Harrogate dentist drops plans to stop NHS services

A Harrogate dentist has dropped plans to stop providing NHS services after patients raised concerns.

Chatsworth House Dental Clinic proposed in August transferring NHS patients to Starbeck Dental Centre.

The provider never made a formal approach to the NHS and has now confirmed it has no intention to stop the service.

The owners of Chatsworth House Dental Clinic said in a statement to the Stray Ferret:

“At the time, the practice was merely seeking opinion from our patient base about the possible merging of NHS services with another practice in the locality.

“We decided not to pursue this any further after feedback from our patients and the logistics of such a proposal.

“We have no intention of ceasing NHS services and the practice is fully committed to providing NHS services for the long-term future at its current location.”

The decision surprised the management team at Starbeck Dental Centre, which was set to take on the NHS contract.

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Jonathan Campbell, group operations manager at Starbeck Dental Centre, said:

“I can confirm that the transfer to Starbeck Dental Centre is not happening following the unexpected withdrawal from the owners of Chatsworth House Dental Clinic.

“At Target Dental Group our aim is to provide the best possible care to the patients to both NHS and private patients of Harrogate and surrounding areas.”

Investigation into NHS dentist provision in Harrogate district

It comes after an investigation by the Stray Ferret found that just two NHS dentists in the Harrogate district are currently accepting patients and they have a waiting list of at least two-and-a-half years.

We looked into the availability of free NHS services at the 18 district dental practices listed on the NHS website.

Many have not updated their information for years. But they all fall into one of three categories: they have a long waiting list; they have such a long waiting list that they are not taking on new patients; or they no longer hold an NHS contract.

Of the 18 practices, only MyDentist in Knaresborough and AW Jones Dental Practice in Boroughbridge are taking patients — with waiting times of two-and-a-half years and three years respectively.

Harrogate council spends £350,000 on B&Bs for homeless people

Harrogate Borough Council spent more than £350,000 on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people from the start of the first lockdown until the end of last year.

The local authority worked with some businesses in the district to put people up. But it also sent some homeless people as far as Darlington, which is more than an hour’s drive from Harrogate.

People were also sent to Leeds and York.

The Stray Ferret understands it was necessary to use accommodation elsewhere because some empty hotels in the district were reluctant to accept homeless people.

From March to December, the council spent £353,000 on B&Bs and more than £1,400 on taxis for homeless people, according to council documents.

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The national government covered the cost through a grant as part of its “Everyone In” scheme to get people off the streets during the pandemic.

A spokeswoman from Harrogate Borough Council said:

“The coronavirus pandemic has placed extra demand on our homelessness service, which accounts for the additional spend in recent months.

“We received a government grant to provide accommodation for rough sleepers or those at risk of rough sleeping in the Harrogate district.

“We may sometimes use accommodation in another council area, but at all times the receiving local authority is notified and the person continues to be supported by our homelessness team.”

The Local Government Association published a report in November, which found that Everyone In saved saves by encouraging councils to take rapid action.

Liz Hancock, chair of the Harrogate Homeless Project, echoed those findings and told the Stray Ferret:

“The Everyone In scheme was a relief. We recognise how hard Harrogate Borough Council has worked and continues to work on this.

“This was emergency action but the council is now looking at long-term solutions to keep people off the streets.”

Will the real Harrogate Residents Association please stand up?

Two rival Facebook groups with starkly contrasting opinions on cycling are locked in a dispute over the use of the name Harrogate Residents Association.

The original Harrogate Residents Association is a private Facebook group with 326 members and a website.

It was set up in February by Anna McIntee and Lucy Gardiner, who feel there has been a lack of consultation about the recent spate of transport schemes promoting cycling and walking, such as changes to Oatlands Drive and the £7.9 million Station Gateway project.

They are sceptical about the merits of the schemes and fear they could damage the town.

Last week a new Harrogate Residents Association group was formed by Mark Smith.

Its members are more favourable towards the pro-walking and cycling schemes, which also include the closure of Beech Grove to through traffic and the pedestrianisation of James Street.

The “clone” group

Lucy Gardiner

The duo behind the original page told the Stray Ferret the new “clone” group was an “obvious attempt” to discredit their opinions, and should be shut down by Facebook.

Ms McIntee said posts in her group questioning the merits of walking and cycling proposals had attracted “relentless” comments from pro-cycling accounts demanding that it “provides the facts”.

Ms Gardiner was even accused of being Tara Gunne, the now infamous ‘fake’ profile that used the image of Liverpool adult entertainer Hazel May to discredit the Station Gateway proposals.

Ms Mcintee said those behind the new group wanted to “confuse and undermine” the original group.

She added:

“It’s terrible. It’s frightening. It’s not fair for the people of Harrogate to be put through this.”

She also accused the pro-cycling voices in Harrogate of being aggressive and confrontational.

Ms Gardiner added:

“We’re the real Harrogate Residents Association.”

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Bagsied the name

Mark Smith

Mr Smith told the Stray Ferret he set up the new page because he was unhappy the original Harrogate Residents Association Facebook group had been set to private, with new members having to be approved before joining.

