Twelve new covid cases confirmed in Harrogate district

A further 12 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the Harrogate district in today’s data from the Office for National Statistics.

It brings the total number of confirmed cases in the district to 7,366 since the pandemic began last year.

Meanwhile, the seven-day infection rate for the district remains at 59.7 cases per 100,000 people, having dropped this week to the lowest it has been since September.

It is above the average for North Yorkshire, which is 47.2. Only Richmondshire has a higher rate, at 63.3, with all other districts in the county having a lower rate.

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At Harrogate District Hospital, no further deaths have been reported in patients who tested positive for coronavirus. The total number of people who have died at the hospital since the beginning of the pandemic remains 165.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust confirmed this week it had 42 in-patients who had tested positive for covid, a drop of three from the previous week. It had discharged 20 patients in the same time period, bringing the total number treated and discharged to 554.

The number of vaccinations administered in the district has risen this week to almost 60,000, according to data from the NHS. Across the UK, people aged 56 and above are now being invited to book appointments for the first dose of their vaccines.

Nearly 60,000 receive covid vaccine in Harrogate district

Nearly 60,000 people have had the first dose of a covid vaccine in the Harrogate district, according to the latest figures.

Statistics from NHS England show a breakdown of the number of people vaccinated by region and age.

A total of 58,293 people in the district have received a first dose so far – 36% of the district’s population.

The number includes:

It comes as health bosses in North Yorkshire have started to offer vaccines to over 60s and those with underlying health conditions.

The vaccine rollout in the district also received praise from Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week. Mr Hancock said health staff in the district had done an “amazing job” delivering the vaccine.

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Harrogate is currently served by vaccine sites at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Ripon Racecourse and the former Lidl supermarket in Knaresborough.

People in the district may also be invited to the mass vaccination centre at Askham Bar in York and a site at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

Meanwhile, the company behind the new vaccination centre in Knaresborough has said it has ambitions to administer 10,000 vaccines a week from next month.

Jason Baskind, of Homecare Pharmacy Services which runs the site, told the Stray Ferret that vaccine supply is expected to improve “significantly” in the coming months.

Police warning after increase in burglaries in Harrogate

Police have issued a warning after an increase in burglaries in the Harrogate district.

Officers said there had been an rise in burglaries in the Pannal, Rossett and the Stray areas.

The force said people should ensure their windows, doors and cars were locked and to report any suspicious activity to police.

A warning has also been issued to residents in the Duchy Road area after thieves stole property from cars. Police said vehicles had been left “insecure” and urged people not to leave items on display.

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A post on North Yorkshire Police’s Facebook said:

“Last night a number of insecure vehicles were entered in the Duchy Road area of Harrogate and property was stolen. 

“This is reminder to motorists to ensure that your cars/vans are locked, even if parked on your driveway and ensure that no items of value are left on display.”

Police added:

“There has been an increase of burglaries in Pannal, Rossett and the Stray areas of Harrogate.

“Please ensure that you lock your doors, windows and cars. If you witness any suspicious activity, please contact the police immediately.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone and welcome to our traffic and travel live blog, the last one before the weekend.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update – 9am

Thanks for reading our traffic and travel blog. There have been a few police incidents this morning as well as increasing numbers of construction sites around the Harrogate district. That’s all from me for this week. I am heading over to the newsdesk now. My colleague Suzannah will be back on Monday morning.

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Property searches ‘down to 12 days’ in Harrogate district

Home buyers in the Harrogate district have been given a second reason for optimism after the extension to the stamp duty holiday announced this week.

After months of complaints that its search process was taking too long, Harrogate Borough Council last night said it has reduced the average waiting time to just 12 days.

It is down from seven weeks, which buyers and estate agents said was causing significant delays to their purchases. However, at Wednesday night’s full council meeting, cabinet member for planning Cllr Tim Myatt said:

“As of Friday, we had 146 live searches in our system. In a normal situation, we would expect to have approximately 200 searches in the system at any point, therefore we no longer really have a backlog to speak of…

“We have trained additional council staff on the necessary process to complete searches and we have also contracted additional resource externally so the team are confident that they continue their positive performance.

