Harrogate Borough Council has confirmed it spent £57,360 on legal fees for the Flaxby judicial review, after initially refusing to reveal the figure.

The Stray Ferret sent the council a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking how much it had spent on the case, which was heard at the High Court in London in October.

But the council said the information was exempt from disclosure because its lawyers’ legal fees should remain private.

We requested an internal review of this decision. Joanne Barclay, acting chief solicitor for corporate services, has now overturned the council’s decision not to disclose and revealed the fee it paid.

I have reviewed this matter and I consider that the legal fees relating to the Flaxby Park Limited case should be disclosed.

“Harrogate Borough Council has spent £57,360 on legal fees regarding Flaxby Park Limited’s judicial review. At the time, the Council responded to your EIR request, it was considered to be reasonable not to release information relating to third parties.

“However, upon further consideration the Council has decided that this information should be disclosed.”

During October’s judicial review, the judge, Mr Justice Holgate, rejected a request by the council to be spared costs. He also ruled the council should pay 15% of Flaxby’s costs.

A spokesperson for Flaxby previously told the Stray Ferret 15% would amount to a “significant five-figure sum”.

The Harrogate district appeared to be much quieter today as people seemed to embrace the national lockdown rules.

With schools, shops and hospitality businesses closed, residents have been instructed only to leave home for a few essential reasons, including shopping for food and medicine, and to exercise outside.

The measures are designed to reduce the coronavirus case rates, which have spiked in North Yorkshire as well as elsewhere in the country, by significantly reducing contact between people.

It is unclear when the lockdown will end, but it will be reviewed again in mid-February.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new restrictions yesterday evening in response to an “alarming” rise in coronavirus cases.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will arrive in North Yorkshire by the end of the week – but Harrogate’s vaccine centre remains closed today.

Health leaders in the county hailed the arrival of the new vaccine today in an emergency coronavirus press briefing to reflect the latest national lockdown.

More care home residents will be able to access the vaccine as it is easier to transport, they promised in the meeting.

With coronavirus cases rising rapidly and the test positivity rate more than three times what it was before Christmas, they think the new vaccine is a “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Harrogate District Hospital also started vaccinating yesterday, with 700 staff understood to have booked for vaccine this week.

Good news about the new vaccine seems to be contrasted by an empty Yorkshire Event Centre, which has reportedly been closed for multiple days over Christmas and the new year.

Read more:

• Business owners share concerns as new lockdown begins
• Growing concern in Harrogate district over lack of vaccine communication

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)in North Yorkshire, did not say why Harrogate’s vaccine centre remains closed today. However, she said:

“I know quite rightly that there is an enormous amount of hope from the vaccine and the opportunity to roll that out as soon as possible.

“Deployment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine started yesterday and we anticipate delivery of that vaccine in North Yorkshire towards the end of the week.”

The Stray Ferret has pressed North Yorkshire CCG for further answers about the Harrogate vaccine centre, after being contacted by numerous concerned residents. We asked which days it had been open, how many vaccines had been delivered there and when it was likely to reopen.

In response, a spokesperson for the CCGs said today:

“Health professionals have been working tirelessly over the festive period to offer the coronavirus vaccine to priority groups where supplies have allowed.

“The showground has been taking deliveries of the vaccine and staff have vaccinated many vulnerable patients, including care home residents and staff over the festive period.

“Our message to everyone is to ask them to please be patient. You will be contacted when the time is right.

“Please do not ring your surgery to ask about the vaccine – there is lots of information on the NHS website.

“Our surgeries need to keep their phone lines free for patients requiring urgent care.”

A Harrogate woman whose sense of taste and smell has not recovered since she caught covid in March has said the creation of a long covid clinic in Harrogate offers “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Daniela Stockmann believes she caught covid the week before lockdown in March. Ms Stockmann is a young and active woman but says covid left her breathless.

At first, it felt like flu but then she lost her sense of taste and smell and began to struggle breathing.

In March she experienced severe pain, which she says “felt like my senses burnt away”.

Almost nine months on, Miss Stockmann still hasn’t fully regained her senses or energy. She can’t smell candles and a variety of foods are either tasteless or have a “rotten and chemical” taste. She added:

“It can be really frustrating. I start to smell and taste some things again then I discover I can’t with some things anymore.

“This week, for example, I had a hot chocolate with a piece of dark chocolate on top and it tasted vile. Anything burnt, even slightly, as well is really difficult for me to eat.”

Simple ingredients, such as garlic, onions and peppers have been removed from Ms Stockmann’s diet as she tries to learn more about her long-lasting symptoms.

Miss Stockmann also suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and says coronavirus has added to the list of foods she cannot eat, which has caused her to lose weight.

She said:

“I have tried to speak to my doctor but they couldn’t do anything. They didn’t know how to help because no one has been through it properly. It left me quite isolated.”

