would keep the lift running but added he would stay at the station for a few hours to ensure it didn’t break down again.

He also said cold weather and heavy usage of the lift can impact how well it works.

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Former Victorian hotel in Harrogate to become modern co-working space

Royal House in Harrogate is to be refurbished and turned into a co-working space.

The property on Station Parade was built in 1847 and known as the Royal Hotel in the Victorian era.

It has been used as offices since the 1960s.

The building has been leased by Wizu Workspace, a Leeds-based company that operates six co-working spaces in Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford. It said it plans to spend “a six-figure sum” refurbishing the building.

Wizu has a membership model where customers pay a monthly fee to use their offices on demand.

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Tom Almas, chief executive of Wizu, said it had expanded into Harrogate as the company believes there is an undersupply of modern office space in the town.

He said:

“We’re excited to bring something truly unique to Harrogate, creating a blend of sleek modern interiors mixed with historic period features to provide an impressive place to work.

“We chose Harrogate due to the undersupply of modern, flexible office space in the town and saw an opportunity to bring our popular, all-inclusive model to businesses.”

“The building itself is incredible. It’s in a prominent central location with stunning views of The Stray and just a few minutes from the train station and major road links – making it an attractive, accessible space to run a successful business from.”

Follifoot business park appeals expansion plan refusal

The owners of a business park in Follifoot have appealed a decision to refuse permission to expand onto green belt land.

Harrogate Borough Council rejected a plan to build two new buildings on Follifoot Ridge Business Park, which would have created space for five commercial units.

The development would have sat next to existing units (pictured above) previously allowed because they were classed as farm conversions.

The owners of the park said the new units would help to meet demand from businesses for more space.

Kim Eastwood, a planning agent for the business park, told the council in June that the development would have little impact on the area because the green belt land is already surrounded by existing units.

However, the council’s planning committee rejected the proposal. In its reason for refusal, the authority said:

“The application site is not considered previously developed land. The proposal is therefore inappropriate development which, by definition, is harmful to the green belt and it would also result in some limited harm to the openness of the green belt.

“Although the proposal would bring economic benefits it is not considered that ‘very special circumstances’ exist that clearly outweigh the potential harm to the green belt by reason of inappropriateness and the impacts on openness.”

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In its statement of case, the business park’s planning agent, ID Planning, said the development was not “inappropriate” and that it disagreed with the council’s conclusion.

It said:

“The appellant disagrees with the reason for refusal based on the development being inappropriate as the site is not brownfield land.

“The appellant considers that the site is brownfield land but notwithstanding this considers the development comprises limited infilling.”

How the business park would look with the commercial units built on the green belt land.

How the business park would look with the commercial units built on the green belt land.

It added that the scheme had economic benefits and would not have an “impact on the openness of the green belt”.

“The development provides clear economic benefits set out in full in the planning statement and supported and acknowledged by the local planning authority which further support the appellants case for planning permission to be granted.”

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

Collinsons brothers win ‘Golden Teddies’ for toy industry work

Two Harrogate brothers who have carried on the work of their grandfather and father have won a top award for their lifetime of work in the toy industry.

Many people in the Harrogate district will have fond memories of Collinsons toy shops in Ripon and Harrogate. Although those shops are long gone, two brothers are still self-confessed ‘toy boys’.

Mark and Paul Collinson got involved in the industry early on at seven-year-olds when their father Ian Collinson showed them the ropes.

After working in the retail side of the business for several years, the brothers moved into the sales side, where they have worked for decades with national and international brands.

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Now with around 43 years in the toy industry under their belts, Mark and Paul have won the British Toy & Hobby Association’s coveted Golden Teddy Award.

Inaugurated in 2001, the Golden Teddy awards are for people who have served the industry for more than 15 years and go over and above expectations.

The pair, who have launched major brands like Funko and VTech, were presented with the award at Orchid Restaurant in Harrogate last week. Mark told the Stray Ferret:

“We were both humbled to receive the award. It’s not like us to shout about our work but we are at the end of our careers now and are proud to look back.

“There are lots of people in Harrogate and Ripon over a certain age who still have fond memories of our father’s and grandfather’s shop.

“Back then going to the toy shop was a rare treat for children. The industry has changed massively over the years but young children still have that love for play.”

