Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground will reopen as a coronavirus vaccination centre for two weeks in December, it has been announced.

The venue – which was used as a vaccination site for most of the year before closing in August – will reopen at the beginning of December for an expected busy period of booster jabs, the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said.

A CCG spokesperson said: 

“Plans are in place to run pop-up covid vaccination clinics at the Yorkshire Showground at the beginning of December for two weeks, as this is when we are anticipating a peak in the number of patients eligible to receive their booster jabs.

“In the meantime, patients over 50 and those in other priority groups who are now eligible for their booster dose, who would prefer not to wait until December, have a number of additional options they may wish to consider, including booking an appointment at an alternative vaccination centre via the NHS National Booking Service or 119.

“Patients can also use this service to book a first or second dose of the vaccine if they’ve not yet taken up the opportunity to be vaccinated.”

The announcement comes after an NHS official last week told a press briefing that the showground would reopen as a vaccination centre, but did not say for how long.

Read more:

• Great Yorkshire Showground vaccine centre to reopen
• Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination site closes in June
• Exclusive: Great Yorkshire Showground gave 117,000 vaccines in six months

More than half of all over-50s across the UK have now received a booster jab and the government is urging greater take up to ease pressure on the NHS ahead of a difficult winter due to covid pressures and long backlogs.

There is also a focus on getting more 12 to 15-year-olds vaccinated after the recent record levels of infections in Harrogate was linked to young people.

High infections rates

The high case rates led to health officials urging schools in the district to reintroduce face masks and postpone some activities to try keep infections under control.

Every headteacher was also contacted with the offer of extra support and advice.

The Great Yorkshire Showground operating as a vaccine site in February.

Latest Public Health England figures show just over 16% of 12 to 15-year-olds in the Harrogate district have received their single vaccine dose.

An NHS North Yorkshire CCG spokesperson said: 

“We continue to encourage people to get vaccinated. The coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective.

“They offer the best protection against covid.”

Figures also show a total of 130,232 people in the Harrogate district have received their first vaccine dose and 121,915 people their second.

That equates to 83% and 77% of the population respectively.

No figures are available for booster jabs.

A vaccination centre will reopen at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate amid surging covid cases driven by the transmission of the virus in schools.

An urgent press conference called today to address the Harrogate district’s high infection rate heard the Yorkshire Event Centre will be used to administer jabs again.

Currently there is no specific date for the return of the showground vaccine centre, which was last used in June. However, the meeting heard it will coincide with the “peak of the booster programme”.

Today’s meeting was convened hastily in response to the district’s seven-day coronavirus rate reaching 733 cases per 100,000 people.

It is the highest in Yorkshire and one of the highest in England.

Read more:

• 83-year-old among first to be vaccinated in Harrogate
• Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination site closes in June
• Elderly queue for two hours in rain for booster jabs at Knaresborough

Rachael Durrett, head of communication and engagement at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said during the meeting:

“In response the Yorkshire Event Centre site will be stood up later in the year to cover the peak of the booster programme.

“There are also pharmacy sites that service the Harrogate area, including at Knaresborough. We will share a full list of pharmacy sites.”

‘Vaccine centre will not clash with events’

A spokesperson for the Great Yorkshire Showground said the vaccine centre will not clash with any of its existing events.

The vaccine centre will open in Hall 2 straight after the Christmas fair, which runs from December 2 to 5.

The Stray Ferret is running a live blog of the Great Yorkshire Show brought to you by Lister Haigh. We will keep updating this page with stories from the showground throughout the event. 

Day one of the Great Yorkshire Show has opened to fabulous weather and a sell-out crowd.

This year’s show run for an extended period from today until Friday. It will mean that the maximum capacity of 26,000 a day can spread out for social distancing.

Visitors are encouraged to take a lateral flow test before they arrive to prevent the spread of the virus.

Are you a local stall holder? Send an email by clicking or tapping here.

4pm – Harrogate farrier competes on world stage at Great Yorkshire Show

Harrogate’s Toby Pedley has been making horse shoes alongside the best in the world at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The local farrier competed at the forge today near the white gate and will be there for the rest of the week.