“The team have worked very hard to overcome the challenge posed by the influx in search requests last year and I know the team are grateful for the support from members across the entire council.”

Cllr Myatt said simple searches requiring only information from HBC were taking an average of four days. For more complex searches needing information from North Yorkshire County Council, it was taking around 16 days, giving an average of 12 days.

In response, Cllr Samantha Mearns, who represents Knaresborough Scriven Park for the Conservatives and had asked for the update, said:

“We’re very grateful to the team for getting on with that, because clearly it has caused our residents some concern. It’s fantastic that you have got that under control. It’s just a shame North Yorkshire are slowing your average down.”

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News of the extension to the stamp duty holiday in the Budget this week has been welcomed by local estate agents. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the end of the scheme for homes up to £500,000 would be moved from March 31 to June 30, followed by a tapering down to £250,000 until the end of September.

Tim Waring, head of residential at Lister Haigh, said it was a “welcome move”. He said:

“This will at least in part avoid the “cliff edge” scenario that has created so much pressure on the residential market in recent months. Help for those wanting to get on the property ladder, as opposed to renting, is another welcome move, all of which should stimulate the market during the remainder of 2021 as the lockdown restrictions gradually come to an end.”

Nick Simpson, co-founder and managing director of Linley & Simpson, added:

“The property industry was badly hit during the first national covid-19 lockdown, and the stamp duty holiday which Mr Sunak announced last June was a welcome shot-in-the-arm.

“It is clear that he has listened to the concerns of the residential property industry, and the stamp duty holiday extension, plus 95%, will particularly benefit first-time buyers and those looking to move in the next few weeks.”

The property market in the Harrogate district was extremely busy in the autumn following the introduction of the stamp duty holiday, but prospective buyers told the Stray Ferret they were concerned delays with searches would prevent them completing in time to avoid a major tax bill.

Mr Waring said estate agents will now wait to see the impact of the news on reduced search turn-around times so local buyers to take advantage of the scheme’s extension. He added:

“The stamp duty extension might relieve pressure in the short term, but it must be remembered sales have to complete, not just exchange, by the end of June to qualify. That is only three and half months away so if local search turnaround timescales don’t improve quickly, the number of homebuyers able to benefit from the extension may not anywhere near what the Chancellor might have expected.”

Harrogate district covid rate lowest for six months

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to its lowest level for six months.

According to North Yorkshire County Council figures, the average now stands at 59 infections per 100,000 people.

It’s the lowest rate since September 29, when it stood at 55.

The current county-wide average is 47 and the England rate is 74.

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Today’s Public Health England figures confirmed a further 13 cases of covid in the district.

It takes the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 7,342.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

Masham Steam Rally postponed due to covid

This year’s Masham Steam Engine and Fair Organ Rally has been postponed due to covid.

The event was not due to take place until July 17 and 18, after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

But the organisers said there were “still too many uncertainties to proceed”.

The two-day event, which raises money for Masham Town Hall, is one of the highlights of the summer not only in Masham but the wider Harrogate district. It attracts 4,000 to 6,000 visitors.

This will be the second year running that covid has forced its cancellation.

A statement by the rally committee and trustees of Masham Town Hall said:

“This has been a very difficult decision to make, especially as the next rally to take place will be the 55th anniversary event.

“However, as our planning for the 2021 event has now reached a critical stage and notwithstanding that the dates announced by the government are not set in stone, there is still a lack of detailed health and safety guidance and information on what restrictions will be in place for public outdoor events of the scale of the rally.”

The statement adds rally finances are in “a very strong position” and to commit to spending on an event that might not take place would be “foolhardy and not within keeping with charitable financial governance”.

https://twitter.com/VisitMasham/status/1367486013581516818

The next rally is now due to be staged on August 16 and 17 2022.

The rally committee is looking for “innovative ways to celebrate and focus on out fabulous industrial, agricultural and food heritage” on the weekend when this year’s event was due to take place, and has appealed for suggestions.

Masham Sheep Fair is still due to go ahead on September 25 and 26.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone and welcome to our live traffic and travel service for the Harrogate district, designed to keep you moving.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update 9am

Thanks to everyone who has gotten involved in the traffic and travel today. I am heading over to the news desk now but will be back tomorrow from 6.30am to keep the Harrogate district moving.