He said the group’s selective nature made it an untrue representation of the residents of Harrogate.

His group has flourished and has now overtaken the original group with 371 members. Discussion topics include which streets in Harrogate could become one-way and cycling in the snow.

Mr Smith said he wouldn’t be changing the name of the group:

“Just because they bagsied the name first? It doesn’t mean anything in the real world.”

He said he did not set up the new group to confuse people and wasn’t aware of any aggressive comments made by members. He said “polite discussion is the difference between the two groups”.

Mr Smith added:

“If people are bedded to ideas progress won’t happen.”

Entrenched views

Whilst the feud over the name Harrogate Residents Association may appear trivial, it has highlighted the entrenched views and polarising opinions that North Yorkshire County Council’s various active travel schemes have generated in Harrogate.

Both sides agreed it was important to listen to each other opinions — although sometimes it seems this is proving easier said than done.

Harrogate Nightingale dismantling begins

Work has begun to dismantle Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital – almost a year after it was built at a cost of more than £27m.

The temporary 500-bed site was set up at Harrogate Convention Centre in April last year to cope with a surge of coronavirus cases but it has not treated a single virus patient during the pandemic.

NHS England announced this month the emergency hospital would close at the start of April and a spokesperson has now confirmed contractors have started removing medical equipment from the venue.

“The phased dismantling of NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber has begun.

“The removal of some larger pieces of equipment will require road closures which will be advertised through the appropriate channels in due course.”

The emergency hospital was one of seven built in England and although it did not treat a single coronavirus patient, it was used for non-virus diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments.

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Earlier this month, the NHS described the network of Nightingale hospitals as the “ultimate insurance policy” as it announced each of the sites, apart from those in London and Sunderland which will stay open for vaccinations, will close next month.

Health officials also said it was a “success” that the Harrogate site was not needed but there are questions over how it would have been staffed, with councillors on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee this week launching an investigation into why the facility was not used for covid patients.

Councillor Jim Clark, the Conservative chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, said there are “questions to be answered” and “lessons we can learn” around the Nightingale.

He told the health committee on Monday:

“We need to know how we would have staffed it, what capacity it would have been able to provide, where the staff would have come from and what effect that would have had on services within the rest of Yorkshire.”

It remains unclear how long the dismantling of the hospital will take and how much it will cost.

However, Paula Lorimer, director of the council-owned convention centre, previously said she was “confident” it will be ready for events to return on 21 June when all restrictions on social distancing are due to be lifted.

 

Harrogate district pauses for National Day of Reflection

People and organisations across the Harrogate district paused at noon today for the National Day of Reflection.

The day, organised by end of life charity Marie Curie, gave people in the UK the chance to remember the 126,000 covid-related deaths, which include more than 1,100 in North Yorkshire.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital were offered the opportunity to observe a minute’s silence.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital.

Hospital staff working from home were able to take part online in an event led by chaplains.

The Harrogate Bus Company, owned by Transdev, remembered staff lost during the pandemic, when buses have continued to operate despite risks.

Today at 12noon we’re joining in the 1 minute silence for the #DayOfReflection to support @mariecurieuk.

Your driver will pull over if it is safe – please join us if you are on board.

We're remembering colleagues in the Transdev family who we sadly lost over the past year ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ptvzTxt7cy

— The Harrogate Bus Company (@harrogatebus) March 23, 2021

At a press briefing today Nick Moxon, a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s home on Claro Road in Harrogate and chair of a care home visiting task group set up by North Yorkshire County Council last year, paid tribute to care workers’ efforts during the pandemic.

Speaking at North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which leads the county’s response to covid, he said:

“Staff members don’t ask to work throughout the pandemic, they have to come to work and they have managed to just adapt to the situation.

“Thank you to care staff and North Yorkshire County Council for the care and support over the past year.”

 

 

 

Harrogate walking and cycling schemes: latest plans revealed

People are being invited to comment on designs for three schemes to enhance walking and cycling in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire County Council has received £1,011,750 from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund for four schemes in the country, three of which are in the Harrogate district.

The Harrogate schemes are:

Following the first phase of consultation, North Yorkshire County Council removed a controversial one-way system for the Oatlands Drive scheme. It has been replaced with a 20 mph zone and traffic calming measures in the nearby Saints area.

NYCC says the results of the consultation will be used to develop the draft designs further before a decision is made on which schemes to progress.

Here is a look at the proposals:

Oatlands Drive

A59 (Harrogate Road, Knaresborough)

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Victoria Avenue, Harrogate

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“We thank all those residents who took part in the first round of consultation on the outline proposals for these four schemes.

“We have listened to that and are trying to reach a broad consensus about the measures we put in place, given that these directly affect people’s movements and their property.

“We think we can come up with something that addresses most of the concerns raised, but that still provides significant benefits for people who are cycling and walking.

“We encourage residents to take part in this latest consultation. Your views are important to us and they will help shape the final designs of these four schemes.”

