Confusion and queues over covid jab appointments

People in their 30s have been left confused about where to get a covid vaccination in the Harrogate district, with reports of long queues at the Knaresborough site.

This week the NHS announced the vaccination programme was being rolled out to 30 and 31-year-olds, who were able to book a jab through the national appointment service from Wednesday May 26.

One reader described the scene at the Knaresborough site this morning as “absolute chaos” with a long queue of people down the road, waiting to get in.

She said she had an appointment but was told she would need to wait for about an hour and a half, or could come back later when another pharmacist would be available.

Steve Culleton, an estate marshal at the Knaresborough site, apologised for the delay and said once people were checked into the venue, the aim was to get them jabbed and through to the observation area in three minutes.

Longer waits outside were due to a staff shortage, incidents on site that took staff away from the flow of vaccinations, and a higher than usual number of people turning up with incorrect appointment times, he said, noting that roadworks in the town had not helped.

Mr Culleton said that the pharmacists and other site staff were not involved with bookings, which were all made through the NHS 119 and National Booking Service.

He said:

“I’ve seen 1,100 people today. The overwhelming sentiment from all of them is ‘thank you very much, we appreciate it’.

“It’s a mixture of people turning up outside their appointment times, [booking] glitches and the lack of a full complement of staff.

“We are genuinely sorry that people had to wait, because that is not what we want. We just want people to come in, be jabbed, be observed and go.

“We want people to have a positive experience and go home happy. We know that there will be a few who are unhappy and for that I wholeheartedly apologise. It’s not what they expected, it’s not what we expected but it’s the way today turned out.”

Some people in their early 30s said they found that sites in Harrogate and Knaresborough were fully booked for several days, forcing them to book in Leeds, Pateley Bridge or Bradford.

After making alternative plans, two readers told the Stray Ferret that they received text invites from their GP surgery to make appointments directly due to “extra” supplies of the Pfizer vaccine.

A spokesman for NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said there were two ways to get an appointment, depending on whether vaccination sites were administered by GPs or the NHS National Booking Service.

He said:

“The Harrogate and Ripon vaccination sites are administered by GP practices – and sit outside of the National Booking Service processes.

“Practices are contacting eligible patients, directly, though quite a lot of activity at the moment is fulfilling second-dose obligations.”

He explained the Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge sites were part of the NHS National Booking Service infrastructure and not linked to the CCG or general practices.

NHS England North East and Yorkshire said:

“On occasion, appointment slots can be booked up quickly and thus won’t appear in the list of options online. More appointments are added regularly, so people are advised to try again later if they can’t or would rather not travel to another venue.”

Read more:

More than 105,000 first doses of a covid vaccine have now been given in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England.

A total of 105,579 first and 69,241 second vaccines have been administered in the district.

It means the take-up rate in the district stands at 74.3% for a first dose and 48.7% for a second dose.

Harrogate library turns back time on town landmarks

Volunteers from Harrogate library have been turning back the clock on the town’s historic landmarks.

The team have worked with a local photographer to compare what Harrrogate looked like in the early 1900s to today.

Most of the work is currently on display at the library and will be until the end of July but the volunteers have also shared others on social media.

Our featured image shows the boating pool in Valley Gardens, which was taken by a Mark E. Mitchell in 1930.

It shows a few small sail boats in the water, which has clearly captured the imagination of visitors to Valley Gardens.

Today’s image, which was taken by Jonathan Turner, captures a much quieter boating lake in October 2020. The project has also captured life in the coronavirus lockdown.

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The below image shows the former J.Chippindale & Co shop taken by Asquith & Son in the early 1900s.

Today’s image shows how the building is now occupied by the Cardamom Black restaurant, with cars replacing the scores of bicycles on display.

The building has stood the test of time.

The Then and Now project was funded by a £5,000 grant from Libraries Connected Yorkshire and Humber.

Using photo editing software freely available on the library PCs, volunteers were able to produce side-by-side and composite images.

Cllr Greg White, the executive member for libraries, said:

“We’re really pleased with how the project has developed at Skipton, Scarborough and Harrogate.

