The Queen’s funeral: Harrogate district arrangements for Monday

Events across the Harrogate district are being cancelled or rearranged on Monday when the state funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is held.

The service at Westminster Abbey will be broadcast at Ripon Cathedral and the day has been declared a national bank holiday.

Our list below, which is continually updated, details how the district is affected. If you have any news for inclusion, email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate

Ripon

Transport

Supermarkets

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More Harrogate district covid booster clinics in coming weeks

People in the Harrogate district are urged to book their covid booster vaccines as more clinics are set to open.

Currently, appointments are being offered at the Yorkshire Events Centre and Chain Lane vaccination centre in Knaresborough as well as some local surgeries.

The autumn booster campaign began across most of the UK last week, with care home residents being vaccinated first.

Those aged 65 and over are now being invited to have their booster vaccine.

In Harrogate, some appointments will be available at the Great Yorkshire Showground’s Event Centre, although booking is advised via the NHS website or by calling 119.

A clinic was held from Monday to Thursday this week and another will take place in three weeks’ time.

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In Knaresborough, Homecare Pharmacy Services are offering a clinic at Chain Lane on Wednesday (September 21) and Saturday (September 24). Both clinics will be held from 9am until 4pm.

Other sites delivering autumn vaccinations in the Harrogate district include Ripon Spa Surgery, Kingswood Medical Centre and East Parade Surgery.

Appointments at the site must be booked through the NHS. Patients are urged not to call surgeries to book their vaccines.

Steve Russell, NHS director of vaccinations and screening, said: 

“There is no room for complacency in keeping covid-19 on the backfoot, and this autumn booster will help protect those most at risk.”

Changes to Harrogate district bin collections for Queen’s funeral

Changes to bin collections across the Harrogate district have been confirmed for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Harrogate Borough Council has announced that all collections will take place a day later than usual from the day of the funeral which is being marked with a bank holiday on Monday 19 September.

This will affect garden waste, refuse and recycling collections, and all household waste recycling centres will also close on Monday.

The date changes for bin collections are as follows:

Normal collections will then resume on Monday 26 September.

Meanwhile, all council-run leisure centres in the Harrogate district will also close on Monday “to allow the team to pay their respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” the council said.

Customer services for both the borough council and North Yorkshire County Council will also be unavailable on this day when Harrogate’s Civic Centre will close.

Anyone who needs to get in touch with the borough council in an emergency should call 01423 556300.

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Most Harrogate hospital operations to go ahead on Monday

The majority of planned operations at Harrogate District Hospital are set to go ahead on Monday.

Staff at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust have been contacting patients after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was made an official bank holiday.

The trust said that of 35 operations due to go ahead on Monday, 33 were still due to proceed.

Two non-urgent operations have been cancelled. The hospital said one was rescheduled on request of the patient.

The trust said in a statement:

“We are working hard to deliver as many of the appointments and operations that have been booked to take place on Monday, September 19, as possible.

“By the end of this week, we will contact anyone who has an appointment, endoscopy or operation on that date to let them know if it is going ahead as planned or not.

“We would ask anyone who might be affected to please wait for the call from out teams.”

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It comes as hospitals across the country have been told to contact patients ahead of the bank holiday to inform them of whether their appointments are going ahead.

In a letter to all English hospital trusts, Dr Ursula Montgomery, director of primary care at NHS England, said:

“For patients with planned appointments that are affected by the bank holiday, please ensure they are informed in advance of any changes by utilising direct patient communications. 

“Where planned appointments are going ahead it is important this is also confirmed with patients.”

Autumn Harrogate Flower Show starts tomorrow at Newby Hall

Floral designers have created a Cinderella-themed display for the Autumn Harrogate Flower Show, which starts tomorrow.

The three-day event takes place at Newby Hall, between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

Harrogate Flower Shows are staged twice a year, in April and September, by the North of England Horticultural Society.

The society announced the relocation of its autumn event to Newby Hall at the end of 2019.

The spring flower, which remains at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, will next be staged on April 20-23.

