Harrogate Mind walks 1932 miles for festive fundraising challenge

The staff and trustees at Harrogate Mind are walking 1932 miles next month to raise money and awareness for the importance of your mental health.

This festive challenge will see the team walk the distance from The Acorn Centre, central Harrogate, to Lapland between December 1 and December 25.

There are 15 staff members and trustees taking part, meaning each of them has to walk, run or cycle almost 130 miles in 24 days.

The charity said it hopes to promote the benefits of exercise for a person’s mental health through this fundraising campaign.

Tina Chamberlain, CEO of Mind in the Harrogate district, said everyone had worked really hard during the pandemic and even they can sometimes forget to work on their own mental health.

She said:

“We are often too busy taking calls from people to take a lunch break and the long days mean that you don’t feel like exercising when you leave work either. I noticed it was all starting to take its toll on staff.
“We came up with the idea that we would walk the 1932 miles from Harrogate to Lapland. Having this goal has really galvanised the team.”

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The team is hoping to match the distance with donations and reach its £1,932 target. To support them, click here.
Mike Gibbs, Chair of Trustees said
“We wanted to do something to support the staff who have worked so hard during the last few months and also to raise the profile of the charity so that more people in need know there is somewhere for them to go to get mental health support in Harrogate district.”
The charity offers counselling and befriending services to those struggling with their mental health or in isolation. During the pandemic, the service has reported an increase in demand. 
Harrogate council increases search delays to seven weeks

Harrogate Borough Council has increased the average time to complete land searches from 30 working days to up to seven weeks.

The council has asked those waiting to be patient and request a land search as early as possible.

An increase in demand, a backlog of searches from the first lockdown and struggles with staff numbers have all put strain on the process.

The Stray Ferret has reported the frustration of homebuyers and agents over the last month, who all disputed the council’s previous 30 working days time scale.

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Some claim to have put in requests at the end of summer to be told that it won’t be cleared until December.

Harrogate Borough Council put an updated on their social media channels to say the the waiting time had increased:

“We are doing everything we can to reduce the processing times for local land charge searches.

“It is currently taking between six and seven weeks on average for us to complete our part of the searches process.”

Now that the current lockdown is coming to an end the council is opening the civic centre to allow personal searches to take place.

James Wort, a director at Strutt and Parker, previously told the Stray Ferret that his clients have experienced delays up to 90 days:

“I can give about 17 examples where the search delays have been three times what the council have said.

“We have emails from the council saying that requests from September will be complate by December. But they say it’s not true. It’s scandalous. “

Unloved Northern pacer train makes its final journey

Northern rail has finally bid farewell to its fleet of outdated pacer trains.  The last pacer to carry Northern customers completed its journey yesterday having travelled from Kirkby to Manchester.

Pacer trains have been running for 35 years and news of their final retirement will be welcomed by many travellers who had to endure overcrowded, uncomfortable journeys on them on the Harrogate line.

They had become a political symbol of under-investment in rail transport in the north and their replacement has been long overdue.

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said:

“The pacers have kept millions of northerners on the move and, while they have served us well and provided some communities with rail services they may have otherwise lost, it is time to give them a well-earned rest.

“Northern has overseen significant modernisation in recent months and the retiring pacers have made way for a fleet of 100 brand-new trains which are already servicing people across the north of England.”

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Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary with Cabinet Responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse, said:

“The pacer fleet has connected communities on the Northern network for over 30 years, but today marks the sun finally setting on trains that have become loved by some, but hated by many.

“This marks a new era of transport in the north, with passengers enjoying a brand new fleet of trains, delivering more modern services and creating a more reliable network across the north.”

For many commuters though the pacer stayed on the tracks for too long and investment should have come sooner.

How Harrogate district avoided toughest tier rules

The government has explained how the Harrogate district avoided the toughest tier rules.

While case rates had been rising rapidly before the latest lockdown, they are improving in all but one of the districts in North Yorkshire.

The rates are lower than other parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, most of which are in tier three.

Scarborough, while at a higher rate than the rest of North Yorkshire, has seen its cases falling.

Positivity of cases is at 8.5%. The government will keep an eye on these indicators and may even change the tiers in a couple of weeks when they are up for review.

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Areas in tier three tend to not only have higher rates than North Yorkshire but also have pressure on NHS hospitals.

Meanwhile there were no new deaths reported at Harrogate District Hospital. The total count remains at 98.

Daily cases also continue to fall in the Harrogate district. The latest figures show an increase of 14 today up to a total of 3,514.

Harrogate Town plans for first match with fans

Harrogate Town are planning for their first match with fans after a surpise announcement from the government.