2.30pm – ‘World first’ virtual skydive raises funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research

Bethany from the Stray Ferret tried out Yorkshire Cancer Research’s ‘world first’ virtual sky dive at the Great Yorkshire Show today.

The charity has a stall in the Welcome to Yorkshire section of the show. People can donate £10 to try out the virtual experience over Whitby Abbey.

Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive of Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s great to be out here fundraising again. We are really proud to be here and it is amazing to be able to see people again.

“Even the sun has come out, we are very pleased. Cancer research is not cheap. Something key for us is that we help people get their cancer diagnosis early.

“We also need to treat cancer better but it is all expensive and that is why fundraising events like this are so important for us.”

Dr Kathryn Scott with Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason and a Yorkshire Cancer Research volunteer.

1pm – Meet the Great Yorkshire Show coronavirus marshals

If you have been at the Great Yorkshire Show today then you may have seen the coronavirus marshals, who are new this year.

Coronavirus restrictions are in place as the show dates falle just ahead of the expected lifting of all lockdown measures next week.

Marshals Nirmala D’Cunha and Peter Butler told us about their role:

“Well it’s mostly going to areas where people are crowding together, just to remind them. People have been absolutely great.

“We are carrying around masks as well in case people need them. People should be able to enjoy the show but also be safe.

“It is still an infectious disease and we need to be careful. The restrictions may be going next week but we still need to be sensible from then.”

12pm – A photo gallery from the first morning back at the show

We have been taking some pictures around the Great Yorkshire Show this morning. Can you spot yourself in our gallery?

10.35am – Have you seen the dancing sheep Nobby, Dougal and Susie?

Did you catch the dancing sheep? Our reporter is down at the show today speaking to visitors as the first day of the Great Yorkshire Show gets underway.

10.20am – Everything you need to know about the Show’s covid restrictions

For the first time the Show will be held over four days and have a limit of 26,000 visitors each day.

Other covid-safe measures include:

• Adapting the Show to use as much outdoor space as possible
• Multiple sanitiser points and changing layouts to avoid pinch points
• Track and Trace will be at the hospitality points
• Reducing the Grandstand capacity to 25% – 30% with tickets purchased in advance
• Extra security to disperse any crowding
• One way system around the Food Hall
• Hall 2 closed to public although the entrance will be a celebrity meet & greet
• Face coverings to be worn in all indoor areas, including toilets and the Grandstand, and encouraged when in queues
• Table service only at bar areas

8.40am – Gates open to first visitors

Visitors keen to get into the Great Yorkshire Show arrived early this morning as soon as the gates opened.

We spoke to one of the first people through the doors. Gillian is a dedicated visitor of the show and told the Stray Ferret:

“I am excited to be back. This is my 50th visit to the show. I have been every year since I was 12-years-old apart from the two that didn’t happen.

“Every year I go to about 22 different shows but there is only this one in Harrogate and another in Driffield going ahead this year.

“I am from Hovingham near Malton so I set off at 6.30am, I thought I would be at the front row of the car park but I am on the fifth.

“It seems everyone is excited to be back to do something normal again.”

This history is written for The Stray Ferret by celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam. 

This week sees the 70th anniversary of the establishment in Harrogate of a permanent site for the Great Yorkshire Show. Since its premiere in 1838 at Fulford, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society had held its annual show at various locations in Yorkshire, including Harrogate, when its invariable location was on the Stray.

First Hound Show in Yorkshire 1859  Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

On one occasion, in July 1873, a special track was laid across the south Stray to assist the Great Yorkshire Show.

According to the press:

“Special railway constructed on south Stray in connection with Great Yorkshire Show. Line reaches Stray over Paley land before crossing Stray near the highest of the two bridges before curving round to opposite Prince of Wales Hotel where it reaches a block composed of tons of ballast timber.

“About the centre of the rails a large landing stage has been erected. Up to this landing stage a double line of railway has been laid, about 320 feet long. From the landing stage to the block two and three sets of rails are laid; whilst there is a small line at either end for shunting and other purposes…

“Now it is completed – and probably today the first load of implements will run along. The siding is about equidistant from Leeds Road and the show yard. Therefore everything will have to be carted the short distance from the landing stage to the show yard, which, we apprehend, will be entered at a gate on the west side.”