The show at Newby will feature plant nurseries, a giant vegetable competition, live theatre and Britain’s biggest display of autumn blooms.

Visitors will also see arrangements from celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley and hear the story of Newby Hall’s rock garden.

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Tickets cost £23.50 for adults and £8 for children aged five to 15. Under fives enter for free. Admission includes access to Newby’s gardens and children’s adventure park.

Show director Nick Smith said:

“Last year we held the autumn show at Newby Hall for the first time, we were delighted that it was such a huge success.

“This autumn, with so many fantastic exhibitors and an enticing programme of events lined up, we are incredibly excited to welcome our visitors and exhibitors back for what promises to be a bigger, brighter and even better autumn show.”

North Yorkshire Police to send officers to Queen’s funeral

North Yorkshire Police has said policing levels in the Harrogate district “won’t be adversely affected” despite officers being redeployed to London for the Queen’s funeral.

The state funeral of Elizabeth II will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday. About 10,000 police officers are expected to be in the capital in the days leading up to the funeral and during it.

The Met has drafted in officers from around the UK to boost security, including both specialist and general officers from North Yorkshire Police.

The Stray Ferret asked the force how many officers based in the Harrogate district will be in London but it said it was unable to give a figure due to “operational reasons”.

Assistant chief constable Elliot Foskett said NYP will allocate officers in the district “in a way that does not adversely affect the level of policing the public.”

He said:

“Like other police forces, North Yorkshire Police is supporting the Metropolitan Police in helping to deal with the significant challenges for them at this very difficult, and very sad time.

“We are providing both specialist and general duties police officers to work alongside other national colleagues to ensure the safety of the public visiting the capital to pay their respects.”

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Boroughbridge man faces jail after man dies

Two men are facing jail following the death of a man in “terrible” scenes of violence.

Thomas Cressey, of Church Lane, Boroughbridge, and Benjamin Calvert, 22, from Sowerby, appeared at Leeds Crown Court this morning when judge Tom Bayliss KC told them both to expect jail.

Calvert, of Kings Gardens, pleaded guilty to manslaughter or unlawful killing of Alan Barefoot in Thirsk Market Place.

Cressey had already admitted affray, or threatening unlawful violence towards Mr Barefoot, when he appeared at York Magistrates’ Court in August.

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The incident occurred in October last year.

Judge Bayliss adjourned the case for sentence in about five weeks’ time. He told the defendants:

“This is a terrible matter. You, Benjamin Calvert, pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing of Alan Barefoot.

“You must understand that inevitably there’s going to be a prison sentence and you must prepare yourself for that.”

He told Cressey that he too shouldn’t be “too optimistic” about his prospects because he was “part of this (violence)”, adding:

“This is a serious matter and you must prepare yourself for custody as well.”

Both men were granted bail until the sentence hearing on October 21.

Covid infections in Harrogate district lowest for 15 months

Covid infections in the Harrogate district have fallen to their lowest level since June last year.

Latest figures show the district’s weekly infection rate per 100,000 people currently stands at 47. The last time it was below this level was 15 months ago.

The rate is also well below its record of 1,906 in January when the Omicron variant fuelled a huge wave of infections at the peak of winter.

Health experts have predicted there will be a jump in covid and flu infections ahead of this winter, and they are urging anyone who is eligible for an extra vaccine to boost their protection against both illnesses.

The autumn booster campaign began across most of the UK last week, with care home residents being vaccinated first.

The other groups who qualify and will be invited over the coming weeks are:

Adults aged 50 and over

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In Harrogate, some walk-in appointments are available at the Great Yorkshire Showground’s Event Centre, although booking is advised via the NHS website or by calling 119.

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is running covid vaccinations at the site everyday between 9am and 5pm until Friday.

The CCG said those eligible must be aged 80 and over, or work in health and social care, or were previously shielding.

Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital currently has 28 covid-positive patients, although only two of these are primarily receiving treatment for the virus.