The club are currently working on safety measures that will inevitably reduce the number of spectators.

In tier two, which Harrogate will be in from next week, large events can go ahead with up to 2,000 spectators outdoors.

However, with smaller grounds like the EnviroVent Stadium it is unlikely that many fans will head through the turnstiles.

Town had been in talks with Scunthorpe United to move the fixture back by a day but it was too short notice for The Iron.

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It may not be a long wait for the first match with fans though. The club has an another home fixture with Forest Green Rovers next Saturday.

Whenever the first match with fans happens it will be a special occasion as the first time supporters will be able to watch their club play in the football league.

Garry Plant, the managing director at Harrogate Town, said:

“Allowing spectators into football grounds has taken everyone by surprise but what a boost.

“It has come with no notice and some clubs still have safety officers on furlough.

“We will release regular updates regarding our progress, ticket distributions and the organisation of matches when we have them.”

Harrogate Town will ultimately need permission from the North Yorkshire safety advisory group, the sports ground safety authority and Public Health England.

The club are working on their plans but said they will lose 1850 capacity immediately to separate the teams and match officials from spectators.

Further capacity reductions will come as a result of terracing and the egress pinch points.

Harrogate planner: ‘council mistakes have created massive urban sprawl’

A planning specialist has blamed Harrogate District Council’s “parochial mindset” and “lack of vision” for the district’s “massive urban sprawl”.

David Howarth, who was employed by the council for five years in the 1980s and then worked for it as a private consultant for 30 years, contacted the Stray Ferret to give us his views after reading our series of planning articles this week.

Mr Howarth said the coverage had “brilliantly identified the major problems we have had over the last 20 years”.

He said the district’s planning department had been in a “state of disarray for two decades”, which had left the area at the mercy of developers.

David Howarth

David Howarth

Mr Howarth said the “acutely embarrassing debacle” of the Local Plan, which maps planning in the district and took six years to finalise between 2014 and 2020, was the critical failure. He said:

“When you get to the position where you have no Local Plan it becomes a free-for-all.

“You can’t blame the developers. They’re just doing their job. You can’t criticise them any more than you can Volvo for selling cars.”

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Mr Howarth said many councils faced similar challenges but Harrogate Borough Council’s “parochial mindset” had backfired because its unrealistically low housing targets had been rejected by the government and resulted in far more being built. He said:

“We tried to restrict development because places like Harrogate and Knaresborough are nice places to live but when you try to restrict development to the absolute minimum and don’t conform with government guidelines, what happens then is the opposite arises and everybody piles in.

“In 1982 Killinghall Parish Council was screaming for a bypass. That’s 40 years ago — where’s the bypass? What we have instead is massive urban sprawl.

“A bypass could have been included in the Local Plan. The plan could have made developers pay a levy for houses they built Killinghall.”

Afraid to speak out

Mr Howarth said the council’s weak resistance to builders contrasted with its heavy-handed approach to residents seeking planning permission. He said:

“Some developments that have been accepted are very poor but if you put in an application to extend your conservatory they are down on you like a ton of bricks.”

Mr Howarth said the current situation was “predominantly the fault of the people in charge of Harrogate Borough Council” and its planning department needed to be more dynamic and visionary.

He said many planners were reluctant to speak out in case it cost them work with the council. He said:

“I’ve retired and could not care less now. Five years ago I wouldn’t have made this phone call.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council for a response to Mr Howarth’s claims. At the time of publication we had not received one.

Tier two gives Harrogate district hotels hope for winter

Hotels in the Harrogate district breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday as the area was told it was moving into tier two.

Tier two restrictions, while closing wet-led pubs, paves the way for hotels to reopen at the end of the lockdown next week.

It may not be the same sort of takings that hotels would normally hope for over the festive period but it is a positive sign for the sector.

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The Majestic Hotel on Ripon Road will now be able to bring its team back from furlough and it putting reopening plans in place.

Andy Barnsdale, the general manager at the Majestic Hotel, said:

“We are now planning the process of reopening on Wednesday and bringing the team back, which is good news.

“We are looking closely at the guidelines and tailoring our food options for our indoor careering as well as for the outdoor Majestic Winter Teepee.”

Anthony Blundell, the assistant general manager at West Park Hotel, said:

“We will of course have all the safety measures in place but I think we might be in for a busy December when we re open next week with lots of bookings already and more coming in.

“I think the substantial meals rule will have an impact, we will just need to convert those people who are coming for a drink into having a meal.”

Harrogate Conservative Association criticised for £10,000 business grant

The Liberal Democrats have said it was “inappropriate” for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association to accept a £10,000 grant aimed at small businesses struggling during the pandemic.

