Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 969 of 1034

No further Covid deaths for the whole of Yorkshire

There have been no further deaths in hospital patients with coronavirus across the whole of the North East and Yorkshire, according to today’s figures.

It means the number of deaths at Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust remains at 82, with no deaths for the last 12 days.

NHS England confirmed a further 10 deaths today across the country, bringing the total number since the beginning of the outbreak to 29,291.

Of those reported today, all 10 were aged between 48 and 93 and had known underlying health conditions.

Harrogate Nightingale cost £15m – but still no news on its future

The construction of Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital cost almost £15m, government contract figures reveal.

The Department of Health and Social Care spent £14.89m delivering the field hospital through Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in April.

The contract was given to Dutch construction firm BAM, an existing supplier to the NHS. The Nightingale hospital in Exeter, also constructed by BAM, had a similar set-up cost of £14.7m, while Manchester came in at £10.35m under Integrated Health Projects.

And with just four days to go until the end of the agreement between the NHS and Harrogate Convention Centre to use the site, no announcement has been made about whether the Nightingale hospital will remain.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a further £3bn of funding for the NHS to maintain the additional hospital facilities around the UK if needed over winter. However, since then, the NHS has announced it is decommissioning two of the Nightingales, in London and Birmingham.

The NEC in Birmingham is set to reopen for events on October 1, in line with changing government guidance for the industry. However, the venue’s owners have agreed with the NHS to support a small non-Covid stand-by facility until March 2021, offering additional space for routine work in case existing hospitals have to deal with a second wave of the virus over winter.

Meanwhile, London’s ExCel centre will also reopen for events, with only a small percentage of its space set aside for equipment storage for the NHS Nightingale.

Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital takes up eight of the Harrogate Convention Centre’s halls and has not yet been used to treat any Covid patients. Instead, since early June, it has been offering CT scans to help the NHS catch up with appointments delayed through the coronavirus crisis.

At the time of publication, the NHS’s agreement with Harrogate Borough Council for use of the convention centre is set to expire on Friday, with no new contract in place.

Last month, The Stray Ferret reported on preparations being made to reopen the centre for events as soon as legislation allows. Measures being made ready including deep-cleaning, introducing one-way systems, and allowing events to use more space free of charge in order to enable social distancing.

District businesses’ ‘dismay’ over plans for £46.8m convention centre upgrade

Business representatives in Knaresborough, Ripon and Pateley Bridge have reacted with “dismay” to news that Harrogate Borough Council could spend £46.8m renovating the town’s convention centre.

A confidential cabinet report leaked to The Stray Ferret has urged councillors to support the huge investment in the 40-year-old centre this week.

The news is likely to be welcomed by businesses in Harrogate but the wider district is less convinced of its merit.

Stephen Teggin, president of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, said:

“I’m somewhat dismayed about this.

“It’s all about Harrogate. We are struggling like mad to keep Knaresborough going and attract tourists and the council finds £50m to keep something going that already loses money. It’s unfair.”

Stephen Teggin of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade called for fair investment in the district’s markets

Mr Teggin called on the council to find £50,000 a year to keep markets in Ripon and Knaresborough going.

“The markets are what pull in coaches for us, just like the convention centre does for Harrogate.

“They must spend the same amount of money, pro rata, on tourism here.”

Stephen Craggs, co-director of Ripon home appliances store G Craggs, said he wouldn’t begrudge Harrogate receiving such a huge sum but questioned the wisdom of spending it on the centre.

“That ship sailed 20 years ago. The centre is not big enough to compete with the likes of Manchester and the NEC in Birmingham. They’re flogging a dead horse.”

Mr Craggs suggested the centre would be better utilised as an indoor shopping centre.

Tim Ledbetter, chair of Nidderdale Chamber of Trade in Pateley Bridge, said it was “less than impressed” by the council’s plan.

Mr Ledbetter said there was no overall business vision for the district and added it was “debatable” whether Pateley businesses reaped any benefits from events in Harrogate.

