Teenager arrested after disturbances in Jennyfields

North Yorkshire Police has arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of attempted burglary and criminal damage in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate.

The Stray Ferret was contacted by a reader today who reported several cars were vandalised on Sutton Grange Close in the early hours of this morning. They also said there was an attempted burglary on the street.

Posts on social media suggested cars on nearby Hartwith Drive and other streets nearby had also been damaged during the night.

A police spokeswoman said it received reports of an attempted burglary at a property on Sutton Grange Close at about 3am this morning. She added:

“A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary and criminal damage. He is currently in police custody.”

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£1.5m spent on unapproved plans for Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment

More than £1.5m of taxpayers’ money has already been spent on plans for a major redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre before the project has been approved.

In what is set to be one of its biggest decisions in recent history, Harrogate Borough Council will next summer vote on the proposed project, which is currently at the design stage and could cost £47m over three phases.

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show £1.1m has so far been spent on contracts for design and feasibility works, while £275,000 has been spent on a first phase business case and £179,050 on an outline business case.

Councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for economic growth at the council, said these works have been a key part of the planning process and that they will help the authority weigh up the benefits and risks before making a final decision. He said:

“By appointing specialists – such as Cushman and Wakefield, Arcadis and KPMG – we will have a comprehensive understanding of the feasibility of the project.

“It is crucial that we redevelop the ageing site as well as introduce much more flexible spaces that will allow us to attract a broader customer base and substantially strengthen this economic impact.

“These changes are essential to stay relevant for the changing conference trade and optimise space for the future.

“The delivery of this project will also be key to the district’s covid economic recovery plan.

“Therefore, it is essential we get it right.”

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Now over 40 years old, the council says the centre is in “critical need” of an upgrade and that there is “very real risk” it will not survive without investment.

It was estimated before the pandemic that the venue attracted more than 150,000 visitors a year with an annual economic impact of £35m. However, there are now questions over how quickly the events industry can bounce back.

Even before covid, Harrogate’s position in the industry was under threat as major conferences began taking their business to bigger and newer arenas.

This growing competition has led to warnings from centre director Paula Lorimer who last week said the venue will miss out on “large and lucrative” events unless the redevelopment plans are accelerated.

‘Major failing’

The project was first revealed in 2020 when the council’s opposition Liberal Democrat group signalled its support for the plans, although it criticised the Conservative-run authority for what it described as a lack of investment in the past.

The Liberal Democrats have also accused the council over failures in planning for the initial convention centre build over 40 years ago, adding that these “mistakes” must now be avoided by ensuring the redevelopment plans are well prepared and fully costed.

The party said in a statement:

“Any potential project of this magnitude needs to be fully costed and investigated before any decision is made to go ahead.

“This was a major failing the council made when it proceeded with the conference centre development in the 1970s.

“The project increased in price from just over £8m to over £34m by the time it was ready to open in 1982 and took twice as long as originally planned.

“The future of the conference and exhibition business is probably going to be one of the most important economic decisions to be made for our area for years to come.

“We must get it right and learn from past mistakes.”

Harrogate district booster vaccines take-up reaches 80,000

More than 80,000 booster and third vaccines have been administered in the Harrogate district, according to the latest government figures.

Across the district, 2,380 booster jabs were given yesterday, as the vaccination programme is accelerated.

Today, staff at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground confirmed it has expanded its capacity to 2,000 jabs a day.

UK Health Security Agency figures show that a total of 81,463 booster and third vaccines have been given in the district so far.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported a further 87 covid cases, according to today’s government figures.

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The Harrogate district’s covid rate has fallen to 378 infections per 100,000 people.

Across the county, the average stands at 368 and the England rate is 536.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England.

Latest available figures show nine covid patients are being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss declared bankrupt

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss has been declared bankrupt, following a string of civil court cases in the past few years for poor quality or unfinished building work.

Mr Moss left a trail of shoddy workmanship across the Harrogate district and owed over £30,000 to five different homeowners who won cases against him.

A document on the public records website The Gazette says Mr Moss filed for bankruptcy last week and his application was accepted the next day. It lists him as not working and living in Summerbridge.

Mr Moss has multiple claims outstanding from people who hired him for building work. 

Last year, the Stray Ferret heard how two women won cases against him in the civil court.

They included a woman in Harrogate who said he left a £13,000 kitchen half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.

