Another 75 covid cases reported in Harrogate district

Another 75 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating nine patients for covid.

Harrogate hospital has recorded no covid deaths in the last 24 hours. However, earlier this week it reported its first covid death in four months.

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It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 180.

The district’s weekly rate has increased to 323 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 296 and the England average is 320.

Elsewhere, 123,810 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 110,396 have had a second dose.

Ninety-nine covid infections reported in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district has reported 99 covid infections, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating nine patients for covid.

Health officials in North Yorkshire said earlier this week that a “sharp rise” in the number of patients being treated for covid has been reported at the county’s hospitals.

Yesterday, Harrogate hospital recorded its first covid death in four months.

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It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 180.

The district’s weekly rate has increased to 314 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 292 and the England average is 315.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning. It’s Connor with you on this cloudy Thursday morning. The roads have been a little quieter in the last few weeks but make sure to let me know if anything slows you down.

This blog, brought to you by the HACS Group, brings you live travel updates until 9am.

Were you stuck in a jam? Are there some new roadworks on your route? Let’s help everyone have a smoother journey by letting me know so I can add it to the blog.

Please give me a call on 01423 276197 or join our Facebook group ‘Harrogate district traffic and travel’ to give any updates.

9am – Full Update 

Thank you for getting involved this morning. We do have a system to keep an eye on the traffic but it cannot beat local reports. So do keep getting in touch. Leah will be back with you tomorrow from 6.30am. I am heading over to the news desk now.

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning but there are a few areas to look out for across the Harrogate district, mainly around construction works.

Our system is showing heavy traffic here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning but there are a few areas to look out for across the Harrogate district, mainly around construction works.

Our system is showing heavy traffic here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning but there are a few areas to look out for across the Harrogate district, mainly around construction works.

Our system is showing heavy traffic here:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning but there are a few areas to look out for across the Harrogate district, mainly around construction works.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning but there are a few areas to look out for across the Harrogate district, mainly around construction works.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning. Make sure to keep checking in as the morning goes on.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

Appeal for information after £1,000 damage to Nidd Gorge car park barrier

The Woodland Trust is trying to track down a white van that caused £1,000 of damage to a barrier at the entrance to the Nidd Gorge car park on Ripley Road in Scotton.

Witnesses say they saw the van hit the height restriction barrier as it attempted to enter the car park on Saturday July 31 at about 10am.

The heavy gauge steel barrier was bent backwards and several visitors in the car park at the time gathered around the van. But the vehicle’s number plate has yet to be identified.

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The Woodland Trust owns the car park and maintains the woods in the gorge, which is a popular location for hikers and dog walkers.

A spokesperson for the Woodland Trust said:

“The Woodland Trust is a charity that protects woodland areas for the public good. It relies on donations to do this. Ideally, we would like to identify the driver or vehicle so we can try to recover the approx £1,000 repair cost and not divert it from other essential woodland protection work.

“We would be grateful if anyone can help us to identify the van or driver, by providing a vehicle number plate for example.”

Anyone with information can contact The Woodland Trust on 0330 3333300 or email: enquiries@woodlandtrust.org.uk . Emails should have the subject heading ‘Nidd Gorge – Height Barrier Damage’.

Eighty-five covid cases reported in Harrogate district today as rate rises

Another 85 covid infections have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating seven patients for covid. However, no covid-related deaths have been reported at the hospital for four months.

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 remains at 179.

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The district’s weekly rate has increased slightly to 283 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 267 and the England average is 307.

Officials in North Yorkshire warned this week the latest figure was still too high and that the wider health and social care sector faced “exceptional” levels of demand

Elsewhere, 123,672 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 109,333 have had a second dose.

Council could compulsory purchase 90 acres of land for £60m Kex Gill road

North Yorkshire County Council is in discussions with landowners to purchase 90 acres of land earmarked for a major £60 million reroute of the A59 at Kex Gill.

A diversion is planned west of Blubberhouses on the A59 at Kex Gill, which has been blighted by a history of landslides and a recent “instability issue” which cost the council £1.4 million.

The council needs to acquire the land before it can begin construction on the scheme.

Council officials said negotiations were ongoing with landowners to reach an agreement on the price of the land, rather than acquire it by a compulsory purchase order.

The Stray Ferret asked the county council how much money has been set aside for the project.

Barrie Mason, assistant director for highway and transportation at the county council, said:

“The Compulsory Purchase Orders and the Side Roads Order recently published for the A59 Kex Gill are a routine part of the process of delivering the scheme.

“Where the CPO relates to land purchase, this is being carried out alongside negotiations with landowners aimed at reaching an agreed, rather than compulsory, purchase.

“We have estimated the likely cost of land purchase, but as negotiations are ongoing it would be inappropriate to disclose these figures now, as that could prejudice those negotiations. We will, of course, make this information public once negotiations are concluded.”

The council has outlined the 90 acres of land it intends to purchase in internal documents.

