Locals are bracing themselves for an influx of visitors in Nidderdale as a weekend of sunny weather is forecast.

There have already been reports of large numbers of walkers, cyclists and bikers in Pateley Bridge and surrounding villages today.

Now, with the easing of lockdown restrictions in sight, fears have been raised that even more people will breach lockdown rules and descend on local communities this weekend.

Cllr Mike Holt, Mayor of Pateley Bridge, said:

“I am aware of [the number of visitors in the area today] and I am concerned about it. I have asked people to stay away if at all possible, because we aren’t out of the woods yet.”

Cllr Holt said Pateley Bridge Town Council had spoken to local police, but they had limited powers to enforce government guidance. A request for additional signage, similar to that put up along Nidderdale Greenway, had also been unsuccessful.

Even in his home village of Glasshouses, Cllr Holt said there had been a rise in the number of people visiting. He said the numbers across the area could rise further over the first weekend since the Prime Minister outlined cautious plans for easing restrictions.

Cllr Hold added:

“Why can’t we wait just a few more weeks? It’s a bit frustrating.

“Speaking personally, I’ve done all I felt I could and people are just going to have to do what feels right for their own conscience.”

Read more:

• North Yorkshire police prepare for ‘influx of visitors’ as lockdown eases
• Police move into new Pateley Bridge station

The area’s busiest walking areas, including Fewston, Swinsty and Thruscross reservoirs, are also preparing for a busy weekend. A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said:

“Getting out in the open and enjoying some exercise is really important for everyone at the moment. We know that our reservoirs have provided a great recreational space for lots of people during lockdown and with warmer weather on the way, our sites may start to get even busier.

“We’d ask that, as always, any visitors to our sites respect covid guidelines and social distancing wherever possible. Our carparks can get very busy during popular periods, so please make sure you park in a dedicated spot, as parking elsewhere may cause obstruction for local residents, the emergency services and our reservoir engineers.”

North Yorkshire Police said it continues to issue fixed penalty notices to people found to be outside without good reason, and having travelled away from their local area.

Chief Inspector Charlotte Bloxham, deputy lead for North Yorkshire Police’s covid-19 response, said:

“It’s really important that we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves and through irresponsible actions, jeopardise the progress we have made and need to keep making, to enable us all to move forward.

“Until the Government indicates that it is safe to move to the next stage of the road map on March 29, the current lockdown rules and regulations will stay in place and North Yorkshire Police will continue to police them. We will take the necessary enforcement action required to protect the green shoots of recovery we are starting to see and to protect all our chances of getting out of lockdown.

“So I would ask the public to keep going. We are on the right path and we are doing the right things, but we must remain vigilant to the threat of the virus. Covid-19 has not gone away, please carry on sticking to the rules, so we can continue to move towards better times ahead.”

Plans are being made to ensure Harrogate Christmas Market can return to the town centre in 2021.

The market, which first took place in 2012, had to be cancelled last year as changing covid restrictions made it impossible for organisers to plan a safe event without risk of last-minute cancellation.

However, following the government’s ‘road map’ out of lockdown which could see all restrictions lifted in June, the committee of organisers is preparing to meet for the first time to put firm plans in place for this year.

Organiser Brian Dunsby said:

“The aim is to review the market plans and agree changes needed – depending on the precautions required during November – if any!

“In the meantime we hope to start inviting applications from our established market traders based on the same layout and prices that were agreed for 2020 before it got cancelled.”

Read more:

• Birstwith Show set to return in July
• Theakston’s Crime Writing Festival will return to Harrogate in July

The market has been held at the bottom of Montpellier Hill in Harrogate since it was founded. After growing rapidly, for the last few years it has reached what organisers say is capacity, with around 200 traders and a focus on Yorkshire produce and products.

In previous year, the market has drawn crowds of up to 60,000 people across its four days. As well as their own traders, organisers say one of the key aims of the market is to drive footfall into the town centre to support local businesses in the run-up to Christmas.

This year’s event will be held from Thursday, November 18 to Sunday, November 21.

