A new Winter Wonderland Teepee has opened in the grounds of a Harrogate hotel, enabling people to socialise more safely in winter.

The Majestic Hotel on Ripon Road said it will offer a family-friendly dining experience, with traditional Christmas market-style food and drinks including bratwurst, roast chestnuts, hot chocolate, mulled wine and winter cocktails.

It is a step up from the hotel’s Majestic Pavilion al fresco dining area, and will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings until mid-December, when it will change to Fridays and Saturdays only. The hotel has already taken more than 400 bookings for the teepee in the last week alone.

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• Harrogate district restaurants extend discount meals into November
• Harrogate bars warn further measures could ‘finish us off’

Andy Barnsdale, general manager of the DoubleTree Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa, said:

“Since the summer we have had the Majestic Pavilion on our terrace, which has proved incredibly popular for those looking for relaxing alfresco food and drinks.

“Now the clocks have gone back and winter is officially here, we have added our Majestic Winter Wonderland Teepee into the alfresco dining mix.

“It is family, child and dog friendly, and all covid-19 safety precautions will be strictly observed and adhered to. In addition to festive food and drink there will be live music on each of the three evenings, provided by local artists performing acoustic sets.

“What we are offering is an escape from the constraints that covid-19 has brought to the nation. Our Winter Wonderland is ideal for friends to catch up in a safe environment and for families wanting an afternoon or evening out together.”

Harrogate District Diving Club is now back in the water after six months, but with reduced hours and coaches.

Since the reopening of pools in July the club has been eager to be allowed back to training at The Hydro. The club said its six months out of training had a “detrimental effect”.

Members’ hours in the water have been restricted. The club now only has one 2.5 hours session a week, while pre-covid it had 20 hours in the water each week.

The divers have been placed in smaller groups, with each group given 30 minutes of coaching each week. To keep it covid-safe each squad returned week by week and is now back to full capacity.

The number of club coaches has also been reduced. Two were redeployed during the pandemic: as council employees, they were sent to work in other areas in need of extra staff.

Graeme Cairns, who previously coached the council’s learn to dive scheme, has been brought in to train all of the divers on their return. Mike Gill, who is still deployed elsewhere, is returning to coach on a voluntary basis.

Read more:

• Harrogate Diving Club is eager to return to the water. 
• With changing covid rules, indoor sports clubs are facing an uncertain future. 

Club chair Leanne Jalland said:

“It is great to see the divers back training in the pool. Seeing the joy and smiles of the divers each week, as a new squad enters the water and takes that first dive back into the water, makes all the hard work to get them back in the pool worthwhile.

“We have seen across the country many diving clubs have not been so fortunate, any amount of pool time is better than no pool time at all. We have seen first hand how good it is for their mental wellbeing during these uncertain times.”

Over lockdown the divers had a weekly zoom workout focusing on dryland training. The club said the main aim of this was to encourage the divers development even without the water.

The club has trained in Harrogate for more than 20 years with sporting stars including Olympic gold medallist Jack Laugher learning to dive at the club.

People in the Harrogate district are being asked to thank the NHS and local volunteers in contrasting ways this weekend.

Harrogate and District Community Action is encouraging people to raise a glass this evening to volunteers who continue to work during the pandemic.

HADCA, which had to cancel its annual Volunteering Oscars awards because of covid, is asking people to raise their glass or mug at 7pm and then post images of themselves saying ‘cheers’ on social media, tagging the Volunteering Oscars on Twitter using #nevermoreneeded.

The Volunteering Oscars celebrates volunteers in the district who help the elderly, children or terminally ill, or whose efforts ensure venues such as museums stay open.

John Fox, chair of HADCA, said:

“We clapped hands for the NHS – why don’t we all lift a glass to say thanks to all the volunteers across the Harrogate district for what they’ve done?”

Read more:

• A group committed to offering meals to those in need is to continue its efforts into the colder months. 
• A Knaresborough carer called on local photographers to bring the outside in for care home residents. 

Jonathan Sanderson and his two children practising their howls.

A Harrogate businessman has come up with an altogether different way to celebrate the NHS in a fun way that also appeals to children at Halloween.

Jonathan Sanderson, managing director of IT recruitment company Corecom Consulting, is asking people to Howl for Heroes on their doorsteps at 7pm on Saturday.

