A peer has expressed concerns the Harrogate Nightingale hospital will not open because it “simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely”.

The government said this week the hospital was on standby to receive covid patients.

But Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, told the Lords yesterday:

“It is widely believed in Yorkshire that, as far as the Nightingale hospital in Harrogate is concerned, this will not happen because the hospital simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely.”

Lord Newby, who lives in Ripon, asked Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, the Conservative leader of the House of Lords, if she could “assure the House that this is not the case”.

Baroness Evans replied that the hospital was already being used for CT scans — which did not reassure Lord Newby.

Speaking today to the Stray Ferret, he said:

“I raised the issue yesterday because I had heard from several NHS sources that the Nightingale hospital had neither the equipment nor more importantly the staff to open fully.

“I was not at all reassured by Baroness Evans’ response. She said that the Harrogate Nightingale was currently being used for CT scans and implied that it was on standby to open for covid cases.

“She explicitly refused to answer my specific question about whether the hospital had the staffing levels which would allow it to open safely for covid patients.”

Read more:

• Harrogate Nightingale hospital put on standby
• Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital cost £27m to set up

Lord Newby said he doubted NHS England would want to admit there would be real difficulties getting the Harrogate hospital working with covid patients on any scale.

An NHS England spokesperson for the hospital said:

“As part of our comprehensive activation plans we have developed a model that can be scaled up as and when additional critical care beds are required in the region.

“This ensures that the right skill mix of staff will be available from NHS trusts in the region, and via NHS Professionals and through direct recruitment if required.”

Harrogate Borough Council is to publish a 10-year vision for horticulture in the district — but it’s unclear if it will include plans to grow wildflowers on the Stray.

The Harrogate and District Green Party has called for wildflowers to be planted to attract more wildlife, such as bees, and to act as a focal point for visitors.

It recently launched a petition, which has almost 600 signatures, urging the council to support this.

At last night’s full council meeting, Rebecca Maunder, chair of the Harrogate and District Green Party, asked Cllr Andy Paraskos, cabinet member for the environment, if HBC would commit to planting more bulb species as well as sowing wildflower seeds on the Stray.

Cllr Paraskos said he “absolutely” agreed with the Green Party’s sentiments on biodiversity but did not commit to any specific changes on the Stray.

He said:

“Biodiversity is not just about the Stray but across the whole district so hopefully we will see some exciting projects over the coming years.

“The Stray does not belong to us, so everything we do on the Stray is by negotiations with the Duchy, but we will continue to look at biodiversity”.

Read more:

• Hundreds sign petition to make the Stray bee-friendly

• Plant wildflowers on the Stray, says Green Party

The council held a consultation on the future of horticulture in the district this year.

Its horticulture strategy, which is yet to be approved, will detail the authority’s planting plans.

Cllr Paraskos said biodiversity “is a strong theme” of the upcoming strategy.

The council has already committed to planting 60,000 crocuses on the the Stray at West Park in the coming months.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret after the meeting, Ms Maunder said “now is the perfect” time to add a greater mix of bulbs when the Stray is replanted.

She said:

“Why not grasp this opportunity and make a significant impact?”

Bars and cafes in Harrogate are increasingly opening their doors to people forced to work from home due to covid.

The shops typically rent out a table and plug socket, hook you up to the WiFi and keep the coffee or tea running for a set fee over a set period of time.

North Bar Harrogate and the Harrogate Tea Rooms are two of a growing number of venues enticing workers away from their home offices with the promise of endless coffee and other perks.

Read more:

• Colourful charity crafts store opens in Harrogate
• Hampsthwaite coffee shop to reopen after covid deep clean
• Harrogate survey: Nearly 80% want to keep alfresco dining

Since the offers began, people have turned up in numbers at both venues. Indeed coffee shop working has become so popular the venues are considering carrying on with it beyond coronavirus.

Deborah Przychodna, the manager at North Bar Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is the third day of Work From North and it has been great. The response from people has been amazing. I think a lot of people are tired of working from home, they want to see other people and they feel safe here.”

What are the offers?

There may be other bars and cafes with similar offers – If your favourite bar or cafe has a similar offer then lets us know by email – but here is what we found:

North Bar Harrogate (five hours): For £15 customers get a refillable tea or coffee, a focaccia sandwich or similar and a pint of beer to end the day. Available from 12pm to 5pm.

Harrogate Tea Rooms (three hours): For £10 customers get unlimited tea or coffee and brunch. Available from 10am to 3.30pm.

How practical is it?

As one of those people working from home and tiring of the same four walls, I thought I would try the concept.

