The number of covid patients in hospitals across North Yorkshire has risen for the third week running.
According to figures published today, there are now 131 people in the county’s hospitals with covid, up 10 from 121 last week. Two weeks ago it was 109.
The latest figure includes 10 patients in Harrogate, eight in Scarborough, 37 in York and 76 in South Tees. Last week there were nine covid patients in Harrogate.
Nineteen of the patients are being treated in intensive care units, which is four fewer than a week ago.
In an update given to the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group stated it was important everyone comes forward to get vaccinated.
She said:
“We know that getting the vaccination is the best thing we can all do to both help prevent spread of the disease and to reduce the number of people who become seriously unwell or die from covid.
“Vaccinations remain available to everyone.
“Recently the vaccination programme has been opened to 16 and 17 year olds who are being contacted by the NHS to book an appointment to receive their first vaccination dose.
“In addition, the vaccine will be available to those young people in the 12 to 15 age group who either live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis) or have a condition that means they are at high risk from covid.
“These young people are now being identified and will be contacted shortly to make an appointment to receive their vaccination.”
Lib Dems ‘angry about loss of Harrogate funfair and Christmas market’
The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has expressed anger at the loss of the Harrogate Christmas Market and the annual funfair on the Stray.
In a statement sent to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Pat Marsh asked why the council couldn’t have been more supportive of the events and pro-active in making them happen.
She also said there was a danger of the Harrogate district acquiring a “reputation of not welcoming and not being supportive of special events”.
She said:
“The Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council are very angry at the way that annual events are being cancelled.
“First it was the local Christmas market. That meant local artisans won’t be able to sell their products to residents.
“Now we have the annual funfair being cancelled. That is something thousands of young people have enjoyed over many, many years.
“Why has this been allowed to happen? Why couldn’t the council be more supportive?”
Cllr Marsh also said the decision to prevent the events from going ahead was not one made by all councillors. She was not allowed to attend talks between council officers and the former Christmas market organisers. She said:
“We need to ensure that all councillors are kept informed and have a chance to have an input, we are all elected by the residents to act on their behalf.”
We sent Cllr Marsh’s statement to Harrogate Borough Council for a response but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
The family that stages the funfair told the Stray Ferret the event would not go ahead because Harrogate Borough Council hiked the charge for using Stray land.
Ruby Wilson, who has taken over organising the fair on behalf of her dad John Jameson, said the council had doubled the price from £5,000 to £10,000.
With additional costs on top, including VAT and a £2,000 deposit in case the Stray is damaged, Ms Wilson said the event was no longer viable. The council disputes the claims.
Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence for the Harrogate Christmas Market due to concerns about coronavirus, overcrowding and terrorism.
After three weeks of wrangling with the council, co-organiser Brian Dunsby admitted defeat in his battle to hold the event on Montpellier Hill.
It later emerged the council had been engaged in talks with Manchester-based organisers Market Place Europe in March and has now ramped up those discussions about staging an alternative Christmas market in December.
Is Brexit to blame for Harrogate’s hospitality jobs crisis?Some people believe the equation is simple – the 2016 referendum led to Polish bartenders or Spanish housekeepers deciding to leave Harrogate and return to their home countries. But is it that simple?
The statistics appear to back up the theory.
According to latest ONS figures, the number of non-British residents living in the Harrogate district has halved from its peak of 14,000 in December 2014 to 7,000 in December 2019 — and the covid pandemic has undoubtedly hastened a further exodus since then.
Dan Siddle is the general manager of the Crown Hotel in Harrogate which has been employing chefs, housekeepers and waiters since the 19th century.
The hotel has a workforce of 50 and Mr Siddle said recruiting currently is “the hardest I’ve ever known it” due to a perfect storm of factors, including Brexit and covid.
He told the Stray Ferret the hotel lost several members of staff from the EU that have been difficult to replace.
“Those eastern Europeans had been here a long while. They were my supervisors but they chose not to come back to the UK. That’s three or four important roles. “
However, he thinks “we don’t have to rely on people from Europe” and can employ people locally if they offer an attractive package.
The hotel has raised the hourly wage for housekeeping staff to £10 an hour, has begun to offer roles that come with accommodation and is paying transport costs from Leeds.
He says hospitality is “a fantastic, great industry to work in” but the perception of tough working conditions needs to improve to attract UK workers.
“[The jobs crisis] has given the industry a kick up the behind. We need to change the way we work. The perception didn’t come out of nothing.”
Lisa Headford is the branch manager of Travail Employment Group, an employment agency based on Princes Street that recruits front-of-house and catering positions across the district.
She told the Stray Ferret that the office is busier than ever and they are having to turn hospitality businesses away because they simply don’t have enough employees on their books to fill roles.
