Harrogate district covid infection rate begins to rise again

The Harrogate district’s covid rate has begun to increase again after another 74 infections were confirmed today.

The weekly rate had fallen rapidly from 534 cases per 100,000 people on July 18 to 247 cases yesterday.

But after a spate of infections in recent days the district’s rate now stands at 267, which is above the North Yorkshire rate of 257 but below the England rate of 282.

Data from Public Health England also showed that a total of 229,143 people in the district have had covid vaccines and 123,145 have received one dose.

Currently, eight people are in Harrogate District Hospital for coronavirus treatment and no deaths from covid have been recorded at the hospital for almost four months.

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Harrogate district reports 38 daily covid cases

The Harrogate district has recorded another 38 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 263 cases per 100,000 people.

Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 251 and the England average is 287.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported a covid-related death in three-and-a-half months.

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

However, latest figures show that the hospital is treating nine covid patients.

Elsewhere, 123,101 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 105,585 have had a second dose.

Local motorcyclist killed in Nidd crash

A motorcyclist has died following a collision in Nidd on Saturday afternoon.

The man, aged in his 30s, was travelling from Ripley on the B6165 Ripley Road when his blue motorcycle collided with a silver Toyota Hilux driving in the opposite direction at about 3.25pm.

He died at the scene.

North Yorkshire Police has not revealed the man’s name but said in a statement he was local.

It are appealing for anyone who saw what happened, or saw either vehicle in the moments leading up to the crash, to get in touch.

You can call 101, select option 1 and quote reference 12210171943 or email PC Nicola Gill at Nicola.gill@northyorkshire.pnn.police.ukMotorcyclist.

It was one of two fatal crashes in North Yorkshire over the weekend.

A woman in her 60s died following a two-car collision on the A6055 between Catterick and Leeming Bar at about 2.20am this morning.

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Daily Harrogate district covid infections lowest since June

Just 45 covid infections have been recorded in the Harrogate district — the lowest 24-hour figure since June 26.

Today’s data, from Public Health England, reduces the district’s seven-day average rate of infection to 260 per 100,000 people.

The rate peaked at 534 on July 18 and has more than halved in the fortnight since.

The current rates for England and North Yorkshire are 291 and 260 respectively.

Harrogate West and Pannal has had the most infections in the district in the last seven days, with 42, followed by Ripon South and East with 35.

At the other end of the scale Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley has had just 12 cases.

There has not been a covid-related death at Harrogate District Hospital for almost four months now.

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Stray Views: Starbeck is worse than Bradford and Birmingham

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.

Harrogate is in trouble and needs to wake up

I can only say what I see. I am originally from Birmingham and still have my business there. We lived in Cottingley, near Bradford for 11 years before moving to Starbeck in 2018 to be near our daughter and grandkids.

Since living here, I don’t see any difference between Harrogate, Bradford or Birmingham. In fact, Starbeck is a lot worse. It’s certainly the worst place we have lived in for over 40 years and most of that time was around Birmingham, including Erdington, Longbridge and Bournville — where my business is.

The drug problem here is horrific (like everywhere), and almost everywhere I can smell pot smoking. Harrogate is overcrowded, and the roads into the town are ridiculously busy, as bad as the big cities, mainly due to the poor planning of the town over the decades.

I lived in Redditch in 1989-1990 and Harrogate compares to that time, but probably worse. Prospect Road area is now renowned for drugs, antisocial behaviour, supermarket trolleys everywhere daily, and broken glass and litter strewn everywhere, and if it is cleared up it’s back the same within days.

Harrogate town centre is just like any other which is struggling, and no one is doing anything about it other than seemingly making things worse with wrong decision after wrong decision. Don’t get me wrong, it is still nice, but the spiral is seemingly downwards and it needs radical common sense thinking to turn the town around.

Is Harrogate in decline? It seems it’s been in decline for a long time, and the town needs to wake up because as an outsider if this is my experience of it then the town is already in trouble.

Martin Morris, Starbeck

Harrogate is clean, tidy and beautiful

I read some of the comments about “is Harrogate in decline”? I recently moved to Harrogate after spending over 20 years living and working in Northampton. To me Harrogate is a lovely place to live.

It is clean, tidy, mostly well organised and has beautiful buildings and parklands. The hospitality industry is excellent. I am so happy I moved here and the locals are genuinely so friendly.