The council has said there is a “very real risk that the venue will not survive” if councillors do not agree to press ahead with plans for renovation on Wednesday. It says the centre attracts 157,000 visitors a year, has an economic impact worth £35m and supports thousands of jobs across the district.

Stuart Holland, co-chair of Harrogate Civic Society, said the 1960s-style centre was “nothing to be proud of” architecturally and welcomed the opportunity for improvement.

Mr Holland added any renovation should be sympathetic to the society’s attempts to develop a cultural quarter in Harrogate.

Historic Killinghall pub reopens

One of the oldest pubs in the Harrogate district reopened on Friday – just weeks after planners granted permission to convert the site into a convenience store.

Locals in Killinghall wondered whether last orders had been called for the final time at The Three Horseshoes when it closed for lockdown.

Ilkley company Dynamic Capital Killinghall had submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to demolish the building and construct a convenience store and four flats.

When the plans were approved this month, it appeared to herald a new chapter for the site, which has hosted a pub for 150 years.

But the pub reopened at the weekend and the developers have yet to confirm when the conversion will take place.

Will Rogers, a planner at Planning Potential, which is the agent acting on behalf of Dynamic Capital Killinghall, told The Stray Ferret “the applicant remains committed to the site”.

But he was unable to confirm when work will begin, adding:

“We have a series of planning conditions we need to discharge first and then we’ll know more on timescales.”

One of the council’s conditions was to install six electric vehicle charging points.

Rogers said the convenience store, which will be in the middle of Killinghall on the busy Ripon Road, would open seven days a week from 7am to 11pm and was expected to create 15 part-time and full-time jobs.

How the convenience store will look.

Forty-one individual representations supported the proposal and six opposed it. The council also received a petition signed by 232 people objecting to the loss of the pub.

Councillors decided “the proposal would provide substantial social and environmental benefits” and approved it.

The public body Historic England rejected a proposal this year to grant the pub listed building status.

Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, did not reply to The Stray Ferret’s request for a comment.

Harrogate Town prepares for £1 million game

Harrogate Town is in line for a million-pound windfall if it beats Notts County at Wembley on Sunday and gains promotion to the English Football League.

The football club secured its place in the final after beating Boreham Wood 1-0 on Saturday at the CNG Stadium thanks to a 65th-minute goal from Jack Muldoon.

Town’s history boys will play at Wembley for the first time in the club’s existence — and promotion from the National League could help take the club to the next level financially.

Each League Two club receives £472,000 a season as a “basic award” from the EFL which is their share of the league’s five-year £595m broadcasting deal with Sky Sports.

The Premier League also gives clubs £430,000 as a “solidarity payment” — which is designed to trickle some of the league’s riches down the football pyramid.

Gate receipts are vitally important for lower league clubs and a new Family Stand costing £750,000 is currently being built at the CNG which will take capacity up to 5,000. The club is hoping a ticket prize freeze for next season will help fill it.

However, this could be curtailed by social distancing restrictions that will be in place for at least the first couple of months of the new season, which is rumoured to begin in September.

Town players celebrate after winning their place in the play-off final. Picture: Matt Kirkham Harrogate Town

For the first time in its history, Town would also play in the League Cup, entering in round one, which comes with a minimum bonus of £5,000 even if they get knocked out.

If the club made the draw for the second round, it would be in the hat for potential money-spinning ties with some Premier League clubs — including newly-promoted Leeds United.

Promotion to the EFL does not guarantee a gilded existence and several League Two clubs are in financial peril, with Bury kicked out of the league in 2019 due to financial struggles.

While the financial benefits of promotion are tantalising for Town fans, seeing their club in the EFL for the first time in its 101-year history would be priceless.

No coronavirus deaths at Harrogate District Hospital for 11 consecutive days

For the 11th consecutive day the NHS has recorded no coronavirus deaths at Harrogate District Hospital.

The total number of people who have died of the virus at the hospital stands at 82.

A further 9 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,281.

Patients were aged between 36 and 89 years old. All had known underlying health conditions.