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Three different claimants have also won cases in the county court against Mr Moss this year alone.

In January, he was told to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

In February, he was ordered to repay money after a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

In April, he was ordered by a judge to repay a man from Knaresborough £1,275 after he took a deposit but failed to show up on a job.

None of them have received any money from Mr Moss.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Moss for a comment but he declined.

The Harrogate pharmacies at the forefront of the booster campaign

Besides the GP-run vaccination sites at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground and Ripon Races, nine local pharmacies are also at the forefront of the booster jab campaign.

Harrogate Pharmacy, at the back of Rawcliffe’s on East Parade, is amongst them. It has been offering vaccines since October and has so far delivered 4,000 doses at a rate of one every four minutes.

When the Stray Ferret visited to find out more about the operation, staff told us the past 18 months had been like no other but were adamant they wanted to do their bit to help.

They offer 300 to 450 vaccines per week, which are all administered by one vaccinator.

The pharmacy is now booked up until Christmas but about 10 people a day drop out so staff are happy to take calls inquiring whether there are spaces for walk-ins.

Shaun Davis, superintendent pharmacist, said more pharmacies should provide jabs to meet the government’s goal of offering all over 18s a booster by the end of the month. he said:

“They need to allow more sites to open a centre more easily — why can’t pharmacies who have offered a flu jab for years not offer covid jabs without all the unnecessary red tape? if it was to be made easier it could be a very simple walk-in service in any pharmacy.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Sunday night did not give vaccine sites much time to prepare for the sudden increase in capacity required.

“They can’t announce something yesterday saying you need it to happen today with no infrastructure in place to manage that.

“That kind of knee-jerk response to things is not very considered to me. It’s only around 40% of the population that have had their booster and if you want to get it to a stage of having a real impact on this variant they have to come up with a strategy to do this.”

Harrogate Pharmacy has been open throughout the pandemic. Staff have helped patients when GP surgeries and hospitals have been overwhelmed, as well as giving vaccines.

Charlotte Turnbull, supervisor, said:

“It’s been a lot of pressure. We took a lot of the brunt when a lot of doctors or hospitals were overwhelmed and because we are delivery-only a lot of people moved to us because we can drop it at their doorstep and walk away rather than them having to walk to a busy pharmacy.

“There needs to be more capacity and people on board, if they want all adults booked before new year.”

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Other pharmacies in the Harrogate district offering vaccinations:

Appointments are available on the NHS app for Thursday December 16 and Friday December 17 8am-6pm, Saturday December 18 8am-3pm, December 20 to 23 8am-8pm, December 28 to 30 8am-8pm and December 31 8am-3pm.

*Some of these dates have been extended today so new appointments are now online to book.

Appointments are available on the NHS app for Saturday December 18 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm, Tuesday December 21st 8am-1pm and Thursday December 30 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm.

Appointments are available on the NHS app for Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 5.45pm

Appointments are available on the NHS app Monday to Sunday 9am-1pm, 2pm-4pm and 5pm-6.30pm

Currently full until New Year

No information available at the time

No information available at the time

Waiting on vaccine supply, keep an eye on our covid coverage for more information.

Waiting for official approval then clinic appointments will be made available online. Keep an eye on our covid coverage for more information.

 

Harrogate business groups criticise ‘confusing’ Plan B ahead of Commons vote

Harrogate business groups have described the government’s Plan B coronavirus restrictions as confusing, ahead of tonight’s vote in the House of Commons.

Both Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and Harrogate Business Improvement District are concerned about the impact the measures would have on businesses.

David Simister, chief executive of the chamber, said:

“To me, Plan B makes no sense whatsoever. Whilst being asked to work from home we can still go to the gym, restaurants, pubs, bars and Christmas parties – all without the need of wearing a mask!

“If businesses do close offices, working from home will have an impact on the economy – public transport, car parks hospitality and retail will all suffer as a result.”

More than 80 Conservative MPs are expected tonight to vote against the measures, which include vaccine passports for large gatherings, compulsory face masks in more settings and the reintroduction of the work from home policy whenever possible.

Harrogate MPs Nigel Adams, Andrew Jones and Julian Smith.

Harrogate MPs Nigel Adams, Andrew Jones and Julian Smith.

The Stray Ferret contacted Harrogate district Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams to ask whether they intended to vote with the government.