A note of caution: I went back recently to Northampton for a few days. They are one of the towns / cities trialling e-scooter hire schemes. They should be avoided at all costs until proper well informed regulations are in place and enforced. Scooter riders are a law unto themselves, riding on pavements with no helmets and multiple riders. They are then just abandoned on pavements until they’re next hired, causing blockages and generally look a mess and tacky.

I hope Harrogate resists such schemes until proper regulations are in place and enforced. You have a lovely town and i am very happy to be part of it now.

Peter Hannon, Harrogate

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Devolution will lead to more waste and incompetence

Any councillors expressing regret over the government’s decision to choose to have a super-council for North Yorkshire should focus instead on their own faults for backing the present arrangements, which have never worked very well anyway.

Now we have a proposed local authority, which will be even more unaccountable to the public and which will only consult on its own terms.

Experience shows that there are no savings with large unitary bodies, only more waste and incompetence in handling larger revenues. You only have to listen to the regular facts uncovered by the TaxPayers’ Alliance and similar to see what we are in for now.

Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has overruled many public concerns and is going the wrong way here too. It’s up to councillors and MPs to make him realise there are no advantages to Joe Public — only poor control of costs

John Holder, Harrogate

 

Another 74 covid cases reported in Harrogate district

The district has recorded another 74 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 285 cases per 100,000 people.

Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 290 and the England average is 304.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported a covid-related death in three-and-a-half months.

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

However, latest figures show that the hospital is treating nine covid patients compared with just three a week ago.

Elsewhere, 122,817 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 103,654 have had a second dose.

Harrogate district covid rate falls below 300 per 100,000 people

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen below 300 cases per 100,000 people for the first time since the start of July.

The rate now stands at 294 having declined rapidly from a high of 534 just 11 days ago.

Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 311 and the England average is 321.

The district has recorded another 79 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported a covid-related death in three-and-a-half months.

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

However, latest figures show that the hospital is treating nine covid patients compared with just three a week ago.

Elsewhere, 122,628 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 103,445 have had a second dose.

Harrogate district covid rate continues to fall

The Harrogate district has recorded 69 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

It means the district now has a weekly average of 307 infections per 100,000 people, compared with 534 just 10 days ago

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 340 and the England average is 350.

Harrogate District Hospital has not recorded a covid-related death in three-and-a-half months.

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

However, latest figures show that the hospital is treating nine covid patients compared with just three a week ago.

Elsewhere, 122,607 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 103,352 have had a second dose.

Harrogate’s Otley Road set for yet more roadworks

Five weeks of travel disruption on Otley Road in Harrogate will begin on Monday due to work by Northern Gas Networks .

Work will take place around the Otley Road/Harlow Moor Road junction and is scheduled to finish on Friday September 3.

The news is unlikely to be welcomed by commuters or businesses that have had to contend with an almost continuous set of roadworks on the road since January.

Yorkshire Water dug up the surface to re-lay water pipes and Northern Powergrid did the same to relocate electricity infrastructure.

Next week’s works are to prepare for the delayed Otley Road cycle route.

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North Yorkshire County Council told the Stray Ferret that work on the cycle route will begin on September 6.

Nigel Smith, head of highway operations at the council, said:

“Utility works by Northern Gas Networks and Northern Powergrid remain to be completed before work can begin on phase 1 of the Otley Road cycle scheme.

“Northern Gas Networks is scheduled to be on site between August 2 and September 3, and Northern Powergrid between  August 16 and 27. BT has confirmed its works can be carried out during the Harlow Moor Road junction improvement.

“The anticipated start date for phase 1 of the Otley Road cycle scheme, which includes the Harlow Moor Road junction improvement, is September 6 this year, subject to the above utilities completing their work.”

Harrogate district records 31 covid cases as rate drops dramatically

The Harrogate district has recorded 31 covid cases in the last 24 hours as infection rates continue to decline sharply.

It is the joint lowest daily figure since June 20, when 15 infections were recorded.

According to the latest seven-day figures, the district has an average of 348 covid cases per 100,000 people. It was as high as 534 just nine days ago.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 376 and the England average is 373.

Harrogate District Hospital has not recorded a covid-related death in three-and-a-half months.

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

Latest Public Health England figures show that the hospital is treating three covid patients.

Elsewhere, 122,555 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 103,213 have had a second dose.