“Everyone is looking for staff. We get calls every day. We have learned to say, ‘we cant help you, we’ve exhausted our resources’.”
However, Ms Headford believes 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.
She said the lockdowns have forced many people who worked in hospitality into jobs with more sociable hours — and they’ve liked the change.
“We had a lot of casual chefs but they’ve become a delivery driver and they haven’t gravitated back.”
Ms Headford said that despite Brexit, Harrogate is still a “very multicultural town” with working families from across the EU.
“These people have been established for a very a long time and are part of our town.”
Are you looking for a job or have a job vacancy you need to promote to as many people as possible? Take a look at the Stray Ferret jobs page to see the latest jobs or to submit a new one. Every job is placed on our homepage and posted on our social media channels.
Tomorrow we’ll be reporting on the views of hoteliers and bars owners in Harrogate on what they think should change to attract local talent.
Harrogate council began talks with new Christmas market organiser in MarchHarrogate Borough Council began talks with MarketPlace Europe about staging a new Christmas market in March — four months before it dropped the original organisers.
The council has said it refused a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, the previous organisers, because the emergency services had raised safety concerns about the site on Montpellier Hill.
However, Brian Dunsby, one of the previous organisers that set-up the market in 2012, has been suspicious of the reasons given and last week accused the council of “having their own agenda”.
The council, which promotes a ‘Buy Local’ message, said yesterday it began “low-level” talks with the Manchester-based events firm in March.
It said this was to ensure a contingency option was in place “in case the Montpellier Hill option was not able to proceed”.
Last week, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper said he expected the new company, which will operate a 10-day Christmas market in December, would bring a “first-class offering” to Harrogate.
A council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret yesterday:
“Harrogate Borough Council departments speak to external organisations about various service provision matters day-in day-out. It is important to do so to ensure if events or services suffer delivery issues then a contingency option is in place.
“Therefore it should not surprise anyone that we have spoken to MarketPlace Europe, a nationally recognised market provider, as a contingency option in case the Montpellier Hill Christmas market option was not able to proceed. This has been happening at a low level since March but has, following the refusal of the licence for the Montpellier Hill event, stepped up considerably in recent weeks.
“Bearing in mind the response from our partners to the application for the use of Montpellier Hill it is as well we do have these discussions. Had we not done so there would be no chance to have a Christmas Market at all. The fact that we had an open discussion with MarketPlace Europe gives us the chance to put in place an alternative now that the former organisers have decided not to proceed with this year’s Christmas market. The emphasis is on having a brilliant event that pulls people into our town.
“No officers, councillors or departments discussing the licence with the former Christmas Market organisers were involved in any early discussions about markets with MarketPlace Europe.”
The Stray Ferret has contacted MarketPlace Europe about its plans for the Harrogate Christmas market but has not received a response.
Historic Harrogate funfair cancelled after ‘council price hike’The annual August Bank Holiday funfair on the Stray in Harrogate, which dates back to 1953, will not take place this weekend following a row over fees.
The family that stages the event told the Stray Ferret the event would not go ahead because Harrogate Borough Council had hiked the charge for using Stray land.
Ruby Wilson, who has taken over organising the fair on behalf of her dad John Jameson, said the council had doubled the price from £5,000 to £10,000.
With additional costs on top, including VAT and a £2,000 deposit in case the Stray is damaged, Ms Wilson said the event was no longer viable.
Mr Jameson was at the first fair when the Corrigan family ran it. The Shaw family later took it on before the Jameson family stepped up. He told the Stray Ferret:
“The council did not provide any reason for such a big price hike. We just cannot afford to pay that, the fair does not make that much money.
“Our family has strong connections with Harrogate so it is sad for us to not be able to put the fun fair on. We will try again next year.
“Over the years we have been forced to give up the number of days we use the Stray and now we are facing a big price hike. It just does not feel fair.”
But the council disputed the claims. A spokesman said:
Harrogate district to get solar farm powering 15,000 homes“The council have not had any contact from the organisers concerning the funfair since April this year, meaning it is now too late for them to submit an event plan for the coming weekend.
“If they contact us directly we are more than happy to discuss arrangements for future years”.
Harrogate councillors have today backed plans to build a large solar farm between Harrogate and Ripon.
The proposal, submitted by Elgin Energy EsCo Limited, would see Cayton Solar Farm built near the village of South Stainley.
The company says the site could generate 50 megawatts of electricity during peak operation and potentially power 15,000 homes in Harrogate with green energy. It will operate for 30 years.
A report before today’s planning committee said the farm, which will take up the equivalent size of 150 football pitches, would bring “significant renewable energy benefits” to the district and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A total of 58 people wrote to the council to object to the application but 85 people wrote supporting it.
Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council voted unanimously to defer the plan to officers for approval at a planning committee meeting today.
Cllr Pat Marsh, member of the planning committee, said:
“I can see the concerns of those who live close by, if it gets its permission. But, if you go down the A30 into Cornwall, there are solar panels all the way down virtually. It’s there and it exists.
“If you go into the centre of Spain, coming down the mountains into the very middle of Spain there are huge solar farms. I do not hear anybody shouting and screaming and the reason is because we have seen the impact of global warming.
“For once this district is becoming proactive.”
Andrew Mott, agent for the developer, told the committee:
“Considerable care has been taken in the design of the development to ensure that the environmental considerations are protected and biodiversity promoted.
“There are economic benefits in terms of employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases of the proposal. There is approximately £120,000 per year in business rates.”
Residents that oppose the application are upset about the loss of green fields and agricultural land.
In its submission the council, South Stainley Parish Council objected to the perceived negative impact on the environment. It said:
Fallen tree blocks busy Harrogate road“The area would become sterilised from an agricultural, environmental and recreational point of view.
“While maintenance staff in white transit vans will prosper, what happens to the farm workers and rural lifestyles which depend on local agriculture?”
A large tree has fallen in Harrogate and partly blocked a busy road, causing problems for traffic this afternoon.
The tree fell at around 2pm on Forest Lane near Hookstone Chase Primary School.
Nobody is believed to have been hurt even though the road attracts heavy traffic.
Our traffic system is showing congestion on nearby Wetherby Road and Hookstone Chase as a result.
It is unclear at this time how long it will take to clear the blockage or whether anybody was injured in the incident.
The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Police for further details but has yet to receive a reply.
Lesley Thompson told the Stray Ferret:
“I was just travelling down the road when I saw the road was blocked. It looks like a massive bough has fallen off of the tree.
“When I saw it I went to make sure that nobody was hurt and I could not see anyone or any cars in there.”
Homeless people blocked off from Harrogate Debenhams
The owner of the former Debenhams building in Harrogate has blocked off the entrance after business owners raised concerns about homeless people in the area.
In recent days workers have built and painted a wooden structure to block off any shelter at the building on Parliament Street.
It comes a couple of weeks after Lucy Gardiner, a local business owner, posted pictures of homeless people in the entrance on the Harrogate Residents Association Facebook group.
Homeless people took shelter in the entrance. Photo: Lucy Gardiner
She told the Stray Ferret at the time:
“There is no shame in having standards and wanting the best for the town you love. This post was about awareness and having the conversation and wanting the best vision and future for Harrogate.
“I don’t have all the answers obviously but all I will say is that no-one can possibly walk past a homeless person sleeping in the street and think that this is okay.”
The Stray Ferret approached Harrogate Homeless Project for comment at the time but did not receive a reply.
Wetherby-based property firm Stirling Prescient, which owns the former Debenhams building, confirmed today it had “dealt with the issue” when approached by the Stray Ferret but declined to comment further.
Stirling Prescient has recently unveiled it plans to demolish the site, which closed in January, and replace it with a brand new building with apartments and space for businesses on the ground floor.
The application warned that if the site cannot be brought back into use the empty building could become an “eyesore” and “blight the high street”.
Harrogate Leeds fans raise £2,000 for Alzheimer’s Research with Stan Bowles calendarLeeds fans in Harrogate have raised more than £2,000 for charity after a chance purchase of a calendar of 1970s footballer Stan Bowles.
Dave Rowson, who is a member of the Harrogate and district branch of Leeds United Supporters Group, held a three-day fundraiser last weekend to raise funds for Alzheimers Research UK.
A charity gig at the Manhattan Snooker Club, a “picture with Stan” day outside the Old Peacock pub at Elland Road and Stan Bowles pairs at the Black Swan Bowling Club in Harrogate helped to raise £2,721 for the cause.
A picture with Stan has become a running theme throughout the fundraising initiative and has seen Leeds favourite, Jermaine Beckford, and Angus Kinnear, managing director of the club, posing for a snap with the calendar.
All of this was a result of Dave making a chance purchase of the calendar of the QPR striker on a trip to Loftus Road in 2020.
Stood outside the Old Peacock on Saturday, some Leeds supporters would have been forgiven for asking why they were being asked for a picture with a QPR player.
Dave said:
“If I had a pound for every time I answered: ‘What’s the Stan Bowles connection?’”
During Leeds’ trip to QPR last year before covid, a charity worker thrust the calendar into Dave’s chest as he was walking past to collect his match ticket.
Initially Dave accepted the gift and went to walk on, until he was told it cost £2.
Instead of handing the calendar back, he decided to use it as a means of getting into some of the home fans-only pubs before the game by posing as a QPR fan.