“I understand that feedback from the groups was extremely positive.

“They all enjoyed learning about the history of their town and connecting with its past, and gained new skills using the free photo-editing software.”

Did you know that the Stray Ferret has teamed up with Harrogate Historian Malcolm Neesam to produce audio walking tours of Harrogate? The walks are sponsored by the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) and take you back to the Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa and a walk through the Commercial Heart of Harrogate.  

Why not take a walk back in time and learn about Harrogate’s glorious past.. They’re easy to do and a great day out. For more information click here. 

Stray art installation opens to help people reflect on covid dead

A giant art installation has opened on the Stray today to help people reflect on those who have lost their lives through coronavirus.

The piece, called In Memoriam, measures 36 metres in diameter and features more than 100 flags made from hospital bed sheets.

As well as a memorial to those who have died, it is also a tribute to those who have been on the frontline trying to save lives.

It’s been designed by award-winning artist Luke Jerram and will be on West Park Stray until June 7. After that it will move to Edinburgh, Fleetwood and Weston-super-Mare.

There is no entry fee and Harrogate International Festivals has commissioned a reflective piece of music called ‘A Moment of Time’, which you can find here.

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This is the first in a series of installations and events delivered in the months ahead by Harrogate International Festivals, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

In Memoriam is being supported by Hornbeam Park Developments Ltd, Harrogate BID, and Swainsons Funeral Directors.

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals chief executive, said

“Two years ago, we were lucky enough to bring Luke’s Museum of the Moon to St Wilfrid’s Church, which was one of the highlights of that summer’s international festival, and was visited by more than 10,000 people.

“As an arts charity delivering festivals and events, we were first to close and will be the last to open, but we can’t just open the doors on our venues and go straight back to normal.

“We wanted to create something unique in Harrogate that acknowledged the last year whilst allowing us to create a safe, outdoor event for the town.

“We don’t want people to just look at In Memoriam from afar, we want people to experience it; we want individuals, families and friends to walk into the heart of it; we want them to sit under the flags and quietly reflect the events of the last 15 months.”

Bank holiday weekend train travellers face delays and replacement buses

Northern will be running a limited service this weekend, despite the bank holiday and forecasts for better weather.

Passengers wishing to travel to Leeds this Sunday will need to use a replacement bus service between Horsforth and Leeds.

This is expected to add 20 minutes to journey times.

Engineering work on the York – Harrogate – Leeds line will take place on Sunday May 30.

Timetable changes across the Northern network this weekend are the result of engineering improvement works around Leeds, Manchester and Warrington. Full details are available on its website.

The company asked passengers to be “flexible with their journey”.

A spokesperson said:

“We’ll be adding extra carriages where possible but, with amended timetables in place in many areas, we will have fewer trains operating than on a normal weekend.

“We need our customers to plan carefully for any rail travel this weekend and be prepared for services to be much busier than they have been recently.”

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Harrogate residents: ‘Act before someone is killed’

Residents near one of the main house-building sites in Harrogate have called for urgent road safety action after a lorry and car collided.

About 600 homes are due to be built near Kingsley Drive and Kingsley Road.

Kingsley Ward Action Group, which campaigns to protect green spaces in the area, is angry because it claims safety fears are being ignored.

A video showing last week’s collision, which led to the car being written off, prompted the group to write to highways authority North Yorkshire County Council.

The email said:

“We have repeatedly stated that Kingsley Road is not suitable for this type of heavy construction traffic.

“Only luck prevented this being even worse and watching the video should make you grateful you don’t have to risk living on this road.”

The council’s response, seen by the Stray Ferret, says extra traffic is “unavoidable” when developments are being built.

The council added it would “ensure that the concerns of Kingsley Ward Action Group are made known to the housing developers that are currently using hauliers for the movement of bulk materials” but the lack of specific measures has angered the group.

It replied:

“Your response to our grave concerns backed up with hard video proof does not fill us with confidence that you are in fact acting in our interests at all.

“There is a clear danger here.

“From the response we have had to this near tragic incident it is clear only a multiple fatality will actually have any impact on the current truck activity.”

