The rate of covid in the Harrogate district has almost doubled in just 12 days.
Latest data published by North Yorkshire County Council shows the seven-day rate of infection was 691 per 100,000 people on March 13.
On March 1, the rate was 343 per 100,000 people, the lowest it had been since September 2021.
The Harrogate district has the highest infection rate in North Yorkshire. Ryedale is the next highest at 632. The England average is 661.
The government no longer publishes daily data on how many people have caught the virus.
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Instead, it publishes the number of infections over the past seven days. In the Harrogate district, this was 1,207 people, a rise of almost 50% on the previous week.
NHS England figures show that the most recent covid-related death took place at Harrogate District Hospital on February 28.
There have been 232 covid-related deaths at the hospital since the pandemic started almost two years ago.
Teenagers steal equipment from Spofforth primary schoolSix teenagers who stole equipment from Spofforth Church of England Primary School are being hunted by police.
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened on Saturday, March 5, at 5pm.
Officers said they believed the teens attempted to break into the school on School Lane in the village, but were unsuccessful.
The suspects then broke into the school’s equipment shed, stole multiple items and caused criminal damage to school property.
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A police statement added:
‘Irrecoverable’ housing debts written off by Harrogate council doubles“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help identify suspects in relation to the incident. Five of the suspects have been described as teenage boys and one of the suspects has been described as a teenage girl.
“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Fleming.
“You can also email ethan.fleming@northyorkshire.police.uk. Please quote reference number 12220039590.”
The amount of “irrecoverable” housing debts written off by Harrogate Borough Council has almost doubled this year.
A total of £61,853 in debts owed to the council have been crossed off for 2021/22 – almost twice as much as the £32,277 in 2020/21 and the largest amount in at least the last six years.
A council spokesperson said the increase was mostly down to debts owed by temporary accommodation users who have stayed at council hostels, houses and flats across the district, but were no longer traceable.
The spokesperson also said a large amount of the debts were owed by council tenants who died and had no assets to pay what they owed.
The spokesperson said:
“There are a number of reasons we have decided to write off the debt from former council tenants. The majority of these come from either tenants that have sadly passed away or tenants who left their property and remain untraceable.
“In both instances, there is almost no way that this can be recovered and, if it could, may ultimately cost more than the outstanding debt to try and do so.
“The vast majority of the increase – compared to last year – is due to the level of rent debt being written off for former temporary accommodation tenants.
“If the former tenant applies for council housing at a future date the arrears can still be recovered.”
Before any debts over £500 are recommended for write off, the council said at least two searches are carried out using tools such as the National Anti Fraud Network before further checks are made for housing benefit or waiting list applications.
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Meanwhile, the majority of debts under £500 are considered to be “too small to make the cost of recovery action worthwhile,” the council said.
Largest debt £2,903
There were almost 100 incidents where council tenants had died in 2021/22, with the debts totalling almost £19,000.
The single largest debt was £2,903 owed by a temporary accommodation user who was considered to be untraceable after ending their stay.
A decision to write off all of the debts – some of which predate this year – was taken by the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, Cllr Graham Swift, at a meeting on Monday.
Cllr Graham Swift
A report to Cllr Swift said the council had made “sufficient bad debt provision” in its finances to accommodate the write offs and that this would not impact on its spending plans.
It also said the amount of the provision made will be reviewed and increased if necessary for any future write offs.
The council spokesperson added:
Developer appeals decision to reject Harrogate district eco-homes“The total arrears represent less than 0.5% of the annual housing debit.
“The money is a loss to the housing revenue account, which is funded almost entirely from rent income from tenants, rather than through council tax.”
A developer has appealed a decision to refuse plans for nine new eco-homes near Flaxby.
Holmes Planning Ltd submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the development in October 2021.
It would have seen houses built to environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.
It also included self-build and custom homes on the site at York Road in Flaxby.
The council rejected the plan on the grounds that it was outside the development boundary, the affect on the character of the area and because the number of homes was below the council’s requirement per hectare.
However, the developer has appealed the decision to the government.
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In documents submitted for the challenge, the developer argued that there was not enough custom build developments in the district.