However, we did not receive a response by the time of publication. MPs are expected to vote at around 6.30pm.

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Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“The message we are consistently promoting is that Harrogate is open for business – and that will continue after tonight’s Commons vote.

“If this confusing message does have an impact on Christmas trade, then I feel the government should be considering financial support to counter this.

“The rail commute into town is certainly quieter than last week, and I know a large number of office levy payers are now working from home, which will have an impact on the economy.

“However, with covid measures still in place in many businesses, I’m not sure how many employees will work from home.

“Whilst it looks likely the government will have a majority, covid passports and lateral flow tests to visit nightclubs and indoor venues will prove problematic, as who’s going to police it? I hope that people can continue to be kind and considerate to those who are working so hard in these sectors.”

77,000 booster vaccines given so far in Harrogate district

More than 77,000 booster and third vaccines have been administered in the Harrogate district, according to the latest government figures.

The government announced on Monday that all adults aged over-18 will be offered a booster jab before the end of this month in an effort to tackle the Omicron variant.

UK Health Security Agency figures show that a total of 77,256 booster and third vaccines have been given in the district so far.

Health bosses in Harrogate confirmed today that a vaccination centre will be set up at Harrogate District Hospital as part of the ongoing rollout of booster jabs.

It will provide another booster option for over-18s, who can currently receive jabs at the GP-run Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon Races or one of several pharmacy sites in the district.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported a further 109 covid cases, according to today’s government figures.

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Weekly data from the UK Health Security Agency shows that five suspected cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in the district.

The Harrogate district’s covid rate now stands at 392 infections per 100,000 people.

Across the county, the average stands at 372 and the England rate is 521.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England.

Latest available figures show nine covid patients are being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

Tesco submits plans for new Skipton Road supermarket

Tesco has submitted a planning application to build a new supermarket on the former gasworks site on Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The new store would be 38,795 square feet and include a petrol filling station, 200 car parking spaces, electric vehicle charging points and 24 cycle spaces. Tesco says 100 new jobs would be created.

For access, a new roundabout would be created on Skipton Road. It would be built close to the New Park roundabout.

Tesco ran two-week consultation on the plans in September and October and received feedback from 190 people. Tesco said 70% of respondents supported its proposals.

If Harrogate Borough Council approves the plans, Tesco said it hopes to open the store in 2023.

Andy Boucher, development executive at Tesco, said:

“We are thrilled with the response we have received from local residents to our consultation and I would like to thank all of those people who took part.

“Our consultation found a majority of local residents support the proposed new supermarket.

“We will now be working closely with Harrogate Borough Council and hope to receive planning permission next year.”

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A 20-year history

Tesco has harboured ambitions to build a supermarket on the site for almost 20 years.

The Stray Ferret obtained Land Registry documents that reveal Tesco bought the site for £2.8m in 2003.

It submitted a proposal to build a supermarket there in 2009, which was approved by Harrogate Borough Council in 2012.

However, Tesco pulled out in 2016 following a changing retail landscape and years of opposition from retailers, which said the supermarket would damage local trade. An Aldi supermarket opened on the retail park just off Skipton Road in 2016.

In 2021, Tesco has signalled its intention to return to opening new large-scale supermarkets in the UK.

This year, it opened its first new superstore in six years in Penwortham, Lancashire. Four more supermarkets are scheduled to open this year.

Harrogate district unemployment rate continues to fall

The number of people receiving out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has continued to fall, despite the furlough scheme ending at the end of September.

Latest figures by the Office for National Statistics show 2,225 people were claiming the benefits on November 11, which is 150 fewer than October’s figure of 2,375.

The benefits include Universal Credit, which can also be claimed by people who are in work but on low incomes.

The furlough scheme ended on September 30 and supported around 28,600 jobs in the Harrogate district for 18 months.

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Harrogate district students can apply to £1,000 fund to pay for books

Harrogate district students studying away from home can apply for a grant to help pay for books, equipment or travel costs.

Any student currently taking a post-16 education course at a school, college or university outside of the Harrogate borough is eligible to apply.

The fund, which is administered by North Yorkshire County Council, has been made available by Haywra Crescent Educational Trust following the sale of a former education property in Haywra Crescent, Harrogate.

This year the trust has around £1,000 in total to distribute to students.

Further information and application forms are available by emailing post16@northyorks.gov.uk

The closing date for applications is January 31.

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