Toys galore!

Collinsons in the Harrogate district

Fred Collinson opened the first shop in Ripon selling sportswear, toys and leather goods in 1952.

His son, and Mark and Paul’s father, Ian Collinson furthered the family name when he opened a toy shop called Collinsons on James Street, Harrogate in 1972.

An advert, which can be seen in Harrogate Library, said “two whole floors of toys, boxed games and books make Collinsons a veritable children’s (and parents) paradise.”

Ian Collinson died of cancer at 66-years-old in 2001. His sons Mark and Paul eventually went into the sales side of the toy industry and now, after 43 years, they have won a Golden Teddy Award.

Both Mark and Paul are nearing the end of their careers but Paul’s son William Collinson is keeping the tradition alive. He is now the general manager in the UK for the Zuru Toy Company.

Harrogate doctor’s surgery defends parking fines

The practice manager of Kingswood Surgery on Wetherby Road has said it’s necessary to issue parking fines for its car park to deter non-patients from using it.

Kingswood Surgery and Well Pharmacy are separate entities that happen to share the same building called Kingswood Medical Centre.

On Tuesday, the Stray Ferret reported how a woman collecting a prescription at Well Pharmacy was fined £100 for parking longer than the allowed 15 minutes of free parking for non-patients of the surgery.

Shirley Hopkinson said the short time period was unfair on people collecting prescriptions when the pharmacy was busy.

However, Liz Walker, practice manager at Kingswood Surgery, said patients of the surgery, rather than visitors to the pharmacy, had priority for the car park.

Difficult to park

Ms Walker told the Stray Ferret the car park has been managed by a private company for four-and-a-half years.

The company, called Civil Enforcement, was brought in because visitors and staff at nearby Harrogate Hospital would use the car park for extended periods of time, making it difficult for patients at the surgery to find a place to park.

Ms Barker said:

“We were therefore left with no option but to introduce the current system.”

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Ms Barker said that signs explaining the rules were well advertised and understood, and patients of the surgery were “very supportive” of the arrangements.

“Any patient or visitor to our site can benefit from unlimited free parking through a simple car registration process on entering our reception area. We would not wish to make any changes that would have a detrimental impact on our patients’ ability to access appointments at the surgery.”

She added that the current system of fining non-patients who use the car park for longer than 15 minutes would not be changing.

“Following the publication of your article, we consulted our Patient Group who agreed that they would not like to see any changes to the current arrangements.”

Harrogate council billed NHS £3 million for Nightingale costs

Harrogate Borough Council billed the NHS more than £3 million in costs associated with Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital.

Set up at the council-owned Harrogate Convention Centre in April last year at a cost of £27 million, the hospital did not treat a single covid patient during the pandemic. But it was used to provide CT scans to non-coronavirus patients.

Following the rollout of the vaccination programme, the 500-bed hospital was decommissioned in March this year.

Although the local authority did not charge the health service rent, it did invoice them for other related costs.

Figures from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust show a total of £3,004,634 was billed to the trust during the time the Nightingale was in place.

Invoices between £124,000 and £375,000 a month were made by the council.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed the payments were for utility bills, business rates and building insurance.

Nightingale payments to council since April 2020:

April, May, June: £378,220

July: £353,279

August: £144,583

September: £161,518

October: £124,449

November: £359,968

December: £361,657

2021

January: £372,152

February: £373,479

March: £375,329

As previously reported, the health service also paid consultancy firm KPMG £922,899 to help set up the Harrogate Nightingale.

NHS documents revealed Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust paid the company the sum during the first three months of the hospital being in place.

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During the pandemic, the government earmarked £3 billion of funding to support the seven Nightingale hospitals across the country.

‘A costly PR stunt’

While it was heralded as a “tremendous success” by local councillors, the lack of use of the Nightingale proved to be contentious and prompted calls for an inquiry.

Harrogate councillor Jim Clark, who sits on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, proposed an investigation into the hospital in order to “learn lessons” from the matter.

Cllr Clark also suggested using the hospital for other medical reasons, such as routine operations, flu jabs and patient recuperation.

Meanwhile, Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, has described the Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt” and said it should have been closed months before it was decommissioned.