Strayside Sunday: Our MPs should act on principle when it comes to the NHS

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party.

In 1942 William Beveridge identified “5 giants on the road to post-war reconstruction in the United Kingdom.” Disease was one, and, on the 5^th July 1948, the NHS became the state’s answer to it.

The NHS is a living breathing political battleground. Blunt force rhetoric about it generates huge heat, while ideology, knowledge or nuance cast only low light. Take the following case; the virtue-signalling phenomenon of clapping for the NHS, while failing to ensure or, at the very least, publicly confirm, the post-Brexit future of this treasured institution.

During lockdown, both Harrogate MP Andrew Jones and Ripon MP Julian Smith, together with every MP in parliament, implored us to “clap for the NHS.” With typical political expediency, (alas) Smith and Jones embraced the NHS rainbow flag and led our constituency-based public displays of affection. This week, both men voted against an NHS amendment (put down by Green MP Caroline Lucas and supported by the Labour Party) to the Trade Bill that, post-Brexit, will shape our international trading relationships.

The NHS amendment sought to protect the British principle of universal healthcare; it sought protections against wage cuts for NHS staff; the protection of the British medicines market from price gouging; to ensure that our confidential patient data could not be shared without our knowledge and permission. I don’t know about you, but I have found it difficult to disagree with the NHS being protected from the avarice of Donald Trump’s America. I challenge our district MPs to take a principled stance in relation to the NHS, rather than simply use its good name when they see a public relations opportunity at a time of crisis.

On the most important guarantor of British wellbeing, the future of the NHS, can there be a more obvious barometer of a person’s character? In the end, holding to principle against the wishes of one’s own party machinery may well prove personally expensive. But clapping for the NHS while voting to leave it open to profit-takers from abroad is most certainly cheap.

I know that in the age of the Cummings Tyranny, to vote against the party whip is career limiting. And if I were in a charitable mood I would accept that the amendments above were put down by the Greens and by Labour to make political mischief; “nasty Tories won’t protect NHS,” “nasty Tories sell out NHS,” and so on. Of course parliamentary politics is at play, yet it seems to me that the blue team isn’t playing very well. What would it cost for Smith, Jones and colleagues to go on record, preferably in these pages, to state their views and, specifically, make plain that, even though they voted for the trade bill, they voted tactically against the opposition’s NHS ‘spoiler’ amendments in the interest of post-Brexit progress?

So much ideological tosh is talked about the NHS: For example, the Labour Party and the British Medical Association (the doctor’s trade union) scream about the ‘privatisation’ of the NHS. This, despite the fact that no one is charged by the NHS for visiting their GP, or for going to hospital, or for treatment. Some services that are ‘free at the point of use’ to you and me are, in fact, provided by private companies, themselves paid directly by the NHS. But at the last official count ,the proportion of the NHS’s overall budget paid to private healthcare providers was less than 9% and falling.

And we Tories bang on about waste and inefficiency, which does exist, but the fact of which is hardly surprising given that, since 1997, the NHS has endured 7 major structural reforms – with New Labour, the Coalition government and the Tories roughly equally culpable – and its demoralised staff don’t know whether they are coming or going. Billions has been spent too (a good proportion of which has been in vain) on attempting to harness the power of technology to deliver better care outcomes, and to wire together a hugely fragmented healthcare delivery system, so that we can share patient information across and between care settings.

At this point I should declare an interest: The National Health Service is particularly dear to my heart; I worked in the system for several years and, for much of my adult life, have been a frequent acute customer. In the summer of 2006, I was diagnosed with late stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the odds were very much against my survival. I spent the next 3 months in hospital receiving brilliant care. My chemotherapy worked, but a hospital acquired infection almost killed me.

14 years later, the consultant oncologist who saved my life remains a dear friend, a friendship we forged through political discourse; when I arrived at hospital that June, my time as Director of Communication for the Conservative Party was not yet in the distant past. My doctor, a Professor at Imperial, was then and remains now, a die-hard socialist. ‘Prof’ refuses on principle to see patients privately, even though with his skills and reputation he could have charged his way to millionairedom, had he been so minded.