In the event, the Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate was a huge success and the turnstile receipts for 38,491 people being over 3,000 more than any previous show. But it is well that nobody has tried subsequently to build a railway line across the south Stray.

The event returned to Harrogate in July 1926 and the Royal Show followed in June 1929, when it was attended by the Duke of York, later King George VI.

Great Yorkshire Show 1937  Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

By the middle of the 20th century, the show’s governors felt it was time to have grounds of their own, and in June 1949 they wrote to Harrogate Borough Council to say that they wanted to make the “Hookstone site” their permanent showground.

In making this approach, it was clear that the Yorkshire Agricultural Society was seeking the help of the corporation in acquiring the land. The council had already set up a special sub-committee to consider the terms on which the society’s application might be recommended to the Finance Committee.

The council welcomed this application with open arms, as it would bring an important attraction to Harrogate on an annual rather than a sporadic basis, and also took the Stray out of the matter, where opposition to any enclosure had become an embarrassment.

As well as an agreement with the council, the society had to acquire land from Hookstone Wood owned by a Mr Otty. In October 1950 the town clerk advised the Finance Committee that agreements had been reached both with the corporation and with Mr Otty.

Things then progressed with some speed, as the society intended to hold its 1951 show at the new permanent site. At the 1951 AGM, the show director, Sir John Dunnington-Jefferson, announced that there had been increases in all sections of the show, following the news of the permanent site of 200 acres.

Great Yorkshire Show, 1953 Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Access to the site would be through a 21ft carriageway at the southern boundary, which Harrogate Corporation, at its own expense, would continue through Hookstone Wood. This demonstrated the corporation’s enthusiasm for the project.

When the 1951 Great Yorkshire Show opened at its permanent Harrogate site on July 10 1951, the three-day event attracted 63,900 visitors and entrance fees of £20,000.

Another aspect of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s move was that it, together with Hornbeam Park and the privately owned Rudding Estate, acted as a much-needed barrier to the expansion of housing estates to the south of the town.

This year’s Great Yorkshire Show starts on Tuesday – the Stray Ferret will be covering the event every day as well as bringing you comprehensive travel updates from 6.30am.  

Our thanks to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for the fabulous archive photographs in this history.  

Read More: 

• Great Yorkshire Show to go ahead
• Malcolm Neesam history: Harrogate’s gas-powered buses

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination site administered more than 117,000 vaccines in its six months of operation, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

The centre gave its final jab on June 19.

Doctors involved in setting up the site have said they are “immensely proud” of what it achieved.

Dr Cath Dixon, Yorkshire Health Network Director and GP at Knaresborough’s Stockwell Road Surgery, told the Stray Ferret that it was a “privilege” to be part of the vaccination programme.

She said:

“It was a real privilege. 

“I was one of the doctors working there in December when it opened and it was a privilege to work with those patients who had been hibernating for so long.

“The emotions ran high that day.”

Dr Dixon said the site was a “great challenge” to set up, but that GPs achieved what they set out to do and vaccinate the vulnerable.

She added that the site would not have been able to do that without the many volunteers and marshals who kept the centre running on a daily basis.

Six months of vaccinations

In total, the Great Yorkshire Showground site carried out 117,371 vaccines in the six months it was open.

A total of 17 GP practices came together to help open the site, which administered its first jab on December 22, and 450 people have worked on the vaccination programme.

Read more:

• Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day
• Tears of relief at Harrogate vaccination site

Practitioners settled on the showground because of its size and the need to keep batches of the Pfizer vaccine refrigerated on site.

At full capacity, the centre could give up to 1,800 vaccines a day and reached its 100,000th jab in April.

Dr Chris Preece, a GP partner in Boroughbridge and Knaresborough who helped to draw up the site plans

Dr Chris Preece, clinical director of the Knaresborough and Rural Primary Care Network, one of the GPs who helped set up the centre, said:

“We are proud to have been part of the largest NHS vaccination programme in history, but it’s clear that this would not have been possible without the help of our many partners.

“In particular, we are grateful for the use of both the YEC and Ripon Racecourse sites, and to their teams who helped to both establish the sites and to keep them functioning.”

