Harrogate medical supplies company completes buyout

The final stage of a management buyout of a Harrogate medical supplies company has been completed.

Beaucare Medical, which employs 68 staff, supplies medical, nursing and hygiene equipment, including PPE, to the care sector.

Managing director Heather Mawrey and commercial finance director Joe Storr, have now bought the remaining shares in the business from original owner Jonathan Brown.

The pair bought into the business in 2017 when Mr Brown sold his controlling stake. They have now bought his remaining 45% of shares.

The company, which began life in 1992 in Mr Brown’s garage, now has an annual turnover of almost £12 million.

Ms Mawrey, who has worked for the company for 15 years, said:

“We’ve enjoyed a busy period in the three years since Joe and I initially bought into the business.

“We’re extremely grateful to Jonathan for his continued input, which has created a seamless handover, and we’re delighted to complete the final stage of this management buyout.”

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The company, which was advised on the buyout by Harrogate law firm LCF Law, has experienced a surge in demand for PPE and other medical supplies during the pandemic.

The buyout was funded by the Santander Santander Corporate & Commercial, which funded the initial £3 million buyout in 2017.

 

Permanent covid testing site to open in Harrogate next week

Harrogate’s full-time coronavirus testing site is due to open next week.

The Department of Health and Social Care site will be located in the Dragon Road car park, which has been home to the mobile testing centre over the past few months.

The mobile testing centre has generally been open for four hours a day, two days a week.

The new full-time centre is due to begin operating on Wednesday next week. After an initial pilot period, it will be open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.

People will be able to turn up on foot, unlike at the mobile testing centres. However, tests must still be booked in advance,

While the permanent site is being built, the mobile testing facility will move to Harrogate Hydro on Friday this week and then Harrogate High School on Sunday.

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North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership organisation that includes councils, emergency services and health bodies that tackle the pandemic, successfully made the case for permanent centres in Harrogate and Scarborough to the DHSC.

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

“We have worked hard to retain and increase the level of testing across the county, so we are pleased that our efforts have resulted in the creation of these two sites, which will be up and running shortly.

“We will continue to lobby for further expansion of testing facilities across the county.”

The Stray Ferret asked the DHSC the cost of building the permanent testing centre in Harrogate but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The Harrogate district recorded a further 24 positive coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,436.

Community spirit thrives despite covid crisis

Coronavirus has devastated many lives this year but for one Harrogate street, the pandemic has at least brought neighbours closer together.

Since lockdown in March, residents of St Helen’s Road have been using a WhatsApp group to help each other out.

People have used the group to offer help with shopping, look out for neighbours who are shielding or share unwanted items. 

Six months on the group, set up by Holly Jones, continues to foster community spirit during these dark times in the street, which is near St Aidan’s Church of England High School. 

Colette Lain, who lives on St Helen’s Road, said:

“The street has gone from a fairly anonymous place before lockdown to a really lively and supportive neighbourhood.

“It gave you the security that there were people that cared, and that was fantastic.”

Ms Lain decided to make the most of the community spirit by organising a street charity raffle to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Ms Lain volunteers for the charity but was unable to do so during the pandemic. 

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Friends and neighbours donated prizes, and residents bought tickets by posting money and their addresses through Ms Lain’s front door. 

Colette Lain

Colette Lain, picking the winner of the raffle.

She raised £250 for the air ambulance, and has plans to generate more through a bumper Christmas raffle in December. 

Jane Kennerly and Holly Jones have also set up a book swap in a telephone box on the street in another move to bring neighbours together.

The Stray Ferret wonders how many other streets in the Harrogate district have come together in this way during the pandemic.

Harrogate Theatre awarded £250,000 survival boost

Harrogate Theatre has today been awarded £249,820 from a government rescue fund for the arts.

Other local venues have also been successful, with £238,590 awarded to Deer Shed Festival near Topcliffe, £117,500 to Ripon Museum Trust and £54,339 to Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.

Harrogate Theatre, which will remain closed until next year, said the award would cover its losses from November 2020 to April 2021

This money is in addition to an Arts Council England grant of £395,000 in July and £100,000 raised from an emergency appeal.

It means the theatre has now received nearly £750,000 to help it survive the coronavirus-enforced closure.

David Bown, chief executive of the theatre, said:

“The funding provides an urgent lifeline to Harrogate Theatre and many other arts organisations across the country. We are thankful for this vital intervention, which demonstrates our value to our local area and the wider cultural sector.”

Mr Bown hopes that the money will help the theatre to “return stronger than ever” in 2021.