It is the latest event in the Harrogate calendar to confirm plans to proceed this year. This week, Harrogate International Festivals announced its crime writing festival would open in July, while Birstwith Show is also planning to go ahead.

Two more patients who tested positive for covid have died at Harrogate District Hospital.

According to NHS England figures, the deaths were reported yesterday and Tuesday.

It takes the covid death toll at the hospital to 158.

A total of 45 patients are currently being treated for covid at Harrogate hospital, according to trust statistics.

Meanwhile, a further 12 cases of covid have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today.

Read more:

• Call for inquiry into Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital
• Harrogate Nightingale closure expected to be announced next month

It takes the total number of infections to 7,250 since March.

The district’s seven-day average rate of infection stands at 94 people per 100,000.

Elsewhere, the county average stands at 85 and the national rate is 112.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the area in the district with the highest number of infections, with 20 in the past seven days.

Despite covid and “mountains of paperwork” caused by Brexit, Ripon Engineering Supplies is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary with further expansion.

Established in 1981 by Richard Lawrence, the company supplies engineering products to the trade and public.

It employs 13 staff at its new Camp Hill Close premises and plans to add to that number – despite the huge recent challenges.

Mr Lawrence, the managing director, told the Stray Ferret:

“Brexit has had a bigger negative effect on the business than covid.

“We’re just hoping it’s teething problems, as the UK adjusts to being out of Europe.

“It’s not looking too promising at present – and I’m sure we’re not alone in facing these issues, including the frustration of dealing with mountains of time-consuming paperwork.”

China-made products subject to tariffs 

Many products are manufactured in China and are subject to tariffs when they are transported through the channel ports.

Besides increasing costs, the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is also causing delays.

Daniel Smith, the company’s sales and marketing manger, said:

“Some items that we were able to order and receive the next day are now held up for weeks at the docks.”

However, the company, which stocks over 50,000 items ranging from a 4 mm nut costing a penny to large welding equipment costing £5,000, remains focused on the future.

Storemen Zac Garrington (left) and Joel Francis are among the locally recruited staff.

Healthy year-on-year growth of between 10 to 12 percent means Ripon Engineering Supplies is now operating from its fifth location in the city.

Each move to larger premises has been prompted by increased demand.

Read more:

• Better deal sought on Ripon Town Hall lease
• Another Ripon shop closes its doors

Mobile shop launched

As part of its strategic plan, the company has launched a mobile shop serving North Yorkshire.

Its one-stop shop on wheels takes essential components and tools to customers, including food factories, famers, engineers, mechanics and local government departments.

As well as providing a rapid response service, the covid-secure Mercedes Sprinter van reduces the need for people to visit the Camp Hill Close premises while social distancing requirements remain in place.

Mr Lawrence started as a sole trader with a second-hand Transit van and three children to feed, selling nuts, bolts, tools and a myriad of other products.

Two of those children, Mark and Sam, now work for the business and provide a ready-made route to succession for the day when Mr Lawrence and his wife and fellow director Paula, decide to take life a little easier.

17 more coronavirus cases have been reported today in the Harrogate district.

It takes the total number of reported cases to 7,178 since the start of the pandemic.

Yesterday the district reached a sombre milestone as the 150th person died in hospital after being diagnosed with covid.

Read more:

• Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

• Covid vaccination site to open in Knaresborough

Tomorrow a new vaccination site will open up in Knaresborough, at the site of the former Lidl supermarket on York Road.

The site will be run by Homecare Pharmacy Services, a Knaresborough-based pharmacist.

Prime minister Boris Johnson is due to announce the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown tomorrow, with schools expected to reopen on March 8.

To bring home the human cost of the pandemic in our district, the Stray Ferret would like to publish tributes from those who have been hit hardest by covid and help to tell their story.

If you have lost someone close to you due to the virus and want to pay tribute to them, get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

The Harrogate district has reached a sombre milestone today as 150 people have died in hospital after being diagnosed with covid.

To recognise this moment, the Stray Ferret is providing space for family and friends to pay tribute to loved ones who they have lost.

Each day since the first patient died on March 16 last year, we have reported the statistics, but behind the numbers are individuals with families and friends who loved them.

