Harrogate Theatre awarded £250,000 survival boost

Harrogate Theatre has today been awarded £249,820 from a government rescue fund for the arts.

Other local venues have also been successful, with £238,590 awarded to Deer Shed Festival near Topcliffe, £117,500 to Ripon Museum Trust and £54,339 to Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.

Harrogate Theatre, which will remain closed until next year, said the award would cover its losses from November 2020 to April 2021

This money is in addition to an Arts Council England grant of £395,000 in July and £100,000 raised from an emergency appeal.

It means the theatre has now received nearly £750,000 to help it survive the coronavirus-enforced closure.

David Bown, chief executive of the theatre, said:

“The funding provides an urgent lifeline to Harrogate Theatre and many other arts organisations across the country. We are thankful for this vital intervention, which demonstrates our value to our local area and the wider cultural sector.”

Mr Bown hopes that the money will help the theatre to “return stronger than ever” in 2021.

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The government handed out £257 million to nearly 1,400 cultural and creative organisations in today’s first round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is run by Arts Council England.

Deborah Larwood, the theatre chair,  said:

“This support will play a crucial role in enabling us to stabilise the theatre following the devastating impact of the covid pandemic. In these most challenging times we have had to make some very difficult decisions, but this funding gives us the opportunity to focus on planning for the future.”

 

Ready Steady Mums to stop weekly walks due to ‘rule of six’

The Harrogate parent group Ready Steady Mums will hold its final walk today before the government’s new ‘rule of six’ forces it to stop. 

Ready Steady Mums, which was formed in 2016, provides parents with the opportunity to stay fit and socialise.

The group usually meets at St Mark’s Church at 10am on Fridays, does a group walk then enjoys refreshments.  

The Stray Ferret recently reported that the parents were able to meet up again following the easing of restrictions.  

However, the group’s meetings are set to be cancelled once again due to the new restrictions, which state that from Monday it will be illegal in most circumstances to gather socially in groups of more than six people.  

Laura Brett, group leader, said: 

“We just can’t justify it. We don’t want to do anything wrong. That being said, we are very disappointed. Particularly as Professor Chris Whitty is emphasising how coronavirus is more dangerous when you are unfit. Our group helps mothers to stay physically fit and it helps their mental health.” 

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The new rules take away other benefits of Ready Steady Mums – besides promoting mental and physical health, the group provides a network to help navigate parenthood. 

Ms Brett believes groups like hers should be exempt from the rules because of their health benefits and intends to seek clarification from the government on this matter. She said:

“Mums have lost the opportunity to make friends. Some of our members have just moved to the area and haven’t had the chance to meet anybody. The group also provides encouragement, as it is easy to lose confidence in any circumstance, never mind in the current situation. Many of the volunteers were previously midwives, which means that the group allows us to signpost concerns and guide the members to professional help if they need it.” 

The group attempted to stay in touch during lockdown to support each other. However, its activities now fall foul of the new rule.

After the final session on Friday the network will still encourage members to meet in smaller groups. 

More than a third of all Harrogate A-level grades to be changed

More than a third of all A levels taken in Harrogate will now be changed back to the grades given to them by their teachers after the government’s U turn this afternoon.

The move comes after an outcry from students who received much lower grades than they expected, impacting their future plans.

The grades had been calculated within colleges and then sent to Ofqual for standardisation.

Colleges and sixth forms in Harrogate have supplied the Stray Ferret with the percentages of grades changed – the total average figure amounts to 37% – more than a third of all exam results.

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King James’ Sixth Form in Knaresborough reported 80% of student’s grades were changed. The school couldn’t be specific about the percentage of grades so weren’t included in the average.

Both post-16 centres in Ripon, Ripon Grammar School and Outwood Academy, were yet to respond when the Stray Ferret went to publication. Boroughbridge High School sixth form did not want to be included.

Earlier in the day the local Liberal Democrat leader, Geoff Webber, said the government had “failed abysmally” and would welcome the use of teacher’s predicted grades:

“What is absolutely clear is that the system the government introduced for this year has failed abysmally and the lack of any clear direction has led to total confusion and anguish for students and parents. I think that the safest way to proceed is to use teacher’s assessments and if that leads to grade inflation in the current academic year then so be it.”

‘Impossible’ to enforce facemasks in Harrogate shops, says police federation

North Yorkshire’s Police (NYP) Federation has said that officers cannot force people to wear face coverings in shops.

The prime minister warned people yesterday that they could be fined up to £100 for failing to wear a covering or facemask from July 24.

Shopkeepers saw a visible increase in people wearing facemasks today following on from the announcement but worry that some may refuse.

If that happens it seems there may be problems with who will enforce the rules.

The Stray Ferret spoke to the local police federation and shopkeepers who said they will not be able to force people to wear face coverings.