He added:

“It would have been impossible to achieve what we’ve achieved without the tireless assistance of our volunteers, provided by a raft of extraordinary voluntary sector organisations across the Harrogate and rural area – as well as our own staff, both those who have combined duties with their ongoing work at GP surgeries and those who came out of retirement in order to make this happen.”

Vaccinations will still carry on at Ripon Racecourse, Pateley Bridge and Knaresborough pharmacies.

The Ripon site has so far given 24,218 vaccines and is set to continue offering appointments for second doses.

Other large-scale vaccination sites, such as Elland Road stadium in Leeds and Askham Bar in York, will also be available to Harrogate residents who have yet to have the vaccine.

Anyone aged over the age of 18 can now book a vaccination through the NHS National Booking Service website, or by calling 119.

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination centre is set to close this weekend.

After six months in operation, the site will give its final jab on Saturday.

Vaccinations will still continue in Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge. However, Ripon Racecourse will only be offering second doses, including to people who had their first jab at the showground and still need to receive their second.

The move comes as the government aims to give as many vaccinations as possible ahead of a potential lifting of the remaining covid restrictions on July 19.

A post on the Harrogate Spa Surgery Facebook page said:

“We would like to extend our huge gratitude to all the local GP practices, Yorkshire Health Network and volunteers involved in setting up and running the centre over the past six months.

“The vaccine uptake across the region has been fantastic. Thank you to our patients for their willingness to come forward for vaccination and their patience in waiting for their invitations to arrive. 

“Clinics will continue to run at Ripon Racecourse over the coming weeks for second doses only.”

The Great Yorkshire Showground site first opened its doors on December 22.

Read more:

• Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day
• Tears of relief at Harrogate vaccination site

Seventeen GP practices in the district and the Yorkshire Health Network, the federation of GPs, came together to look for a suitable venue to hold vaccinations.

They settled on the showground because of its size and the need to keep batches of the Pfizer vaccine refrigerated on site.

At full capacity, the centre could give up to 1,800 vaccines a day and reached its 100,000th jab in April.

Dr Chris Preece, a GP partner in Boroughbridge and Knaresborough and one of the practitioners who helped to set up the site, told the Stray Ferret previously that people had been left “very emotional” after having their vaccine.

So far, a total of 205,231 vaccinations have been given across the Harrogate district.

The figure includes 111,517 first doses and 93,174 second doses, according to latest Public Health England data.

It means the take-up for a first vaccine in the district is currently 78%, while for a second dose it is 65%.

This year the Harrogate Harriers will use money raised to support the cardiac unit at Leeds General Infirmary, which saved the life of club member Rob Athey.

Mr Athey, 48, who lives in Harrogate, survived an alarming chain of events that started with a grazed knee last autumn and resulted in life-saving heart surgery and a two-month hospital stay.

He said:

“I do a lot of off-road running so I picked up a graze on my knee, which caused me to contract a blood infection called endocarditis. That took over my body and damaged my heart valve. Some of the heart valve came away, causing a blood clot, and then I suffered a stroke on the back of that.

“Then it came to light that I needed open-heart surgery to actually replace the heart valve.

“I got tested positive for covid as well, which meant that when they performed the open-heart surgery – because they have to stop your heart to work on it – it was touch and go. Basically, they actually saved my life.”

Harrogate Harriers club member Rob Athey. He will run this summer’s 10k event to raise funds for LGI’s cardiac unit.

Mr Athey, who went back to work for Lloyds Banking Group in March, added:

“It’s life-changing. Life will never be the same again, but I’m so grateful for LGI for treating me. The NHS are fantastic, Harrogate ambulance service were fantastic in getting me there for all my procedures that I needed.

“I’m now recovering and I’m back trying to do a bit of running, although I can’t do too much. Because I’m a member of Harrogate Harriers I’d like to raise money for the cardiac unit at the LGI and (club chair Adam Prentis) said ‘yes, fantastic, we’d love to support that cause’.”

He has been running 5k distances as part of his training and is aiming to get around the 10k route in an hour – but insisted that his main motivation was completing the course and raising money.