Read more:

• Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

• Covid vaccination site to open in Knaresborough

On top of those who have died in hospital, 128 have died in care homes since the start of the pandemic.

Today 17 more cases of covid were recorded in the past 24 hours – the district in total has recorded 7,161 coronavirus cases.

To bring home the human cost of the pandemic in our district, the Stray Ferret will publish tributes from those who have been hit hardest by covid and help to tell their story.

If you have lost someone close to you due to the virus and want to pay tribute to them, get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

A further death from a patient who tested positive for covid has been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

The death was recorded yesterday according to NHS England figures.

It takes the death toll at the hospital since the start of the pandemic to 148.

Figures from the trust show that 67 patients are currently being treated in hospital for covid.

Read more:

• Can you drive to Swinsty reservoir for a walk?
• Ripon hospital patients moved after covid outbreak
• Police posters warn of covid fines in beauty spots

Meanwhile, a further 21 people have been discharged in the past week.

The Harrogate district has also recorded a further 26 cases of coronavirus today.

According to today’s Public Health England statistics, it takes the total number of cases since March to 7,112.

The district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 92 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 85, while the national rate is 130.

Patients at Ripon Community Hospital have been transferred to Harrogate District Hospital after an outbreak of covid.

The Ripon hospital, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, has one 16-bed ward, called Trinity Ward.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We can confirm that following positive covid tests for some patients on the ward at Ripon Community Hospital, the ward has been closed for cleaning and covid-positive patients moved to Harrogate District Hospital to continue receiving care on dedicated covid wards.

“As we always do, appropriate actions have been taken and we are carrying out an investigation into the root cause.”

Harrogate District Hospital has also suffered from an increase in covid transmissions acquired in the hospital since Christmas.

Read more:

• Harrogate district covid rate below 100 for first time since Christmas
• Four covid deaths at Harrogate hospital

The trust has instigated extra measures, including more regular testing and ensuring windows are open for 10 minutes every hour, in response to the increase.

Harrogate hospital covid levels remain stubbornly high: North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents the agencies leading the fight against the pandemic, revealed at a press briefing yesterday it currently has 65 patients with the virus.

This is as high as at any point during the pandemic, even though the average rate of infection in the Harrogate district has been falling since January 8.

A Harrogate man has spoken of his despair at being one of 1.7 million people told to shield again for another five weeks.

Scott Lambert, 35, has a rare autoimmune disease called behçets syndrome and is classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.

He received an email from the government yesterday advising him to extend shielding from February 21 to March 31.

Mr Lambert told the Stray Ferret he was vaccinated three weeks ago at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground and, after spending much of last year shielding and all of this year, thought the end was in sight.

So to receive the news out of the blue yesterday was “beyond unfair”, he said, adding:

“We were told the vaccine was the way out of this. Yet a week before the review date we have been told it’s a further five weeks minimum.

Read more:

• Can you help deliver hot meals to vulnerable people?
• EXCLUSIVE: Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day

He said shielders were “the forgotten people in the pandemic” and he wanted to highlight their situation. He added:

“We have been locked away far more than many people over the coronavirus pandemic. It’s taking a huge strain on each and every one of us.

“Being a shielder isn’t lockdown. It’s next level lockdown. You’re constantly thinking of how transmission could occur and make you seriously ill. Yet an email is all the government felt was enough to put us through this for a further five weeks.

“We thought the vaccine was the way out. The government achieved the target of vaccinating all of the clinically extremely vulnerable and we thought we would be able to rejoin society in the new normal.”

Mr Lambert, who lives in Jennyfields, said the showground vaccination programme was well run. He added a Facebook group called Shielders Support had been extremely helpful to local shielders. But yesterday’s news came as a “shock to all”.

The email urged him to “stay at home as much as possible”, adding:

“Whilst the national lockdown has been effective and cases of covid are now falling, the levels of infection in the community remain high and the virus continues to pose a high risk to people across the country.

“The risk remains particularly high for those considered clinically extremely vulnerable. Therefore, the government strongly advises you to continue to follow the shielding measures that were introduced in January to help you protect yourself.”