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31
Dec 2020
Looking back: Harrogate district's most popular stories of 2020
As 2020 draws to a close, the Stray Ferret looks back at the news stories that stood out among a year of extraordinary events.
Today, we reveal the most popular stories on our site since we launched at the beginning of March.
10. Events company folds after 46 years
The tenth most-read story on our site this year was a sad one for those involved - and for many others.
After months of uncertainty for the events industry, long-standing family firm Joe Manby Ltd was put into liquidation.
Director Andrew Manby had been warning for many months about the threat to the sector, with events unable to go ahead and no sign of improvement on the horizon.
Readers and fellow business owners expressed shock and sympathy after the news was announced.
9. Eat Out to Help Out
When the government scheme to encourage hospitality spending was launched, businesses in the Harrogate district signed up with enthusiasm.
Residents were also keen to show their support, as our ninth most popular story shows. With more than 100 businesses on the list, locals checked in to see where they could get a discount on dining out early in the week.
8. Six workers rescued from Ripon takeaway
In September, six people were rescued from a Ripon takeaway after local residents raised concerns about their living and working conditions.
Agencies including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Immigration Enforcement, Harrogate Borough Council and the police and fire service swooped on the takeaway, which was not publicly identified.
As a result, six people were placed in temporary accommodation. Officers reported several possible indicators of labour abuse but could not find any signs of modern slavery offences.
The council and the fire service said they would investigate a number of housing and fire safety issues at the property.
The story was our eighth most-read of the year.
7. Many hospitality businesses will not reopen
In his first column for the Stray Ferret, Peter Banks, MD of Rudding Park, gave an honest account of his expectations for the future of his industry.
Writing in early May, he said the first week of the pandemic’s impact was the worst of his professional life. However, in a rapidly changing climate, he soon found himself trying to work out how the hotel would reopen - and concluding that, for many, it would never happen.
The column proved hugely popular, especially with our audience on social media, and is seventh on our list of most-read stories of the year.
Today, we published Mr Banks's reflections on the year in hospitality - including the last-minute bombshell delivered by the government to scupper plans for New Year's Eve.
6. Long queues outside Harrogate shop after pubs close
When the 10pm curfew on hospitality came in, many said it would only lead to a rush of people onto the streets all at the same time.
This appeared to be true, as the queue outside Tesco on Cambridge Road showed on Saturday, October 24 just after 10pm.
The same happened again the following week, and both stories proved popular with local readers. It’s at number six on our list.
5. Harrogate district to enter tier two restrictions
As the second national lockdown ended in early December, the decision about which tier the Harrogate district would be placed in drew a lot of attention.
Readers were eager to find out what restrictions they would face – and local businesses were also keen to know if they could open and trade in the vital few weeks before Christmas.
The story was the fifth most-read of the year. Yesterday’s announcement of the district’s move into tier three from New Year’s Eve is the most-read story in December.
4. Coach and Horses has alcohol licence revoked
In July, long-standing West Park pub the Coach and Horses had its alcohol licence revoked by Harrogate Borough Council after a dispute over their compliance with lockdown rules in May.
The pub opened to sell take-out beer, but as crowds gathered on the pavement and across the road by the Stray, police and council enforcement staff arrived.
Their accounts of the situation suggested landlord John Nelson had been “aggressive and abusive”, though at the licensing hearing his lawyer said he accepted he had made a “chronic error of judgement”.
The committee revoked Mr Nelson’s licence with the support of North Yorkshire Police, and the report on the decision was our fourth most read story of the year.
Three months later, his daughter Samantha was successful in her application for a licence to reopen the pub.
3. Police attend serious incident near Harrogate town centre
A man died and another was treated in hospital after an incident on Harcourt Drive, on the edge of Harrogate town centre.
On a quiet Sunday evening in late August, the incident shocked neighbours and the wider community. It was the third most read story of 2020 on our website.
Police later confirmed the incident was not being treated as suspicious and an inquest would be held to examine the circumstances of the man’s death.
2. Harrogate’s Stray FM to close
Residents of the district were shocked by the announcement in May that Stray FM would be disappearing from the airwaves.
Though owners Greatest Hits Radio described the plans as a ‘rebrand’, the reality was that there would be mostly national programming on the station from September, with one regional show each day at drivetime.
As well as the ending of a familiar brand established in 1994, community groups expressed their sadness at the loss of the station’s valuable support.
The announcement of the plans was our second most-read story of 2020.
1. Town centre roads closed by police
A police incident near the centre of town on a Friday afternoon drew our biggest audience of the year.
A man was arrested for saying he had a knife and making threats to other residents.
Officers closed a number of roads around Strawberry Dale while they dealt with the situation, leading to congestion on surrounding routes. The roads were reopened after around 90 minutes.
A second man was arrested for obstructing the police, separately to the original incident.
Read more:
- Looking back: Happiness in Harrogate district amid the challenges of 2020
- Looking back: Clap for carers and scrubbing up for key workers
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