Later, when I was discharged as an in-patient and returned to see him for quarterly out-patient check-ups in clinic, Prof would announce loudly “the Tory is back! Everyone remember to give him a hard time.” Too civilised and sensible a man to subscribe to the view that he “could never be friends with a Tory,” what he meant was that I was to be kept honest in my views about the NHS. ‘Prof’ insists that the service is a humanity defining idea first and a set of healthcare delivery arrangements and economics second. Do Messrs Smith and Jones?

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

Why not get in touch with Paul and share your views on his column and local politics. paul@thestrayferret.co.uk

Dig out your treasures: BBC’s Antiques Roadshow comes to Newby Hall

BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow has confirmed it will be returning this summer, with Newby Hall named as one of its 8 locations.

Viewers are being asked to contact the Roadshow team with any hidden gems and stories to tell. A form is available on their website where owners can fill out details of their objects.

For the first time in the show’s history, the series will be filmed on a closed set with only a small audience invited. This is to ensure the safety of guests, the production team and the wider public.

Presenter Fiona Bruce has been at the forefront of Antiques Roadshow for 13 years.

“Normally we welcome around 5,000 people to each Antiques Roadshow, but of course in these extraordinary times we will have to do things very differently. We’ve come up with a new way to safely film the show yet still bring you amazing items and stories. I can’t wait to see what treasures you have hidden in your homes.”

The Roadshow normally sees around 5,000 visitors at each venue.

The show was first broadcast in 1979 and has since become one of the most popular programmes on BBC One, with around 6 million viewers tuning in every Sunday evening.

Robert Murphy, BBC Studios Series Editor said:

“To keep everybody safe and comply with current government and WHO regulations, we have planned our filming days very differently this year…Our team of experts are looking forward to seeing your heirlooms and finds, so do go to our website and let us know about your treasures.”

Some of the Roadshow’s most remarkable finds have included a hand written document signed by Elizabeth I and a ring containing a lock of author Charlotte Bronte’s hair.

If you have a hidden treasure you wish to uncover, share your story at www.bbc.co.uk/antiquesroadshow.

Newby Hall has been named as one of 8 venues for this summer’s series.

“Newby Hall will be superb” says Harrogate Antiques Roadshow expert

Independent jewellery specialist Susan Rumfitt told The Stray Ferret that she is delighted BBC One’s Antiques Road Show is coming to Newby Hall this summer.

Susan joined the team of specialists on the Roadshow in 2006. As well as being on the show, she is also a Freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company and has her own gallery in Harrogate.

In an interview with The Stray Ferret, Susan reflected on some of her favourite pieces she has seen as well as voicing her excitement for the upcoming show at Newby Hall.

When asked what it is like to work for the Antiques Roadshow, Susan told The Stray Ferret:

“Working for the show is just great fun and although we are all individual specialists with our own areas of expertise, we work really closely as a team, from production, through to camera men, through to specialists. It’s about everyone putting in 100% to get the effects that everybody sees on the television.”

Susan Rumfitt pictured with a client at Buckfast Abbey.

Despite the current climate, Susan said that the show may look a bit different but will still have the superb Antiques Roadshow charm. She told The Stray Ferret:

“From a clients perspective coming to the show, they will still get the same attention as they normally would do. We are all looking forward to doing it in whatever format we are able to. The fact that it is coming back to Yorkshire at such a beautiful spot will showcase our area so well…I am delighted it is coming to Newby Hall.”

Susan was approached by the team at the Roadshow two years before joining, due to her extensive background in antique jewellery. Since then she has seen a number of fascinating pieces, with one of her favourite’s being a gold bracelet originally belonging to Queen Victoria.

BBC’s Fiona Bruce on unearthing treasures on the Antiques Road Show

The BBC’s Antiques Road Show is set to come to Newby Hall this summer – sadly the show is closed to the public due to coronavirus.