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Full update 8.45am

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Year of rapid growth as Stray Ferret marks first birthday

The Stray Ferret today marks its first anniversary, celebrating rapid growth in the last 12 months.

The website launched earlier than planned to cover the covid crisis as it unfolded last March, in the weeks before the first lockdown began.

In the last year, we have published more than 3,000 stories, had more than five million page views and attracted 12,000 social media followers.

The site has focused on delivering valuable news for the community during the pandemic, from keeping track of the daily covid figures to telling the stories of those doing their best to keep everyone smiling in the toughest of times, such as last year’s VE Day celebrations. Free jobs listings for the district and an index of businesses have also been added as we play our part in helping the local economy to survive.

After one of the most difficult years anyone in the Harrogate district can remember, we will also be ensuring those who have been lost in the last year are not forgotten. Our series of tributes to lost loved ones begins next week.

Meanwhile, we have also carried out in-depth investigations into how public money is spent.

We published a series of articles on the decision-making behind Harrogate Borough Council’s move to its new civic centre, showing that the failure to take into account the high value of the land at Knapping Mount when presenting the figures to the public.

We also investigated how the council’s failure to produce an acceptable local plan left the district open to predatory developers seeking opportunities to build homes for profit, rather than to meet local need.

Our journalists have broken exclusive stories, such as the hotelier who held a New Year’s Eve party in breach of covid lockdown rules and police investigations into allegations of fraud at a company where a Harrogate councillor and MP’s case worker was a “person of significant control”.

We began publishing with a small team of journalists in March 2020. Since then, the news team has grown to seven, along with four commercial staff and a content producer.

Tamsin O’Brien, owner of the Stray Ferret and former head of BBC Yorkshire, said the news team has aimed to cover the issues that people locally care about:

“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our stories, read us and followed us on social media.  We know that there is a real demand for high quality, local digital news content. 

We have really tried to cover every aspect of how covid has impacted lives and investigated the issues that matter to people. We live in a time of great change and people locally want to engage in those issues and have a voice. 

“We are frequently asked to look into matters concerning our readers, demonstrating their trust in us to report it accurately, impartially and fairly.”

Over the coming months, the Stray Ferret will be working with more local businesses to help them reach a large and loyal audience. The aim is for the site to be fully funded through advertising, with a speciality in making video shorts for social media on behalf of local advertisers.

Head of commercial Emma Harris said the next six months will be significant as lockdown measures are eased:  

“Now we have an established quality news platform, we can concentrate on driving the commercial side of the business forward. 

“Times have been difficult for businesses, however, with all legal restrictions set to be lifted in June, I am confident that businesses will want to celebrate what they have to offer and we’re looking forward to partnering with them.”

The Stray Ferret is also committed to developing journalism students and has work placement arrangements in place with Leeds University and Leeds Beckett University. In the past year we’ve had four successful work placements.

Harrogate covid testing site to become rapid test collection point

School pupils and staff in Harrogate will be able to collect rapid covid tests at the town’s testing centre from next week.

The Dragon Road site will become a collection point in the afternoon as part of a government plan to expand access to local community testing.

It comes as secondary school children will be tested using lateral flow tests twice a week from March 8.

The site will operate as a collection point for lateral flow kits from 1.30pm until 7pm.

Households with primary school, secondary school or college aged children, which includes childcare and support bubbles, will be able to use the site to collect rapid test kits.

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Primary school, secondary school and college staff will also be able to use the facility.

The site will still carry out symptomatic testing as normal in a morning until 12pm.

Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of emergency agencies, that it should not affect symptomatic testing.

She said:

“We have discussed in recent weeks that we have had plenty of spare capacity at local test sites, so this should not impact peoples’ ability to access symptomatic testing should they need it.”

Dr Turner added that she expects that more collection sites will be created nationally by the end of March.

Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital has reported another death from a patient who tested positive for covid.

According to NHS England figures, the patient died on March 2. It takes the death toll at the hospital since the start of the pandemic to 162.