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Included in the scheme is land off the A59 at Blubberhouse Moor between North Moor Road and Hall Lane, land at Hall Farm and land to the east at Hall Beck. 

Agricultural land along the A59 up to Church Hill is also outlined in the scheme. Woodland east of Hall Lane and west of the River Washburn would also be acquired.

The existing road also passes through an area designated as Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Most of the land earmarked for purchase is woodland or agricultural land.

The authority said any compulsory purchase would be used as a last resort. But the project could be delayed by a further 15 months if an objection is lodged against a compulsory purchase order.

Such an objection would lead to a public inquiry.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told a full council meeting last month:

“The compulsory purchase and side roads orders have been published with a formal consultation period until the end of August.

“The project programme without a public inquiry indicates that construction could start this autumn. On the other hand, if a public inquiry is required, the start of works could be delayed by up to 15 months.”

Mice found in ‘dirty throughout’ Harrogate district pub

A mice infestation, a dirty kitchen and cross-contamination between raw and cooked food led to the closure of the kitchen at The Black Swan Inn at Fearby, near Masham.

In a statement today, Harrogate Borough Council said a routine investigation by its food safety team found the pub to be “dirty throughout” with “potentially serious hygiene issues”.

Along with the mice and cross-contamination of food, the statement added that staff were unable to wash their hands after handling raw food.

The Stray Ferret revealed yesterday that York Magistrates Court had granted the council an Emergency Hygiene Prohibition Order for the kitchen on Friday. The council will need to be satisfied it no longer poses a health risk before it can reopen.

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The court also ordered the pub to pay £697 in costs to the council on or before September 10.

Conservative councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said:

“It is imperative that food businesses maintain hygiene and food safety at all times, even more so during the current covid pandemic.

“The council’s environmental health officers work hard to provide guidance and advice to businesses in ensuring that they can operate safely.

“Any business failing to heed and act on such advice – which then subsequently fails an inspection which identifies a risk to public health – needs to understand that we will, when necessary, not hesitate to take formal action which could well result in prosecution.”

The pub has received ‘good’ or ‘very good’ food hygiene ratings in the past five years from the council.

The Stray Ferret contacted The Black Swan for a response by telephone today but there was no answer.

Harrogate district unemployment falls by 30% in 6 months

The number of people on out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has fallen by over 30% since the height of the third covid lockdown in February, latest government figures show.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 2,720 people were claiming out-of-work benefits as of August 3 — down from 3,625 on February 11.

Currently, 3.4% of the local population are claiming the benefits, which is below the UK average of 5.4%. Financial support for those out of work includes Universal Credit and Job Seekers’ Allowance.

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Commenting on the latest figures on his website Community News, Conservative MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough Andrew Jones said predictions of “soaring unemployment” following the end of the furlough scheme have not come true.

Mr Jones said:

“The worst-case predictions of soaring unemployment as the furlough scheme was rolled back have not materialised.  At the end of September, ten weeks after most restrictions have been lifted, the furlough scheme ends completely.

“Although the Office for National Statistics say that there is no sign of redundancies starting to pick up ahead of this, we should remain cautious.”

“It is clear though that our local economy has bounced back strongly and empty shop rates in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge are lower than pre-pandemic.“

51 more covid cases in Harrogate district

A further 51 positive covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district today.

It takes the district’s total since March 2020 to 12,243, according to latest Public Health England figures.

No covid-related deaths have been reported at the hospital for four months. The total remains at 179.

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate district’s coronavirus infection rate is still “plateauing” after falling sharply last month, latest figures show.

The district’s weekly rate now stands at 266 cases per 100,000 people – a level it has remained stable at over the past two weeks.

It marks a significant decrease from when the rate peaked at 533 in mid July but officials have warned the latest figure is still too high and that the wider health and social care sector is facing “exceptional” levels of demand.

Covid rate ‘plateauing’ in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district’s coronavirus infection rate is still “plateauing” after falling sharply last month, latest figures show.

The district’s weekly rate now stands at 266 cases per 100,000 people – a level it has remained stable at over the past two weeks.

It marks a significant decrease from when the rate peaked at 533 in mid July but officials have warned the latest figure is still too high and that the wider health and social care sector is facing “exceptional” levels of demand.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said in a message to residents:

“The covid infection rate across the county seems to have plateaued. The rate is 269 per 100,000 people, against an England average of 299.

“This is still high and pressures continue on health and social care services, so our message remains ‘respect and protect’.

“We currently have 48 care homes with cases of covid, and these remain extremely challenging times for health and social care. The level of demand for hospitals, primary care, community health services and social care is exceptional.”

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Meanwhile, the number of covid patients at Harrogate hospital remains stable – with seven patients in beds as of last Wednesday.

The hospital also last week passed four months without reporting a coronavirus-related death.

The latest figures for vaccinations show a total of 123,660 people in the Harrogate district have now received their first vaccine dose and 109,028 people their second.