It said:
“The appellant submits that the custom self-build deficit is so severe, and likely to get worse, that this material consideration outweighs any departure from the Harrogate District Local Plan and that the appeal site is suitable for custom self-build and the appeal, if allowed, would be secured for custom self-build through the Unilateral Undertaking.”
A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
Ripon pub set to close this weekendThe Black A Moor Inn near Ripon is to close on Friday after six years under the current landlords.
The inn, based in Bridge Hewick, announced its impending closure on social media today.
In a Facebook post, it said:
“To all of our lovely supporters, it is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that we have made the very hard decision to close.
“We’ll be open for a few drinks on Friday evening at 7pm for a last hurrah and we hope to see as many of you as we can. We’ll be in contact with upcoming reservations over the next few days.
“Thank you to everyone for all your support over the last 6 years.
“Love from all of the team.”
The inn’s website is no longer live but on its social media, it describes itself as a “relaxed, family-run pub and restaurant”.
The inn also has five en-suite rooms and hosted functions.
The Stray Ferret has approached the inn for a comment but hadn’t received a reply by the time of publication.
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Harrogate district unemployment continues to fall
The number of people receiving out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has fallen again.
Latest monthly figures by the Office for National Statistics show 2,080 people were claiming the benefits on February 10, falling by 55 from January’s figure of 2,135.
The figure, however, remains considerably above pre-pandemic levels. In January 2020, 1,410 people claimed the benefits, which includes Universal Credit.
Universal Credit can also be claimed by people who are in work but on low incomes.
Across the UK, 4.3% of all adults are claiming the benefits. In the Harrogate district, it is 2.3%.
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In a boost for jobs in the district, a 600,000 square feet business park approved was approved last week by Harrogate Borough Council.
The business park will be called ‘Harrogate 47’ because it will be built at Flaxby close to junction 47 of the A1 (M). The developer Opus North believes it could support 2,000 jobs.
It is allocated as the main strategic employment site in the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which identifies where development can take place.
Wheelchair lift installed at Ripon Arts HubAccessibility to Ripon Arts Hub has been dramatically improved with the introduction of a wheelchair lift.
For David Suddards, this means that he can now watch performances at the hub’s downstairs studio theatre with his wife Josie.
Mr Suddards, a wheelchair user, played a key role in raising awareness of the need for access for disabled people at the Allhallowgate building
This in turn led to successful applications for funding, which enabled purchase of the £12,000 lift and its installation, plus another £2,000 for associated building works.
The wheelchair lift means that disabled people can access the hub’s downstairs theatre.
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The lift was officially opened by Mr Suddards, when he became its first passenger.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s great to know that I can come to enjoy performances here and accompany my wife. Up until now I hadn’t been able to attend the studio theatre and the same applied to other people in wheelchairs.”
The opening was attended by Jeremy Dunford, a trustee of Ripon Disability Forum and also a wheelchair user.
He said:
“I’m pleased to know that disabled people now have access to watching theatre and other performances at the Arts Hub.
“They have the same right as an able-bodied person to be given access to facilities in the city and if you provide access for people with disabilities, you also make a building more accessible for other people, such as parents with prams and pushchairs.”
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Hub committee member and fundraiser Hannah Ruddy said:
“Improving accessibility for visitors and performers was a top priority when we drew up plans to reconfigure the building, to turn it into a flexible space for use by all elements of the arts community, as well as other visitors.
“In addition to the lift, we have an accessible toilet on the ground floor and have widened doorways to the green room and studio which also helps people with impaired sight.
“Once we’ve raised more funds, the next stage is to introduce a toilet for people with access requirements on the lower ground floor.”
Robotic cats to provide comfort for North Yorkshire dementia patients
Knaresborough Rotary Club has delivered a ‘litter’ of 27 robotic cats to the charity Dementia Forward.
The charity, which is funded by North Yorkshire County Council, provides dementia support across the county.
During lockdown, it launched a ‘cafe in a box’ scheme in which dementia patients receive special boxes tailored to their individual interests.
Robotic cats have been included in the boxes to patients who have been clinically assessed to obtain maximum benefit from robot cat therapy.
Research has found the therapeutic value of robotic cats can be more beneficial than drugs for certain conditions.
The latest delivery takes the number of robotic cats donated by Knaresborough Rotary Club to 50.
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Each robot weighs about the same as a cat and interacts in a lifelike way, creating a calming effect.