Read more:

• Today, the Harrogate district has recorded its highest number of covid cases since the start of the pandemic.
• Another Harrogate woman said her covid symptoms lasted months.

Ms Stockmann says she can still be left out of breath after a dog walk and can’t do as much at the gym anymore.

The news of a long covid clinic coming to Harrogate came as a relief to Ms Stockmann, who is hopeful it will help her understand why she has yet to fully regain her senses.

“I’m hesitant to keep ringing my doctors because I feel like I am wasting their time. I just suffer in silence.”

She is a member of several online forums and has discovered other long covid sufferers with similar symptoms. She hopes her story will encourage others to speak out and understand how serious coronavirus can be for all ages.

Ms Stockmann doesn’t know how long her symptoms will last but hopes if she is referred to the clinic by her GP she will find answers.

Arthurs Avenue has more potholes reported than any other road in Harrogate, according to statistics from North Yorkshire County Council.

The avenue, which Harrogate Grammar School is situated on, had 17 potholes reported In the year April 1 2019 to March 31 2020.

Roads in the west of Harrogate appear to attract the most complaints.

Arthurs Avenue displays some of the scars from work on its surface.

The second most reported road for potholes was nearby Rossett Drive, with 12.

Another street in the vicinity, Pannal Ash Road, was joint third, along with Oakdale and Wayside Avenue, with 11.

The council, which is the highways authority for the county, supplied the figures after the Stray Ferret submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Walks around Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Harrogate are among those included in a new campaign to promote Yorkshire as the walking capital of the world.

The year-long initiative, known as Walkshire, began yesterday. It includes 365 walks in God’s own county — one for every day of the year.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, which is behind the campaign, hopes it will encourage more people to discover Yorkshire’s spectacular scenery and history on foot.

Routes in the Harrogate district include:

53 miles of the Nidderdale Way

14 miles Bramhope to Harrogate via Arthington viaduct

9 miles Ripon to Fountains Abbey

8 miles Hackfall woods near Masham

5 miles Thruscross reservoir

6.5 miles Burton Leonard, Copgrove and South Stainley

2 miles Ripon canal

The routes can be viewed here:

Arthington viaduct. Credit: Welcome to Yorkshire

James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:

“2020 has been a tricky year for all and certainly a time to reflect on the importance of health and well-being so what better way to start the new year and continue through 2021 than promoting walking in Yorkshire to the world and welcoming visitors to the most diverse of counties.”

The campaign features a daily walk and businesses can sponsor and nominate routes.

There are four big seasonal walks and special plans for Yorkshire Day on August 1, as well as a Tour de Walkshire to replace the postponed Tour de Yorkshire cycle race.

People are invited to participate in Walkshire by sharing their own favourite walks using the hashtag #Walkshire.

Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner of Walkshire.

A North Yorkshire MP has called on police to fine people who flout covid travel rules.

Kevin Hollinrake said many people in tier three areas had travelled to lower tiers because of the “greater freedoms”.

North Yorkshire moved from tier two to tier three today amid rising infection rates.

It is believed people in higher tier areas, such as Leeds, frequently travelled to the Harrogate district’s pubs and restaurants, which were still open until today.

Mr Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, said this movement of people had increased the spread of the virus.

He told the House of Commons yesterday:

“We would definitely want to move travel restrictions from guidance to being an offence.

“That would prevent a lot of the travel we are seeing, with many people moving from different parts of the country into our area, which is increasing infection rates.

“When the police have used their powers in terms of mixing within hospitality venues or households, that has been very effective, and the word has gone round quickly.

“It would have a similar effect if we started to fine people for travelling without good cause.”

Mr Hollinrake reiterated his call for the government to consider applying different tier restrictions to different districts in North Yorkshire. He said:

“North Yorkshire is a huge place: our districts are the size of counties in other parts of the country.

“Putting a huge county such as North Yorkshire into one tier masks huge differences in the infection rate among districts.

“Some districts have an infection rate that is two or three times that in other districts, so it is possible that some of our districts should be in a higher tier and some in a lower tier. We should consider that.”

Mr Hollinrake also called for grants to businesses forced to close to be increased.

Pubs and restaurants in the Harrogate district have spoken of their frustration at the abrupt move into tier three just hours before their “biggest day of the year”.

Hospitality venues across the district would usually be buzzing with excitement on New Year’s Eve.

But instead most venues are closed, with only takeaways possible.

All the restaurant and cafe owners the Stray Ferret spoke to today agreed with the need for stricter restrictions but insisted more notice should have been given, as they have been left with unused stock.

Simon Cotton, managing director of the HRH Group whose properties include the Fat Badger, White Hart Hotel and the Yorkshire Hotel, said:

“I agree stricter restrictions are needed to get a grip on the virus but giving us such little notice is unacceptable. It’s a kick in the teeth for the biggest day of the year taken away with just a few hours notice.