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Rob Bowles, chair of the NYP Federation, said:

“I think it would be incredibly difficult for officers to police this. It is just impossible and impratical. North Yorkshire Police do not have the resources to make people wear face coverings in shops. When the lockdown fines came in place there was a lack of clarity back then. It just created tensions.”

Graham Jack, one of the owners at menswear shop G23, said:

“I can’t see it being an issue. If people come in the shop they will have to wear a face mask and if they don’t have one we will provide one. It will put some people off shopping, I am sure it will.”

Gavin Longreach, the manager at jewellers Hugh Rice, said:

“It’s interesting that it’s not for retail employees to enforce these measures. I don’t know why someone would come into the shop without a facemask when it’s there to protect you. We have lots of measures in place here to protect our customers and I think it gives them confidence.”

Clare Nelson, manager at menswear shop Porters, added:

“I would feel uncomfortable telling customers to wear a facecovering. If a big group of lads were to walk in without them I don’t think I would be able to tell them to wear one. It might put people off coming into the shop. I don’t think we would be able to enforce this.”

Demand for humanist weddings in Harrogate rises

Humanist celebrants across the district have given their support to the six couples who are challenging the government to change the law to legally recognise humanist marriages.

The current laws in England and Wales force couples who want a humanist wedding to have a separate civil ceremony for their marriage to be legally recognised.

The couples are going to the High Court July 7-8 and will argue that the current law discriminates against them because of their humanitarian belief.

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Rachael Meyer, a Harrogate based humanist celebrant, was fully booked for humanist weddings in 2020 and continues to be busy next year.

She said:

““It’s no surprise that the demand for humanist wedding ceremonies is rising rapidly. It is frustrating and completely unfair that non-religious couples in England and Wales who want a beautiful, bespoke, meaningful humanist ceremony that reflects their values have to go through a completely separate legal ceremony with a registrar, whereas religious couples do not.

Marriage laws need to be updated now so that we are in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Married couple signing certificate

Lisa and Matthew Taylor signing a certificate rather than a register.

In England and Wales, over 1,000 couples a year already have a humanist wedding without legal recognition. The government was given the power to give legal recognition to humanist marriages in 2013 but has failed to act on it.

Humanists UK Chief Executive, Andrew Copson said:

“Couples who have humanist weddings see that day as the epitome of their love and commitment to each other, and all they want is the same legal recognition for that as is given to every religious person in our country.

Government has dragged its heels and that’s why it’s been left to these couples to bring this case.”

Is the future of Harrogate town centre more homes, less shopping?

As the government lines up plans to overhaul the UK planning system, could we see less shops and more homes and offices in Harrogate town centre as a result of the changes?

The town centre already has around 10% of its retail units sitting empty and an impending economic downturn could see that number increase.

But proposals lined up by the government could change how developers react to the loss of shops and what to do with them.

Ministers are to press ahead with measures which would see permitted development rights extended to empty outlets. It means that developers could demolish empty stores and replace them with housing without the need for a planning application.

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Further measures would see change of use rules relaxed, meaning unused shops could be turned into offices or homes.

James Tyreman, of Nicholls Tyerman estate agents, said the move would fit with an already popular town centre area to live in and converting a building would depend on its location.

He said: “It would depend on the right building and the right address.

“The town centre area is popular to live in and Harrogate has a lot of very attractive buildings. But it is very much a case of the right address and right location.”

Meanwhile, James Hobson, managing director at JEH Planning, said the reuse of vacant units will be crucial in helping the local economy after the pandemic.

He said: “Serious consideration will need to be given to the potential re-use of vacant retail premises and other commercial space for other uses, something that can be a controversial topic in Harrogate.

“However, if planners do not grasp and act on this issue, we could be preventing economic stimulus at a time that we have never needed it more.

“As part of this, we need to be completely realistic as to how much business and commercial space can be viably re-provided on site, and indeed how much affordable housing can be funded as part of mix use redevelopment proposals.”

He added that greater flexibility in the planning system would be key for those changes and to help high streets flourish.

The town centre has a Masterplan drawn up by the borough council, that was published four years ago. Critics argue that times have changed with increased online shopping and now the impact of coronavirus lockdown on the town centre.

 

The masterplan suggests the pedestrianisation of James Street which is the source of real concern to some traders

The Stray Ferret contacted Harrogate Borough Council leader, Richard Cooper, in advance of this article to request an interview on the vision for the town and traders concerns, but received no response.

Independent Harrogate have already made their voices heard and called for a rethink of the plan.

In its manifesto, the trade association said the town centre faces a crisis amid the pandemic and described the plan as “outdated”.

The publication of the manifesto was another example of the growing frustration among traders who feel the town’s future and its high-end shopping, which it is famous for, is at stake.

A spokesperson for the group said:

“We are terribly worried, there are various businesses that have already closed.

“The government have been supportive, but the local authority have got to be supportive too.”

At this critical juncture, there is a responsibility on policymakers to shape plans for the future. But there is also a responsibility on us to shop local if we want the stores we like to survive.