The conservative group insisted the grant was necessary because the pandemic made it unable to generate income through its usual “activities”.

But the chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats said he struggled to see the similarities between the small, local businesses unable to open and a political group.

Michael Newby, said:

“I thought it was inappropriate to take advantage of the money for businesses who are struggling. I struggle to understand how their income has been impacted the same as small businesses.

“We are all struggling, we, as a party,  have lost out because we can’t have our fundraising events but we aren’t depending on customers or clients and that’s where I see the difference.”

The conservative’s grant came to light after an investigation by journalist Alexandra Rogers at Yorkshire Live, who found that Harrogate and Knaresborough was one of only four associations in the whole of Yorkshire to receive one.

The grant was introduced by the government for companies with a rateable value of £15,000 and received business rates relief. The local association met these requirements.

Cllr Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader is quoted in the Yorkshire Live article and said the grant was used to cover staff costs and rent:

“Our association, like most businesses, was unable to carry out our regular income generating activities.

“The government’s specific support to all these businesses has prevented us from closure, prevented us from laying off staff and ensured that our landlord is fairly compensated for their service.”

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The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association for a comment but had no response at the time of publication.

Other Conservative associations in Wakefield, Selby and Ainsty and Shipley also accepted the grant. Their decisions have also been met with criticism.

Earlier this evening we showed a picture of the Harrogate Conservative Club, this was an error and we would like to clarify the club has no connection to the Conservative Association.

Harrogate catering companies fight to survive without Xmas parties

Harrogate’s catering companies are set to miss out on huge amounts of income this festive season with the loss of company Christmas parties.

Businesses across the Harrogate district are preparing to reopen next week under tier two restrictions. This mean only people in the same household can mix together indoors.

Catering companies like, Kings Catering and Harrogate Food and Drink (HGFD), rely on Christmas party bookings. But this year they have had to adapt in order to stay afloat.

Each has forecast huge losses as they prepare to miss out on another busy season for events.

HGFD serving food

Both companies are hopeful next year will allow them to cater events more frequently. Photograph: www.hgfd.co.uk

Ian King, owner of Kings Catering, says his company could lose out on up to £70,000 in turnover during December:

“Last Christmas we did around 8,000 Christmas dinners for parties and this year we can’t do anything like that. We’ve had to diversify and start delivering meals to houses for people to enjoy and then they’ve been getting on zoom to eat them with their friends and colleagues.

“Covid has had a huge impact we’re set to lose £70,000 in December in turnover. We’re working so hard to keep going, it’s our 24th anniversary soon and I want to be here to see our 25th year.”

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HGFD caters for events and weddings but after losing out on a lot of trade this year was hoping to cater for Christmas parties too. Co-owner, Andi Aikman, is determined to be positive after putting his company into “hibernation”. He said:

“We have lost out on quite a lot this year. We are going to fight for this, we’ve had to hibernate the company and I think it could be a while before we’re back to where we were.

“We’ve had to diversify to do other things to survive, so we’re doing some little things. We have to try and keep busy to keep our staff employed, we can’t just give up.”

Council hopes that North Yorkshire will move into tier one

The Harrogate district could move out of tier two into tier one if coronavirus infection rates continue to fall.

Local public health officials struck an optimistic tone in light of today’s announcement but warned against complacency.

They said in an emergency press briefing that it was possible for North Yorkshire to change tiers when they are up for review in two weeks.

Richard Flinton, chair of the the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, said:

“We are pleased that we are not in tier three. But I think we can say that this is not the time for complacency.

“We have to get into tier one and we need to use this time to drive down the virus in the county, we cannot be content in tier two.

“The winter period is a significant and potentially dangerous time in terms of how the virus could move.”

Currently there are more than 340 coronavirus patients in the hospitals that serve North Yorkshire.

That is higher than the first coronavirus wave when the patient numbers peaked at 302.

While the requirements for tier one are not entirely clear, the local officials set out some areas to look out for.

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Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health in North Yorkshire, said:

“There are some indicators that we have from before this lockdown that we can aim for.

“We need to get the case rate, the positive case rate, the rates in the over 60s and the patients in hospitals down.

“I believe it is possible for us to have a safe Christmas and at the same time for the virus not to rebound in January.”

As North Yorkshire is surrounded by tier three areas there are concerns that visitors will try to take advantage of the lower restrictions.

Mike Walker, North Yorkshire Police’s assistant chief constable and gold commander leading the force’s coronavirus response, said:

“It is not acceptable for someone to travel out of a tier three area without a suitable reason. We do have enforcement powers in place to stop people doing this.

“We are one of the forces that issued the highest amount of fixed penalty notices at the start of the lockdown.”