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The government handed out £257 million to nearly 1,400 cultural and creative organisations in today’s first round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is run by Arts Council England.

Deborah Larwood, the theatre chair,  said:

“This support will play a crucial role in enabling us to stabilise the theatre following the devastating impact of the covid pandemic. In these most challenging times we have had to make some very difficult decisions, but this funding gives us the opportunity to focus on planning for the future.”

 

Harrogate Nightingale hospital put on standby

Harrogate’s NHS Nightingale has been asked to “mobilise over the next few weeks” to be ready to accept patients.

In a government coronavirus news conference today, NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the Nightingale hospitals in Harrogate, Manchester and Sunderland were preparing for the next phase.

Prof Powis said: “We are asking them to mobilise to be ready to accept patients if necessary.

“We are asking those in the high risk areas to go into a high state of alert and readiness. We will do that with other Nightingales if necessary.”

Prof Powis also said that there would be regular testing for NHS staff in high-risk areas “even when they don’t have symptoms”.

It comes after rising coronavirus infections levels and ahead of the government’s new three tier lockdown system to be announced later today.

This is a breaking news story. We will update this page when we get more information.

Harrogate hospital unveils LGBTQ+ rainbow crossings

Harrogate District Hospital has unveiled rainbow crossings to welcome LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and staff.

The hospital has painted three crossings so far and plans to add a further two crossings.

It hopes the crossings “act as a visual symbol of inclusion” and “enhances the work we’ve been doing” to better support LGBTQ+ people.

During the last year Harrogate hospital has launched three staff networks for LGBTQ+, BAME and disabled staff.

We’re delighted with our freshly painted rainbow Pride crossings (the first three of five) at Harrogate District Hospital.
They send a message that the hospital – and the Trust as a whole – is an open, inclusive and non-judgemental place for LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and staff. pic.twitter.com/z69vEUTmQo

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) October 11, 2020

Stonewall, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights, found that LGBTQ+ people face widespread discrimination in healthcare settings.

Some NHS trusts and national NHS bodies have made it onto Stonewall’s top 100 employers over the past decade.

Harrogate and District NHS Trust hope its launch of rainbow badges and the appointment of its first equality and diversity lead will help it make it on the list.

A Care Quality Commission inspection in 2019, which rated HDFT as good overall, found a lack of diversity at senior level and said senior leaders “were aware that they need to undertake more work”.

A spokesperson for HDFT said:

“We’re delighted with our freshly painted rainbow Pride crossings at Harrogate District Hospital. They send a message that the hospital – and the trust as a whole – is an open, inclusive and non-judgemental place for LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and staff.”

Harrogate survey: Parking is ‘biggest frustration’ for 70% of residents

Parking in the town centre is the “biggest frustration” for 69% of Harrogate residents.

The Stray Ferret worked with Your Poll by Judge Service to survey nearly 1,500 people in Harrogate.

All surveys with more than 1,000 respondents are statistically valid. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out.

What are your biggest frustrations with Harrogate’s town centre?

By far and away, parking came out on top for frustrating residents.

48% (678) of respondents said that parking was too expensive and a further 21% (295) said there are not enough spaces.

“Get rid of the stupidity of parking charges or we will have a ghost town that nobody will visit and it will bring no money in to the town.” – anon.

“Horrified how the smartest town in Yorkshire is now full of empty shops with very few iconic shops left to attract visitors. Free parking is a necessity.” – anon.

Next on the list came the growing frustration with the town’s choice of shops. 51% (734) said there wasn’t a good enough range.

What is your biggest frustration?

17% said the town’s environment is poor, 11% said their favourite shop or restaurant had closed, 5% said public transport is an issue and 3% said there are not enough bars or restaurants.

“Free parking will simply be used by employees of shops. Or it will be used by people like me, who will simply park my car up by the station and go into Leeds.” – anon.

“I would probably visit the town more if it were cheaper to park. Parking cost makes us rush and less likely to stop and eat.” – anon.

The survey also asked where people park. Despite complaints about parking charges, 361 of respondents pay to park on street or in multi-storey car parks.

Disc parking was the next most popular option at 317 respondents and then came parking outside the centre at 101 respondents.

Pedestrianisation still divides the town

As social distancing came into place local councils accelerated pedestrianisation but it’s an idea that still divides in Harrogate.

The clearest divide is by age. 40% of those over 66-years-old said they disagreed or completely disagreed with pedestrianisation. None above the age of 86-years-old agreed with pedestrianisation.

In contrast, nearly 50% of those in the 36 to 45 age bracket agreed with pedestrianisation. Those younger than 36-years-old also answered in a similar fashion.