John Hansard, a member of the group, told the Stray Ferret it wanted the council to enforce a 20mph speed limit for site traffic and take tough action against lorries with uncovered loads.

Emily Mellalieu, development management team leader at the council, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are conscious of the disruption to residents that inevitably accompanies large-scale residential development such as that in the Kingsley/Bogs Lane area.

“We are liaising with housing developers in the Kingsley Farm area about the impact of their operations and complaints received from residents, councillors and action groups.

“At all times, we place the highest priority on road safety.

“Concerns raised recently have been forwarded to the developers for their attention and we will continue to work with the developers to ensure operations are undertaken as efficiently and safely as possible.

“The developer was required as part of the planning process to produce a construction management plan to mitigate the impact of its operations.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcomes back. It’s Leah here this morning with 15-minute updates on the road and rail links near you.

There are a number of continuing temporary traffic lights this morning worth keeping an eye on.

These blogs, brought to you by The HACS Group, are to keep you updated as the district’s roads get busier.

If you see anything please get in touch, if it is safe to do so, on 01423 276197 or via social media.

9am – Full Update 

That’s all from me this morning. I will be back with you on Tuesday from 6:30am with updates every 15 minutes. I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend.

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are starting to look busier this morning in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon centres looking, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Traffic is building here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking okay so far this morning, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking okay so far this morning, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

6.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking okay so far this morning, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking okay so far this morning, keep checking in for today’s traffic hotspots.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

Royal Hall roof set for repairs following ‘ongoing’ leaks

The Royal Hall in Harrogate is set to undergo roof repairs and refurbishment after an “ongoing issue” with leaks.

Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at Harrogate Borough Council, approved awarding a contract for the repairs earlier this week.

It will see the roof repaired and refurbishment carried out to ensure the “premises are wind and watertight and legislative compliant”.

The move follows a condition survey carried out by the council in February last year.

Read more:

It also investigated an ongoing issue of “water ingress emanating from the main central copper dome on the roof”.

A report before Cllr Swift said:

“In line with good asset management, a detailed condition survey of the Royal Hall was completed between January and February 2020 to provide an updated building condition report, with costings, over a 10-year cycle.

“It was also to investigate an ongoing issue of water ingress emanating from the main central copper dome on the roof, into the lower lantern and then finding its way down to the auditorium floor below.”

The report said the works will see “undertaking timber repairs and forming ‘out shoots’ for rainwater drainage” and maintenance work for areas of slipped and damaged slates.

It added that six contractors expressed interest in the contract, which closed for tendering on March 26.

However, just two contractors bid for the contract by the time the process closed.

While the council approved the awarding of the contract, the report did not include who the bidders were, how much it would cost or whether or not the Royal Hall would be closed during the works.

The Stray Ferret approached the council for a response to those questions, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The grade-II listed building underwent a major £8 million restoration project back in 2005.

Following the restoration, the Royal Hall was reopened by the Prince of Wales in January 2008 when it was completed.

Two more Harrogate schools report strangers harassing children

Parents are being urged to be vigilant after two more schools in the Harrogate district reported recent incidents of children being harassed on the way home.

Police revealed yesterday that an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted while walking home from school at the junction of King’s Road and Chatsworth Grove in Harrogate on Tuesday.

The girl, whose school has not been revealed, was upset and shaken by the incident.

It has since emerged that a man in his early 20s chased year seven pupils on their way home from Harrogate High School last night.

The pupils, who were walking on Skipton Road, hid and the man ran past.

Lucy Greenwood, head of school at Harrogate High School, wrote to parents last night alerting them to the news. Her message said:

“It is worth reminding your children to be extra vigilant and to make their way directly home.

“We have reported the incident to the police and we will be making all students in school aware and to remind them to be extra vigilant on their way home.”

A school spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret the incident happened shortly after 2.25pm.

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Willow Tree Community Primary School has also reported two incidents to police that occurred late last week.

One involved a man dressed in black following people home and another involved a black Jeep driving backwards and forwards past a small group of pupils travelling to and from school.