You can take part in the consultation, which ends on April 12, here. 

Bilton by-election on May 6 after death of councillor

Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge is to elect a new county councillor after the death of Geoff Webber.

Mr Webber died this month at the age of 75 after a short illness.

He was involved in local government for 28 years, leading the Liberal Democrat group on North Yorkshire County Council and serving as leader and mayor of Harrogate Borough Council.

The election is scheduled to take place on May 6. Nominations must be submitted by April 8.

The Conservative-controlled county council currently has 53 Conservative councillors, four Labour councillors and four representing the Liberal Democrats. There are also eight North Yorkshire Independent and three independent councillors.

The by-election is being run on behalf of the county council by Harrogate Borough Council.

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Councillors will stand outside the former Harrogate Borough Council offices on Crescent Road in Harrogate to pay their respects to Mr Webber on Monday at 11.45am.

More details of the notice of election can be found here.

Independent Harrogate fears Station Gateway could damage economy

A group representing 187 Harrogate businesses has expressed concern the proposed £7.9 million Station Gateway could damage the local economy.

In its submission to the gateway consultation, which ends tomorrow, Independent Harrogate said it was ‘broadly supportive’ of the scheme’s aim to promote sustainable transport.

But it added Harrogate’s hospitality and retail sector was in a ‘fragile and critical state’ and it had ‘serious concerns’ about the scheme’s economic impact.

Robert Ogden, writing on behalf of Independent Harrogate, said it therefore opposed plans to reduce traffic on Station Parade to one lane, or to pedestrianise James Street. He added the group believed East Parade to be the best location for cycling lanes.

The submission said the town needed an updated infrastructure masterplan rather than ‘pocket planning’. Such a plan should include park and ride schemes, numerous electric car charging points and extensive cycling routes, it added.

It said Harrogate Borough Council‘s current masterplan, devised in 2016, was out of date and doesn’t cater for outlying villages, which don’t have regular bus services and don’t benefit from the focus on cycling. The submission said:

“Both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are effectively discriminating against village residents and creating a playground for Harrogate residents only, many of whom will happily get into their cars and drive to work in Leeds and other areas.”

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The submission said Independent Harrogate was not anti-cycling, adding it would support initiatives such as Cycling Sundays, whereby some central Harrogate streets were closed to traffic to encourage walking and cycling. It added:

“This cautious approach would help gauge the appetite for cycling in Harrogate without too much detrimental economic impact.”

But overall it said town centre visitors arriving by car ‘need easy access and somewhere convenient and close to the shops/cafes/restaurants to park’, adding:

“To ignore the considerable income that visitors bring will be hugely damaging and they should not be excluded from any surveys, which sadly appears to be the case at the moment.”

The government’s Transforming Cities Fund has provided funding for the gateway project, to improve the design of the town and encourage more sustainable transport.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority are delivering the initiative.

Read the full letter from Independent Harrogate here.

Harrogate to host three-week climate change festival

A three-week climate change festival will take place in Harrogate in October.

The Climate Action Festival (CAFé) is being set up by the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition  in the run-up to COP26, which is a major UN climate conference that will come to Glasgow in October.

HDCCC plans to organise three CAFé events during the festival and work with local groups, schools, businesses and organisations to inspire people into climate action.

The group has pencilled in a launch event on October 1 as well as separate events for businesses and families.

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Kirsty Hallett, communications lead for HDCCC, said she hopes the events will be fun and encourage people to act to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, help to limit climate change, and benefit nature and wildlife.

Ms Hallett added:

“We aim to involve the skills, energy and ideas of as many of our fabulous local people and organisations as possible.

“We hope the CAFé becomes an exciting period of climate focussed events which reach multiple audiences and inspire a wide range of climate actions.”

Contact email@hdccc.info if you’d like to support the festival.

Police close house in Harrogate after man dies

Police and council officers have closed a house on Mayfield Grove, Harrogate where a man died this month.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today it and Harrogate Borough Council had carried out a joint investigation following ‘concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour at the multi-occupancy address’.

Mark Wolsey, 48, died on Mayfield Grove this month. A suspect has been charged with murder and is remanded in custody pending trial.

A court approved the closure for an initial period of three months. Entry to the premises is now a criminal activity.

The police statement said the closure would give officers ‘an opportunity to work with the landlord and residents in the premises’.

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Inspector Nicola Colbourne, of North Yorkshire Police said:

“It’s really important that we support our communities who expect to be able to live in a safe environment.

“This approach demonstrates one way we can do that in a proportionate and effective manner.

“We’ve worked closely with Harrogate Borough Council, and this work continues to ensure we strengthen our communities for everyone and help the most vulnerable people.”

Dean Richardson, head of safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, said in a statement:

“It is imperative that residents across the Harrogate district feel safe in their homes and their community.

“Anyone who doesn’t feel safe should report their concerns to us or North Yorkshire Police, giving as much detail as possible.

“Where there is sufficient evidence to support any reports, we will work with the police and partner agencies, to act accordingly.”