Another clear divide was between business owners in Harrogate, of which just under 30% agreed with pedestrianisation, and restaurant and pub owners, of which close to 80% agreed with pedestrianisation.

There was little difference between answers on pedestrianisation of James Street, Princes Square and Albert Street.

We will publish the full results to our survey and send them to the council and the MP on Wednesday

Harrogate bars warn further measures could ‘finish us off’

If further restrictions are announced on hospitality, Harrogate bar owners have warned they could “finish us off”.

Bars and restaurants across the country are currently under a 10pm curfew in an attempt to deal with the rise of coronavirus cases.

Harrogate hospitality owners say any further restrictions would be hugely damaging to the industry – and the effects of the curfew have already impacted trade immensely.

A full closure in hotspot areas and a limit on household mixing are speculated to be announced today.

Martin Greenhow, managing director of MOJO bars, said:

“Hospitality has been hit with a sledgehammer. We are currently taking 20% of what we were pre-covid. We were just about managing before the curfew but now we have lost 60% of our trading hours.

“We are currently sat on a precipice and we are going to fall. Things are so bad now, more measures would be inconsequential – we may even be better off closed. It is that dire. But we don’t want to close because we want to keep our staff in employment.”

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Hales Bar is the oldest bar in Harrogate and previously relied heavily on the tourist trade. Owner Amanda Wilkinson said:

“We aren’t open Monday to Wednesday because I just don’t think it’s financially viable. If they close us in the evening at 6pm we will have to close temporarily because we don’t do a lot of daytime trade. How long we survive this all depends on pub landlords and if they continue to charge rents of businesses that aren’t operating.

“If we do close temporarily, we are talking about six months. This could finish us off.”

On Friday, the Chancellor announced an extension to his job support scheme with the government paying two-thirds of wages for companies forced to close due to restrictions.

The county was described to be at a at a “tipping point” amid increased infections, by North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum.

The continual rise in cases within Harrogate and its surrounding areas has forced council leaders to call for the public follow the guidelines in an effort to avoid the restrictions placed on nearby cities such as Leeds.

Another 42 coronavirus cases in Harrogate district

A further 42 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,412.

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Earlier this week, Harrogate Borough Council was allocated £57,951 as part of government attempts to enforce coronavirus restrictions.

The government has awarded £60 million to councils and police forces across the country.

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has been allocated £291,987 as part of the deal.

Councils are expected to use the money for compliance and enforcement, such as recruiting covid marshals, carrying out inspections, issuing fines and closing premises in the case of non-compliance.

Although covid marshals will not have any enforcement powers, government guidance says they should “engage, explain and encourage best practice and national covid secure guidance”.

COLUMN: Are you married to a narcissist?

This legal column is written by family lawyer, Laura Mounsey. Laura is a partner at Harrogate Family Law. She specialises in dealing with divorced couples and people who have been in abusive relationships. Her role involves protecting her clients’ assets and income if they want to live with someone or get married and resolving disagreements about children. In this column, she discusses the red flags to look out for that indicate you may be married to a narcissist and how to get out.

I have experienced the trauma of divorcing a narcissist first-hand. I am now a lawyer who specialises in helping people who are terrified of standing up to them.

Typically, I find that many of my clients have been conditioned to think that they have no self-worth. They have been controlled and bullied for years. They believe that any wrongdoing is their fault and that they do not deserve any better. The idea of saying “enough is enough” paralyses them with fear; so worn down, they feel trapped with no way out.

Over time, I have heard many people who sit in front of me say that their ex is:

They tell them what to do and what not to do. They are scolded for “stepping out of line”. However, the rules always change, and they never win. Instead, they live their lives walking on eggshells.

They think they are superior and expect that others cater to, and admire, them. Even though they have inflated self-esteem, beneath it, hides crippling insecurities which cause them to lash out.

They are obsessed with what other people think about them. They will put others down to make themselves seem better than they are. They are obsessed with attention and will often play the victim if needed.

They will often lie and pin people against each other. They will isolate people and are prepared to do anything to get what they want. Often, they undermine others around them so much that they start to question their own judgement, not their ex.

Does this ring any alarm bells?

Leaving a narcissist is daunting. A client once told me that her ex would do everything in his power to destroy her so that she ended up in a shoe box on the Stray with nothing but her children.

But she held her nerve and took the plunge, broke free and now has a very comfortable life that is all hers.

If, like her, you know deep down that you need to leave but you do not know what to do, the best thing that you can do is get specialist advice from a divorce lawyer who knows what you are dealing with.

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