Later, he offered to give the calendar as a gift to a fellow supporter, Sarah, for her birthday.
Dave said:
“She said: ‘‘What am I going to do with that? I am on the train and only got a small handbag, you two look after it for me!’. How ungrateful after all the trouble I had gone to.”
Left with the calendar, Dave decided to take random pictures of Stan with punters in bars on trips out across the country and in Harrogate.
The move snowballed on social media and, as a result, Dave decided to put the calendar and the “picture with Stan” theme to better use.
Bowles, who played for QPR for seven years and was voted the club’s greatest ever player in a 2004 fans poll, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2015.
He’s among a generation of iconic players, such as Jeff Astle, Nobby Stiles and Jack Charlton, who have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s after their playing career.
Recent studies have linked the risk of dementia in former professional footballers with persistent heading of the ball.
In the past week, former Liverpool player Terry McDermott and Manchester United favourite, Denis Law, became the latest retired players to be diagnosed with dementia.
The news that professional footballers are at further risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia as a result of heading the ball has since caused further study and debate over the risk to players.
Dave and the Harrogate branch of Leeds supporters are continuing their fundraising. You can donate on their JustGiving page here.
Are Harrogate’s high housing costs to blame for the hospitality recruitment crisis?A recruitment crisis at Betty’s forced the famous cafe to close its doors early last week — and other Harrogate hotels, pubs, and restaurants have spoken of difficulties in employing people.
But could Harrogate’s notoriously high rental and property costs be to blame?
The average rental property in Harrogate for a one-bedroom flat is £656 a month. For an adult earning full-time minimum wage at a local bar, this would make up more than half their monthly pay packet — and that’s before council tax, bills and other expenses.
The Stray Ferret spoke to two people who work in housing in Harrogate to ask if the two are linked.
Sarah Hart helped create Harrogate Community Land Trust four years ago after becoming demoralised with the cost of housing in the town.
She thinks high living costs have made Harrogate an unviable option for people earning hospitality wages. She predicts more venues will be forced to reduce their opening hours due to staff shortages.
“House prices and rents have been pushed up even further whilst wages haven’t. It’s a crucial link and we’re at a critical point. It’s not a housing crisis, it’s becoming an armageddon situation.”
Ms Hart says that with both petrol prices and housing costs increasing, hospitality workers who could commute to Harrogate from Bradford and Leeds will decide to find jobs closer to home.
She believes an intervention in the housing market such as rent caps is needed so hospitality workers can afford to rent in the town.
Rent caps have been used in Germany and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also believes it could help solve the housing inequalities in the capital.
Ms Hart added:
“Housing in Harrogate benefits the few and not the many.
“If people had lower rent they’d have a higher disposable income.
“I met someone from Harrogate paying 60% in housing costs. There’s nothing left at the end of the day. No money for summer holidays or for her kids to do to stuff. If she had a lower rent she’d have money to spend in the local economy. It’s as basic as it gets.”
Harrogate-based property consultant Alex Goldstein believes that job shortages in hospitality are primarily due to covid and not high property or rental prices.
Mr Goldstein said property prices and rents have increased in Harrogate whilst wages have stagnated but he believes it’s wrong to suggest that Harrogate’s economy is overly dependent on low-paid hospitality workers. He thinks that increasing housing costs are good for the town as it brings in investment.
He said:
“Some people feel they’ve been left out in the cold. You’ve got to earn your keep. If you can’t afford to live in Harrogate you should move elsewhere.
“You work up the ladder and Harrogate opens up for you. You’ve got to bide your time. If you can’t afford something, you can’t afford it. A lot of society wants it here and the world doesn’t work like that.”
On the subject of rent caps, Mr Goldstein said the “draconian” measure would unfairly hurt investors who purchase buy-to-let properties in Harrogate which he believes gives the local economy a boost. He said: “We can’t make sweeping changes to the market”.
He added:
“Harrogate has always been an expensive part of the world and it’s increased hugely.
“But there will always be winners and losers.
“I would like to live in Mayfair with a Lamborghini, but I can’t afford it.”
Owners of Harrogate hospitality venues have complained for years that it’s not easy to fill roles pulling pints or waiting tables in the town.
Whether this is because of low wages, Brexit, undesirable working conditions, too many bars and restaurants, or high living costs, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason.
But in Harrogate, there is a feeling the issue of attracting and keeping good hospitality staff won’t be solved anytime soon.
Are you looking for a job or have a job vacancy you need to promote to as many people as possible? Take a look at the Stray Ferret jobs page to see the latest jobs or to submit a new one. Every job is placed on our homepage and posted on our social media channels.
Tomorrow we’ll be looking at the acute shortage of chefs and the impact of Brexit on the recruitment crisis.