The hospital last reported the death of a patient who tested within 28 days on 19 August, with its toll since the pandemic began standing at 274.

Double North Yorkshire council tax on second homes set to go ahead

Second home owners in North Yorkshire look set to be the first in the country to pay double council tax.

It comes after an investigation into avoidance loopholes concluded there is potential for the charge to be avoided.

In an attempt to help improve access to housing for local people, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive will on Tuesday consider launching a 100% council tax premium on second homes and premises which have been left empty for a year or more from April 1, 2024.

The move follows last year’s North Yorkshire Rural Commission recommending a charge is levied on second homes and used to finance affordable housing, helping to reverse the ongoing exodus of young families from areas where house prices are many times above average wages.

Two months ago the authority’s leading members postponed a decision on the premium after numerous concerns were raised about whether it would encourage council tax avoidance, for instance by second home owners transferring properties transferring to business rates.

Some opposition councillors have claimed the premium will prove difficult to implement while people who have owned properties in the county for decades say the move will simply make second homes the preserve of the rich.

In a report to the executive, officers forecast more than £14 million a year could be raised from using the levy being introduced by the government in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

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Research has shown Richmondshire could generate about £1.8 million through the premium, while the Craven, Harrogate and Ryedale areas could each provide about £1.5 million in extra revenue. Hambleton could provide £1 million and the Selby district a further £260,000.

Addressing the concerns over tax avoidance loopholes, the report states that because council tax rates for second homes mirror those of main residences there may be issues with the classification of properties and the application of a second homes premium “may prompt owners to reclassify properties for genuine reasons”.

The report highlights that properties only need to be available to let for more than 20 weeks in a year to be classed under business rates and that the only detail needed to support such a claim is evidence of an advertisement for let for the property.

From April second homeowners must also prove the property was let for short at least 70 days.

The report states the council would use “mechanisms available” to clamp down on couples who own second homes and falsely claim they are living separately and warns of financial penalties if bogus information is provided.

Officers added while the proportion of second homes in Wales paying the 100 per cent premium had fallen by up to nine per cent since being introduced there in 2017, it is unclear whether the downward trend has been caused by avoidance loopholes or by bringing second homes back into use as housing.

Ahead of the debate, the authority’s Green Party group coordinator, Cllr Andy Brown, who represents Aire Valley, said areas faced “being hollowed out of permanent residents” and there was a strong case for raising the council tax not just on second home owners, but “anyone who rents a property out using short term online letting companies”.

He added it would take skill to design a local property tax to impact on rarely used second homes rather than North Yorkshire’s expansive tourism industry.

For sale — the quirkiest home in the Harrogate district

It has to be the quirkiest home in the Harrogate district — yet it appears nobody is in a rush to buy it.

Skelton Windmill has seven floors and offers rooftop views of Ripon Cathedral, York Minster and the white horse at Kilburn.

Built in 1822, it was the windmill for Newby Hall until the First World War. It then remained derelict until it was converted to a home in the 1990s.

Wendy Wilby, a priest, and her husband Peter, a composer, have lived in it since 1998 but are now looking to sell. With their children grown up, the four-bedroom, grade two listed building and accompanying half acre of land is too big.

But after four months on the market it remains unsold, with the seven flights of stairs a drawback to some potential buyers. It’s now on the market for £850,000.

Skelton Windmill

The windmill was built 200 years ago.

Ms Wilby said:

“It’s unique and quirky but you have got to love old buildings and feel the poetry of it.

“My husband is a composer and he finds it an extremely inspiring place to live.”

“We love it but we are getting older. I’m 73 and it’s all right now but in another 10 years it won’t be quite so easy.”

The windmill, which is between Boroughbridge and Ripon, has 70 steps leading to a trap door on to the roof.

Harrogate estate agents Strutt and Parker, which is marketing the property, describes the windmill as ‘one of the most complete windmills surviving in the country’ with ‘stunning views across the North Yorkshire countryside’.

Skelton Windmill

Inside the windmill

 

Skelton Windmill

The windmill comes with half an acre of land.

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