Another 60 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 299 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 267 and the England average stands at 264.

No covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England statistics.

It means the death toll at the hospital since March 2020 currently stands at 186.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• 20 parents protest against covid vaccine for children at St Aidan’s
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Meanwhile, the hospital is currently treating eight patients for covid according to the latest government figures.

Elsewhere, 127,636 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 119,305 have had a second dose.

The Harrogate district has reported 82 covid cases, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 322 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 289 and the England average stands at 273.

No covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England statistics.

It means the death toll at the hospital since March 2020 currently stands at 186.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• 20 parents protest against covid vaccine for children at St Aidan’s

Meanwhile, the hospital is currently treating eight patients for covid according to the latest government figures.

Elsewhere, 127,505 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 119,115 have had a second dose.

People in the Harrogate district are being urged to ‘go purple’ next month to support Saint Michael’s Hospice.

Saint Michael’s, which is based at Harrogate’s Hornbeam Park, has adopted the idea for Hospice Care Week from October 4 to 8.

Hospice UK, the national charity representing UK hospices, organises Hospice Care Week annually to raise awareness and funds.

It has suggested dressing purple, purple-themed bake sales and purple-themed work days as possible ideas to raise money during the week.

The Victoria Shopping Centre in Harrogate will be lit up purple for the event. Other businesses, schools and individuals are being encouraged to join in.

Saint Michael’s, which has 11 charity shops in the Harrogate district, spends £6 million on end-of-life services each year.

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Tony Collins

Tony Collins, chief executive of Saint Michael’s, said:

“This is a great opportunity to get creative and have fun whilst raising funds to ensure Saint Michael’s can continue to help local people living with terminal illness and bereavement.

“We hope that as many people as possible take part, spread the word and raise money for their local hospice.

It is hoped Go Purple will become an annual event if successful.

Further information is available here.

The Harrogate district has recorded another 56 covid infections, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

It takes the total number of infections over the past seven days to 588 — a figure that has fallen by 14% on the previous seven days.

The district’s weekly infection rate has declined to 383 per 100,000 people. The North Yorkshire rate is 318 and the England average stands at 295.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• Harrogate hospital reports sixth covid death in three weeks

It was also revealed today that the Knaresborough vaccine clinic is moving to larger premises in the town.

The clinic will relocate to Chain Lane Community Hub from September 27 where it hopes to offer up to 1,500 covid and flu vaccinations a day.

The current site, at the former Lidl, has been in use since February but with winter approaching Homecare Pharmacy Services, which runs the clinic, wanted a larger space where people could wait indoors.

Harrogate Borough Council has installed two new beehives to help pollinate flowers and support biodiversity.

Once established, the bee colonies will produce honey that could be sold to the public.

A council spokesman said the beehives had been put on council-owned land off Wetherby Road, although the precise location wasn’t revealed.

They will be looked after by Terrence Ogilvie, a keen beekeeper who works in the council’s parks and street cleaning team.

If the experiment proves successful, the council could introduce more beehives across the district.

Conservative councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“Bees are a vital part of the ecosystem to help pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.

“By introducing beehives we are further playing our part to help stop and reverse the decline of wildlife in the district.”

Read more:

• Nidderdale police issue ‘bee vigilant’ warning after attempted hive heist
• Harrogate’s ‘rewilding’: untidy or biodiversity boon?

Earlier this year, the council’s new rewilding strategy saw swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, left untouched by mowers and strimmers to allow nature to grow free and attract bees.

The idea was welcomed by many, who saw it as a sign that the council was serious about improving biodiversity. But others, who cherish Harrogate’s reputation for organised and elegant planting, believed it made the town look untidy.

A new scheme to help young people become better citizens is to be introduced in the Harrogate district.

Philip Allott, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, is currently finalising details for the Good Ctizenship programme, which will be launched across the county this autumn.

Mr Allott, who succeeded fellow Conservative Julia Mulligan as commissioner this year, said the scheme would spread the message that it is an honour and privilege to live in this country but also comes with responsibilities.

It will recruit the likes of former police officers and teachers and operate in partnership with schools. A provider for the scheme has yet to be announced.

Mr Allott added the programme would not lecture young people but rather “get them to identify what they want to do to help their communities and then give them the tools to do that”.

He said:

“It could be giving them bags to collect rubbish or it could be about helping them engage with their neighbours.”

Read more:

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The budget for the scheme has yet to be finalised but Mr Allott said:

“It won’t require a ton of money but it will require a ton of passion.