Read more

• Artisan market set to return to Boroughbridge
• Questions raised over timing of Harrogate council’s UCI review

The undulating route in the Crimple Valley, south-east of the town, will start and finish at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre, next to the Great Yorkshire Showground. Although it is described as multi-terrain, 70% of the single lap is on roads.

Runners on the Run Harrogate 10k course through the Crimple Valley in 2019. Photo: Dan Oxtoby Photography

So far the 10k event is only at half capacity, with 428 places out of 1,000 still up for grabs. The entry fee is £17 for UK athletics club members and £19 for non-members.

Tickets went on sale today for the annual Great Yorkshire Show, which will be extended over 4 days in July.

The show, which is usually 3 days long, will take place this year on July 13-16 to allow for extra tickets to be sold despite a smaller capacity. It is one of the only events of its type to be taking place in Yorkshire this summer, with the majority being cancelled.

The event will take place at its usual site at the Great Yorkshire Showground, with more space being utilised to allow for social distancing measures.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which runs the event, made the decision to sell only advanced tickets this year with none being sold at the gate, to allow for a controlled capacity.

There will be a limit of 25,000 visitors a day as opposed to its usual 40,000 a day average.

Read More: 

• First ever four day Great Yorkshire Show
• No vaccine centre at the Great Yorkshire Show for 19 days this summer

The society has planned a number of changes to make the event safer for participants amidst Covid-19 regulations, such as required track and trace, changes to the layout and a one-way system in the food hall.

The showground’s grandstand will only allow 30 percent of its usual capacity to allow for social distancing.

The show will put a halt on the coronavirus vaccinations which have been taking place at the Yorkshire Event Centre on the showground since December.

The event comes after its first cancellation in 20 years last year due to the national lockdown. A number of virtual events took its place including farm tours and online workshops.

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show is returning for its 100th anniversary on Thursday. It’s one of the first large events going ahead in Harrogate post-covid.

This perennial event has made its way back into the Harrogate calendar after covid forced organisers to cancel the event last year.

It is also the first major gardening show to take place in 2021 but some changes have had to be made.

Capacity has been capped at 5,000 each day rather than the usual 60,000 guests. The show has also been adapted to suit an outdoor setting with stands and displays spaced out to allow for social distancing.

Classic show favourites like the garden, plant displays, daily demos and cook-alongs will still be going ahead.

Show Director Nick Smith said:

“After what has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone, we are delighted to be able to welcome visitors and exhibitors back to Harrogate to celebrate 100 years of horticultural excellence and help bring a little joy and colour into people’s lives again.

“Despite some fantastic progress over the last few months, we recognise that life is still far from ‘normal’ and so, inevitably, Spring Essentials will be different from the show we all know and love.”

Read More:

• Bonfire and fireworks display on the Stray a “huge gamble” for organisers to plan
• Manchester Furniture Show comes to Harrogate in July

The event’s venue, the Great Yorkshire Showground, is currently being used as a covid vaccination centre, with many people from across the district visiting each day to receive the vaccine.

The shows are run by the North of England Horticultural Society, which says it has worked closely with the showground team and local authorities to ensure visitors can have a safe and enjoyable day out.

The event begins Thursday May 20 until Sunday May 23. Tickets can be booked here.

The number of people who have received the first dose of a covid vaccine in the Harrogate district has reached 95,000.

According to NHS England statistics, 95,137 have had a first vaccine.

The figure is an increase of 710 on last week.

It comes as Amanda Bloor, chief accountable officer at NHS North Yorkshire CCG, said 45 to 49-year-olds were being invited for their first jabs at the Great Yorkshire Showground site.

Read more:

• No vaccinations at Great Yorkshire Showground for 19 days this summer
• ‘It’s been superb’: Nidderdale welcomes Pateley Bridge vaccination centre

However, she said the number invited was dependent on vaccine supply.

The CCG confirmed that 428,000 people have had a first dose across North Yorkshire and York, while 140,000 have had a second dose.

Meanwhile, health bosses confirmed the Yorkshire Showground site in Harrogate will not be open for vaccinations for 19 days this summer due to the Great Yorkshire Show and other events taking place.

The NHS has an agreement to use the site until August 13.