In this Q and A presenter Fiona Bruce answers some questions about the fun of uncovering hidden treasures and other memorable moments

What has been your personal highlight from working on Antiques Roadshow?

I feel incredibly lucky to have spent the last 13 years working on the Antiques Roadshow. I love doing it and I’ve had so many highlights from over the years. My personal favourite would probably have to be when a man of the cloth turned up with a painting, which he thought might be a Van Dyck. I looked at it – and I was making a programme about Van Dyck at the time – and I thought it had the look of the genuine article. And so we had it examined and my hunch turned out to be right. It has been proven to be the case and it is now being exhibited as a Van Dyck. I can’t imagine that will ever happen to me again in my lifetime and it’s definitely a highlight for me.

Why do you think the show continues to be so popular?

I think it’s amazing that the Antiques Roadshow is essentially the same as it has been for more than four decades and it’s still hugely popular. What makes it eternally popular is probably what I love about it – that we all hope that we could have something gathering dust on the mantelpiece or in the attic that either turns out to be very valuable, or has an amazing story. It happens week-in, week-out and you’d think that the well would begin to run dry and it hasn’t. We still find amazing things every week. You can never predict what will turn up once a visitor brought along a vanity set that had been on Donald Trump’s yacht. It was as tasteful and restrained as you might expect – that’s to say it was fabulously bling.

What is your earliest memory of the Antiques Roadshow?

I still remember watching Antiques Roadshow as a child with my parents, on a Sunday night, sitting in our 1970s living room. I gradually came back to it as an adult and then I was asked to present it which I had no idea was coming! I was absolutely thrilled. It’s not often that you get asked to work on a programme you’ve watched for so long and genuinely watch at home.

Has any of the experts’ knowledge rubbed off on you?

I’ve certainly learnt more about antiques. I have my own collections. I have paintings. I collect things called “samplers” which are Victorian pieces of needlework usually done by children in a workhouse to show that they have a skill, which can be used in service, stitching household linen or that kind of thing. I think they’re very humble and very beautiful. But our experts are like walking Wikipedias! They’re incredible. And they just fish knowledge out of their brains, which is a marvel to behold.

What is the most surprising item someone has brought to a valuation day?

If I had to pick the most unusual thing that’s turned up in the time that I’ve been working on the show – could it be the man that turned up with an case full of loo chains, just a small sample of his collection? Could it be the man that turned up not once, but twice with a foetal membrane dried onto a piece of A4 paper that had belonged to his great-grandfather. It’s called a “caul” and it used to be a talisman against drowning and it used to have some value! Or could it be the lady who brought along a potty that had a picture of Hitler on the bottom and when you did a little “tinkle” into it, it played its own little tune. And because it was rare, I think it was worth over £1000 from memory.

What are your most memorable moments whilst working on the series?

Some of the most moving stories stick in my mind, many I will never forget, such as the man who brought along a set of GI medals from the Second World War. His story began with his finding a cache of love letters written to his mother by an American GI who had had an affair with her while his father was away serving in the Second World War.

The letters revealed that his mother had had a baby with this man and it became apparent to him that he was that child. He tracked down the GI’s family in Virginia who welcomed him with open arms and filled in the gaps. They told him that his father had agreed to forgive the infidelity and bring the baby up as his own – and indeed loved him as such all his life – and the American GI decided reluctantly to stay away so as not to make a delicate situation even more difficult. The GI’s descendants knew all about the baby being brought up in Britain and were thrilled to meet him at last. It was a very moving experience for all of them.

The man came to the Roadshow with his American GI father’s war medals, which the family had decided should go to his newly discovered son. As the man told me this story he was moved to tears – and who can blame him?

Fiona Bruce pictured outside Castle Howard.

Is there anywhere that you still yearn to take Antiques Roadshow to?

New Zealand! We would find extraordinary things there; I’m sure from antiques belonging to British settlers to Maori culture.

What are your hopes for the future of Antiques Roadshow?

That it continues to be as popular as it is now, continues to find extraordinary items and continues to have a place in people’s hearts.

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