“Frustration — that would be the word I use to sum up the year.”

Mr Cotton said food would be wasted this weekend as charities are unable to make use of perishable items at such short notice.

Many businesses have been trying to use up stock.

The Smiths Arms in Beckwithshaw posted on Facebook it would donate to the Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity.

The Little Ale House micropub in Harrogate said it would be selling cask and keg beers at reduced prices.

Read more:

• Much-loved Harrogate pub, The Woodlands, is getting a face lift and a new name.
• Christies Bar landlord describes his “horrible” year of covid restrictions.

The Dining Room restaurant in Boroughbridge changed its business model this year by moving to daytime-only trade during the week and saving its fine dining for Friday and Saturday evenings.

The owners will continue with their plans to serve takeaways this evening but said yesterday’s announcement would have a major impact on trade. Co-owner Chris Astley said:

“Luckily we won’t waste stock because we can still go ahead with our takeaways but it doesn’t make the past year easier.

“I am relieved because when you have people turning up, clearly from different households, it is very difficult to manage. We just have to keep going.”

The Dining Room in Boroughbridge will go ahead with its plans to offer takeaway food tonight.

Sarah Williams, runs Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Rooms in Knaresborough, said she was expecting the announcement:

“It’s not unexpected especially when you look at the data. Of course it’s not what you want to do but it is the right thing to do.

“We had a successful summer and have received grants, which mean we are surviving and aren’t in any danger of closing but not everyone has been so lucky.”

Coronavirus restrictions have been brutal on Harrogate’s hospitality sector. Marik Scatchard, the landlord of Christies Bar on Kings Road, explains what it has been like running one of the town’s most popular pubs.

New Year’s Eve last year was a busy night and at that point, we had no idea how the year would turn out.

It was terrible when we got locked down in March. We had to throw about £2,000 or £3,000 worth of beer down the drain. That didn’t feel good.

We got the £25,000 grant which the government thought would see us through, but the pub company we are with charged full rent during the closure. It didn’t help us – it just helped the pub company.

I was in favour of the lockdown because nobody knew what was going to happen. The virus is not great for some people.

Because I’ve got three children in school, I’ve had two lots of having to isolate for 14 days, and we all got covid at one point. We were all alright after two or three days. I didn’t really have any symptoms. My partner was rough for three or four days. My little lad, you wouldn’t have known he had it if he didn’t have a test.

Read more:

• Harrogate pub landlord calls £1,000 grant process an ‘absolute farce’
• Harrogate district pubs were ‘praying for tier one’

During the lockdown, I went into the pub to collect post and make sure it was secure. I’ve been a landlord at Christies for 13 years but it was horrible seeing the pub empty. It’s worse now seeing it empty because, before, everywhere was closed, so you took it on the chin.

When the last lockdown happened in November, everywhere was open except hospitality. It feels like we’ve been unfairly treated compared to other sectors. All these shops are rammed but you can’t come into a pub and sit at a distance, it doesn’t make any sense.

Christies Bar, Kings Road.

But when we reopened in July, we spent a lot of money to make sure it was covid safe. We’ve had no cases in the pub and we were very busy in summer. We thought, ‘if it carries on like this, we’ll be alright for Christmas’.

We very much depend on conference trade. There are massive ones in July and September. The British and International Golf Greenkeeping Association conference is usually in January and we can take about £30,000 in just three days. That will be gone next year.

You can’t see an end to it and I don’t think we’ll be open properly until Easter. But I think trade will be good again.

A Harrogate not-for-profit organisation is launching the UK’s first meals on wheel loyalty scheme to bring the service into the 21st century.

Harrogate and Ripon Food Angels has been providing meals on wheels since 2012.

A total of 120 people are signed up to receive the daily and weekly meals. A main meal costs £5.20 and £6.40 with a dessert.

Under the loyalty scheme, beginning on January 4, anyone buying 20 meals will receive a free teatime treat.

The treat options include a sandwich, soup and crisps, a slice of cake and a pack of tea bags.

Harrogate and Ripon Food Angels is part of Harrogate Neighbours, a charity that provides services for older people.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, said:

“More and more people are having to shield and isolate and perhaps wouldn’t think that a regular hot meal delivery service of this kind is right for them, but we hope that by re-branding it and bringing the service into the 21st century we can appeal to more people in need of this vital service.”

Read more:

• Killinghall care home resident turns 105 this week. 
• Harrogate Neighbours launches scheme to take care of its own.

Harrogate Neighbours has received a number of awards for its meals on wheels service.

The charity aims to improve the lives of older people in Harrogate. Besides delivering meals, it offers a domiciliary service to prevent isolation.

It also operates two sites; Heath Lodge, a residential care home and The Cuttings, an extra care housing scheme.

To inquire about volunteering, click here.