Mr Sanderson said:

“My children, along with so many others, are disappointed that the traditional evening of our local community in Harrogate coming together trick or treating will not be able to happen due to covid.

“Howl for Heroes is a socially distanced, fun and noisy alternative to coming together on the evening and recognising the hard work of the NHS who are continuing to support those suffering with the illness.”

The Coach and Horses in Harrogate has today been given the go-ahead to reopen after several months of forced closure.

Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee granted Samantha Nelson’s alcohol licence application when it met virtually at lunchtime.

Ms Nelson, who is the daughter of the previous landlord John Nelson, was allowed to open the pub from 10am until midnight.

The sub-committee revoked Mr Nelson’s licence in July after he showed a “blatant disregard” for social distancing guidelines in May.

Ms Nelson told the sub-committee:

“We plan to refurbish the Coach and Horses before we reopen so there is no chance that it will be open for Christmas. There is also no way I will make the same mistakes my dad did.”

Read more:

• Coach and Horses alcohol licence revoked
• Coach and Horses could be in limbo for months

The Coach and Horses is one of Harrogate’s oldest pubs, having opened in 1827. Mr Nelson had been the licensee for 33 years.

People gathered outside the Coach and Horses in May.

The sub-committee heard how Mr Nelson, who will remain in his flat above the pub, was “aggressive and abusive” to council officials.

Ms Nelson insisted her father will have no involvement in the Coach and Horses.

Cllr Victoria Oldham, who chaired the sub-committee, granted the licence with conditions:

“The committee have decided to approve the application with three conditions. The pub will be able to open until midnight, not until 12.30am.

“No customer, carrying bottles or glasses, will be admitted to the premises at any time. No customer will be permitted to take open containers from the premises. The pull-out seats presently fixed to the exterior of the premises must be removed before it is reopened.”

The sub-committee’s decision to approve Samantha Nelson’s alcohol licence is subject to appeal in the next 21 days.

A suspected shoplifter in Harrogate was arrested with £1,500 worth of goods in his car yesterday.

North Yorkshire Police arrested the man on Leeds Road at about 5.30pm following a report of shoplifting from a store on Cambridge Road.

Officers intercepted a silver car after CCTV operators alerted police.

The suspect’s vehicle was stopped and the driver, a man from the Leeds area, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving and taken into custody.

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He was later released while under investigation.

Investigations into the theft of £1,500 worth of suspected stolen goods are ongoing.

A competition to find a Christmas tree for Downing Street was held in Harrogate today.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet were joined by last year’s winners from Devon and Leicestershire to judge the entries.

The competition has been running since 1999 but this is the first time it has been held in Harrogate. It is also the first time celebrity judges have been invited.

Due to covid, the participants were unable to attend in person.

They sent their trees to the Great Yorkshire Showground where the judges selected the winners in various categories, including the prestigious ‘champion Christmas tree grower of the year’.

York Christmas Trees was crowned the winner of that category and one of its trees will have the distinction of standing outside 10 Downing Street over the festive period.

The winner of champion festive wreath category was Welford Christmas tree farm from Northampton. Its wreath will hang on the door of the Prime Minister’s residence.

Read more:

• Christmas attractions continue to appeal to visitors despite covid changes. 
• Our survey showed people in Harrogate plan to do a third of their Christmas shopping in the town centre. 

Oliver Combe of York Christmas Trees said:

“We are a small local family business who have been growing trees for over 20 years. We are overwhelmed to have won the title of champion grower for 2020, it is a huge accolade!”

The competition is run by the The British Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Heather Parry, who is the managing agent for BCTGA as well as the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre said:

“The quality and the amazing scent of the trees on display was incredible; this is truly the Oscars for Christmas trees. It was heartening to hear also that many growers are selling more trees than normal, as consumers plan ahead to have a real Christmas tree as the centrepiece of their home this year”.

Police seized 50 wraps of suspected class A drugs, a knife and some cannabis after swooping on two men near Harrogate’s Valley Gardens yesterday.

The men, aged 23 and 26, were taken into custody where the 23-year-old was charged with possessing a knife and possessing class B drugs. The 26-year-old was charged with driving offences.

Both men remain under investigation on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

The men, who are from Leeds, are believed to be part of county lines drug dealing across county borders.