They miaow, purr, lick their paws and can become long-term companions to dementia patients.
Jill Quinn, chief executive of Dementia Forward, said people became attached to the cats after the charity trialled them.
Jill Quinn, chief executive of Dementia Forward.
Ms Quinn said:
Free school cycling lessons to be ended in North Yorkshire“They are very lifelike and purr and react when they are stroked.
“They can provide comfort for a person with dementia who is anxious or unable to settle by providing a calming effect.
“One example we witnessed was a woman who was very into arts and crafts, but her dementia meant that she would get anxious and wasn’t able to stay involved in any activity.
“But once we placed the cat on her knee she sat and stroked it – it created a calming distraction which enabled her to stay focussed and enjoy the activity.”
North Yorkshire County Council is facing criticism over a proposal to charge thousands of parents for their children’s school cycling proficiency training
Leading councillors will on Friday consider accepting the Department for Transport’s grant to run Bikeability, the government’s national cycle training programme, which teaches practical skills as well as how to cycle on roads.
A proposal to formally accept the grant has been made despite the sum being less than the £46.20 per pupil received last year. The shortfall in total is almost £90,000 and could lead to a £10 charge for parents to partially offset this.
An officers’ report states alongside an increased subsidy from the council, from September will be the first full year in which fees will be charged to the families of more than 4,000 primary school pupils for the course.
The officers’ report warns:
“For the programme to continue, funding will be required to meet the shortfall, through either a full charging scheme or another source.
“This may impact on the number of schools booking courses.”
The report reveals that for the current academic year, the council accepted a grant of £168,165 to provide up to 3,637 places on the scheme, which employs seven fixed-term, part-time staff and approximately 40 casual relief cycle trainers.
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For the coming academic year the Department for Transport has offered grant funding of £186,165, to provide 4,137 places, equating to £45 per pupil.
The report adds:
“For the programme to continue, funding will be required to meet the shortfall, through either a full charging scheme or another source.”
The council’s executive member for access, Don Mackenzie, said while the charge to parents was coming on top of many other cost of living increases, the benefits of undertaking cycling training were very significant.
Describing the £10 fee as “a very small amount”, Cllr Mackenzie said Bikeability had become more important with the switch to more sustainable modes of travel and in the drive to tackle obesity.
He said:
“It gives people better skills on the road, improves their confidence, and once trained encourages more people to take up cycling. To me it is up there with life skills such as learning to swim.”
‘Dreadful idea’
However, the authority’s Liberal Democrat and Labour group leaders, councillors Bryn Griffiths and Eric Broadbent, have called for the ruling Conservative administration to rethink the levying charge, saying it would prove divisive in some schools and an unacceptable extra charge for many families.
Cllr Griffiths said putting an extra £10 charge on people already struggling to make ends meet due to mounting fuel and food costs was “a dreadful idea”.
He said:
“An exemption for children on free school meals would be an excellent idea.”
Cllr Broadbent added he was concerned the charge could lead to some children from financially struggling families not taking the course and while £10 would seem a minimal sum to many people, it would represent another item those on low incomes would not have budgeted for.
Wanted man fell to death from tree in Harrogate district, inquest toldA man wanted by police was found dead in a field in the Harrogate district, an inquest has heard.
Marcin Mikulski, 42, fell from a tree after telling police he intended to kill himself. He had also posted a video on social media up a large tree saying this was where he wanted to “fall asleep”.
His body was found in a field 500 metres from the A6055 near Staveley, which is between Boroughbridge and Knaresborough.
The inquest heard he was a suspect in a serious incident in Boroughbridge.
The precise nature of the incident wasn’t revealed but statements from senior police officers revealed a helicopter and police dog units were deployed to find him.
Mr Mikulski died on July 16 last year — when police began searching for him.
Police intelligence and phone tracking enabled police to narrow their search for Mr Mikulski but his body wasn’t found until the day after his death.
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Coroner Oliver Longstaff told the inquest that letters addressed to family, which were found in Mr Mikulski’s car, acknowledged his involvement in the crime and expressed regret and upset at his actions.
Mr Longstaff said the letters, along with phone calls to the police, were enough to suggest Mr Mikuslki did intend to end his life.
He recorded a verdict of suicide at Friday’s inquest in Northallerton.