Helen Davey, headteacher of Willow Tree Community Primary School, wrote to parents:

“I have been in touch with the police today to get further information about their response to this.

“They  have asked that anyone who is concerned that they have seen something suspicious should ring 101.

“Although they are able to have officers in the area, anything of concern should be reported so they can build a picture of what is happening.”

Ms Davey told the Stray Ferret the incidents took place in a ginnel near Saint Andrew’s Road at the back of the school.

“It’s a shock and a bit of a wake-up call.”

She added she did not know if there was any link between all the reported incidents.

Police advice

North Yorkshire Police has not issued any further updates and did not say whether it believed the incidents were linked.

Sergeant Alex Sellars from the Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Team said yesterday that “incidents of this nature are rare in North Yorkshire”.

Sergeant Sellars added:

“There are some very simple steps that we can all take to help us feel safer when we’re walking home, such as walking in a group or with a friend, letting someone know what route you’ll be taking, when you are leaving somewhere and when you expect to be home and walk along main routes and well-lit areas.

“Please be assured that we take reports of this nature very seriously and our officers are committed to ensuring public safety.”

Job fears as Harrogate council reviews staff at new tourism organisation

A trade union has expressed concern that jobs could be lost as part of a staff review at Harrogate Borough Council’s new tourism organisation.

The authority set up a destination management organisation in September to ‘further grow economic impact and support the district’s recovery plans following the covid pandemic’.

Gemma Rio was recruited as head of destination management to lead the new organisation, which combines Visit Harrogate, Harrogate Convention Centre’s marketing team and the district’s tourist information centres.

The council is now consulting on the new structure.

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The Stray Ferret was contacted by a source worried the process would lead to staff being made redundant if they didn’t accept new roles.

We understand 25 to 30 staff in areas such as tourism information and museums fall under the review.

A consultation on the review is expected to end tomorrow.

The Stray Ferret approached Unison Harrogate local government branch and asked whether it had responded to the review.

A spokesman for Unison said it had concerns that staff were “at risk of being made redundant” and that it had “identified a number of concerns regarding the proposals but that there are also some things we believe we can support”.

He added:

“The key thing for us is our members jobs and pay but also that the council has a service that is fit for purpose once the review is completed.”

A council spokesperson said the destination management organisation “will ensure the best possible visitor experience and make the district of Harrogate a must visit destination for leisure and business tourists alike”.

The spokesperson added:

“As part of the DMO being established, we will be ensuring we have the right roles across the organisation to help deliver these aims and provide best value for the taxpayer.

“These proposals are still being developed and will involve a consultation with staff.”

Five arrests in Harrogate during county lines action week

Police made five arrests in Harrogate as part of last week’s national operation on county lines drug dealing.

The arrests began on May 17 when plain clothes officers on patrol around Avenue Grove in Starbeck found class A drugs on a man behaving suspiciously.

That arrest led them to a nearby property, where they found and searched three other men. The officers found drugs stashed in a mattress, £200, drug paraphernalia and three phone.

On May 22, a man in his 40s who had breached his prison licence was arrested and returned to jail.

Later the same day, police arrested a man in his 30s on Otley Road, who officers thought was driving erratically.

The suspect failed a roadside drug wipe and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of class A drugs. He was released under investigation.

Read more:

County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs is smaller towns and cities.

It takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to communicate between towns and advertise their drugs for sale.

North Yorkshire Police also made arrests in York, Whitby, Thirsk, Scarborough, and on the A1 motorway.

Police also made 87 welfare visits to 95 vulnerable people.

Officers seized a total of £10,000 plus heroin, cannabis, pregabalin and a large quantity of suspected cocaine believed to be worth several thousands of pounds.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott said he welcomed the action taken, adding:

“But we should be under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face from these organised criminals who bring tragedy to communities and scar our society.

“Ensuring we take prompt action to educate and enforce is one of my priorities as commissioner.”

Chief Inspector Lorraine Crossman-Smith coordinated North Yorkshire Police’s involvement in the action week. She said:

“I hope the people of North Yorkshire are reassured that we mean it when we say drug dealing is a priority and that we will take action when they report information to us.”