According to North Yorkshire Police, officers on active patrol spotted the pair in a vehicle near Valley Gardens at about 5pm.

A police statement said:

“After searching the two men from Leeds and their vehicle, officers recovered 50 wraps of suspected class A drugs, a hunting knife and some cannabis.”

Read more:

• Police charge Harrogate woman, 72, after major cannabis find
• Arrests after heroin and crack cocaine seized in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite teams focus on county lines drug dealers who travel from outside North Yorkshire to sell drugs.

The force appealed to anyone with information about drug dealing in their area to contact it on 101.

If you prefer not to speak to the police and remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Care homes in the Harrogate district could re-open their doors to visitors soon.

North Yorkshire County Council advised care homes not to allow visits during October — a decision that distressed many residents and their families.

Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at the council, told a press briefing today an announcement was imminent. He said:

“On Friday I plan to make an announcement about visiting in care homes. We have had advice against visits all through October.

“This announcement will be contingent on what tier restrictions North Yorkshire is in.”

North Yorkshire could move from tier one to tier two by the end of the week, which would lead to tougher restrictions and may therefore impact the care home plans.

He said the decision about care homes also depended on their ability to prevent covid outbreaks. He said there had been three “large outbreaks” in the county’s care homes in the past week.

Care homes could operate a nominated visitor scheme whereby a designated visitor is tested regularly so they can continue visiting.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire MP: Don’t send county into tier two
• North Yorkshire could enter tier two this week
• Harrogate district’s coronavirus cases since March pass 2,000

Harrogate resident Judy Bass will be watching the decision closely. As previously reported, she has joined a pressure group called Right for Residents that is campaigning for restrictions on visits to be eased.

She and her brother visited their dad every day before March. Judy said:

“I just feel like I’ve let him down. What’s he living for at the moment? Hardly anything. He will just give up.”

North Yorkshire could move into tier two coronavirus restrictions by the end of the week, according to the county council’s director of health and adult services.

Richard Webb said this morning the situation in the county was “hanging by a thread” due to rising infection rates.

The Selby and Harrogate districts are particular problem areas, with seven-day infection rates of 230 cases and 203 cases per 100,000 people respectively.

Average infection rates in the county remain below the England average of 220 cases per 100,000.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire MP: Don’t send county into tier two
• Discussions ‘ongoing’ over moving North Yorkshire into tier two
• Harrogate district’s coronavirus cases since March pass 2,000

But they are rising, which prompted Mr Webb to issue the warning at today’s weekly press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackles emergencies. He said:

“The situation in North Yorkshire is now hanging by a thread. We are currently in tier one but that is really on a knife edge.

“We may even be in a situation at the end of this week where we move into tier two restrictions. But we are hoping that we can prevent that.

“We want to stay in tier one. It is better for livelihoods and for economic wellbeing. Today we are asking people to act now to save lives more than ever.”

Mr Webb said it would be up to the government to decide North Yorkshire’s fate.

People in tier two areas are prohibited from socialising with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting.

People in pubs and restaurants can only consume food and drink while seated. Takeaway food can only be bought after 10pm if ordered online or by phone.

The press briefing also revealed that Harrogate District Hospital has 12 coronavirus patients – three of whom are in intensive care.

A Harrogate resident has sent us a video of large queues forming outside a shop in the town immediately after the pubs closed.

The footage shows dozens of people waiting outside Tesco Express on Cambridge Road at 10.02pm on Saturday.

Phil Riverside, the Harrogate resident who captured the scenes, raised his concerns about the gathering. He said “it just doesn’t make sense”.

Read more:

• Police say they will act to disperse any post-curfew parties
• Harrogate care home unable to get flu jabs for staff

He also echoed fears nationally that a pub curfew at 10pm will move groups out of the venue’s controlled environment and out onto the streets.

The Stray Ferret took the video to North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council. The council said it was a matter for the police and the police declined to comment.

While it is not on the same level of a gathering in York’s city centre from last month, the police have previously committed to dispersing groups.

Superintendent Mike Walker, gold commander for North Yorkshire Police’s response to Covid-19, previously said:

“It’s very clear that we are at a turning point now, where everyone’s personal choices will have a significant effect upon the rate at which this virus spreads over the coming weeks.”

We also showed the footage to Tesco. The store did not want to comment on this specific case but said it follows all government guidance on coronavirus.