“Society has become less tolerant and young people will become a greater force for good if they buy into it. We will work with youth partnerships to roll this out.”

The Harrogate district has reported 69 covid infections, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 425 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 362 and the England average stands at 331.

NHS England statistics no longer report deaths from patients who tested positive for covid on a weekend.

Earlier this week, Harrogate District Hospital recorded its sixth covid death in three weeks. It means the death toll at the hospital since March 2020 currently stands at 185.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• Harrogate mum refused entry to uniform shop for not wearing face mask
• Harrogate hospital reports sixth covid death in three weeks

Meanwhile, the hospital is currently treating 11 patients for covid according to the latest government figures,.

Elsewhere, 127,267 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 117,707 have had a second dose.

The Harrogate district has reported another 84 covid infections, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 448 per 100,000 people, which is above the North Yorkshire rate of 377 and the England average of 342.

According to the latest figures, Harrogate District Hospital is treating 11 patients for covid.

The hospital has not recorded any covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• Harrogate mum refused entry to uniform shop for not wearing face mask

It means the number of people at the hospital who have died from covid since March 2020 stands at 185.

Elsewhere, 127,253 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 117,655 have had a second dose.

The average salary of jobs advertised in the Harrogate district from January to March 2021 rose by 28% compared with the same three-month period last year, according to a report by Harrogate borough council.

The quarterly economic overview of the Harrogate district says that the average salary for jobs advertised in the first quarter of this year was £32,000 – up from £25,000 in 2020.

The five sectors providing the largest number of employment opportunities were human health and social work; education; professional, scientific and technical; wholesale and retail trade; and accommodation and food services.

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• ‘It’s working well’: Campaigner counts cyclists using Harrogate’s Beech Grove

• Boroughbridge streets flooded as storms hit Harrogate district

However, the number of vacancies in the care and hospitality industries in particular are causing headaches.

It was reported this week that around 500 care workers in North Yorkshire could be forced out of their jobs when compulsory vaccines come into force in November.

Mike Padgham, chair of the non-profit organisation Independent Care Group, which provides care services in North Yorkshire and York, told the local democracy reporting service about the scale of the crisis. He said: 

“The staffing crisis is now so bad that providers are battling day-to-day to cover shifts both in homes and in looking after people in their own home.

“Many say it is the worst they have known in more than 30 years and so we need urgent action now before the added pressures of winter turn this into a total meltdown.”

EU nationals in the Harrogate district

Meanwhile, the number of national insurance number (NINO) registrations by EU nationals has decreased year-on-year by 64%.

Between January and March 2020, there were 67 NINO EU registrations.

In the same period this year, there were only 24 NINO EU registrations in total.

There are some signs that this may change though. Last month, the branch manager of Travail Employment Group, which recruits front-of-house and catering positions across the district, spoke to the Stray Ferret about the impact of Brexit on hospitality recruitment.

Lisa Headford believed it’s overly simplistic to blame Brexit on the recruitment crisis in hospitality. She said:

“It’s not definitive. We’ve had a number of people come back to Harrogate from Poland as during the lockdown they didn’t have a permanent job, and they wouldn’t have got furlough. They are now gravitating back.”

Good news for the high street

The council report also shows an improving picture for the town centre, with the retail vacancy rate decreasing from 8.6% in January-March 2020 to 6.8% in 2021.

Councillor Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development, said:

“It is really encouraging to see that the economy is recovering well across the Harrogate district. Especially with shop vacancy rates reducing.

“As the district starts to exit coronavirus lockdowns and returns to a more normalised ways of living, we are keen to ensure that key investment projects are pushed ahead to ensure the local economy recovers and thrives.

“We will also not want to do this alone, and have already been working proactively with a wide range of people and organisations and will continue to work in collaboration with our partners to share ideas and maximise resources we have available to us.”

Streets in Boroughbridge have been left under water this evening as flash floods hit the Harrogate district.

After a balmy day, the forecast storms arrived by late afternoon.

Loud thunderclaps were heard in Harrogate but it was Boroughbridge that felt the full brunt of the weather.

Springfield Drive (pictured) and Springfield Grove were both left treacherous.

Springfield Drive

Local resident Mandy Lambert, who took the photo above, said the state of the drains was a long running source of concern among residents.

“It’s ridiculous how flooded we get.

“The council won’t do anything unless it goes into the residents’ houses.”

A yellow weather warning remains in place in the district for thunderstorms tonight until 11pm.

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