So I packed up my laptop, chargers, camera and notepad and headed to North Bar Harrogate at 12pm.

With a coffee boost I interviewed the manager Deborah, took a couple of pictures and connected my laptop to the WiFi to write this article.

It may not work for those who prefer privacy but for many it can be a welcome change of scene.

Personally, I enjoyed the coffee and the bright space at North Bar. The staff were welcoming and helpful.

At £15, I wouldn’t rush back straight away but I definitely plan to head back sometime soon or try out the Harrogate Tea Rooms.

Sixteen historic sites in the Harrogate district have been included on Historic England’s at risk register, which was published today.

The register identifies sites most at risk of “being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development”.

Historic England, a non-departmental public body, uses the register to work with owners to understand repairs and find funding.

The register downgrades the condition of the Church of St Mary on Harlow Terrace, which is disused, from ‘poor’ to ‘very bad’.

The grade II* listed building dates back to 1916 but has structural problems and needs lots of work. Mineral felt in the roof is leaking and the stone is deteriorating.

The register says proposals to convert St Mary’s into new use are not progressing.

Read more:

• ‘Save our trees’ plea from Harrogate residents
• Plans to demolish Ripon Cathedral Choir School
• Extension plans for Ripon Cathedral on display

Other Harrogate district heritage sites ‘at risk’

The Heritage at Risk register highlights the plight of a further 15 historic buildings or places in the district:

• Temple of Victory in Flaxby – fair
• Orangery at Ripley Castle – poor
• Butterton Bridge in Warsill – poor
• Dob Park Lodge in Weston – poor
• Church of St James in Baldersby – fair
• Carved rocks on edge of Snowden Carr, Askwith – generally satisfactory
• Henge monument at Hutton Conyers – extensive significant problems
• Hutton Hall at Hutton Conyers – generally satisfactory
• Round barrow at Hutton Conyers – generally satisfactory
• Medieval fishponds in Markington and Wallerthwaite – generally unsatisfactory
• Howe Hill motte and Bailey Castle at North Deighton – generally unsatisfactory
• Allerton Park at Allerton Castle – generally satisfactory
• Plumpton Rocks at Plompton – generally satisfactory
• Swinton Castle at Swinton – generally satisfactory
• Site of Battle of Boroughbridge – generally satisfactory

The competition to find Britain’s best Christmas tree, which will then stand outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street home, is to be held in Harrogate this month.

It is the first time the town has been chosen to stage the event, which also includes a category to find a champion wreath to hang on the PM’s door at number 10.

The competition will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground on October 28.

It is run by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is now managed by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

The association, which is a trade group for people who grow specialist Christmas trees, has 320 members nationally.

Yorkshire TV stars Amanda Owen, shepherdess on Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright, from Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, will join the judging panel.

Because of covid, growers will send their tress to the ground but will be unable to attend in person.

Heather Parry, managing agent for the BCTGA, who is also the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre, said:

“We are very much looking forward to seeing the best in the business being crowned, right here on the Great Yorkshire Showground. The champion tree winner will head to 10 Downing Street to provide that iconic Christmas tree for this year.”

Peter Wright said:

“There’s nothing like the scent of a real Christmas tree to really launch you into the festive spirit and I am really looking forward to seeing some of the best in Britain at the Showground.”

Read more:

• From Santa’s grottos to winter wonderland walks, events across the Harrogate district are seeing record levels of demand for the festive season. 
• Our survey revealed a third of Harrogate residents will do their Christmas shopping in the town. 

Many growers in the competition have changed their business to suit covid measures by, for instance, introducing online sales and allowing customers to pick their own tree with social distancing measures.

Christmas tree orders are reported to have already exceeded early orders from 2019.

A private members’ club in Harrogate closed this week due to a positive case of coronavirus and will reopen on Wednesday next week.

Oatlands Mount Social Club, which was established in 1918, informed members on Facebook.

Its post said:

“Unfortunately we have had a positive covid test result for a prominent member of the club. Although we have been advised not to close our doors by Public Health England, we have decided to close the club to protect our members and employees.

“Public Health England feel that all covid safety procedures have been put in place by the club so they are not going to track and trace members at this moment in time.”

Read more:

• Hampsthwaite coffee Shop will close for a week to throughly clean following a covid scare.
• Porco Rosso Italian restaurant in Harrogate has closed after three years in the town. 

Harrogate’s new covid testing site will have the capacity to test up to 320 people a day, officials revealed today.

The full-time site in the Dragon Road car park is set to open next week and will operate seven days a week from 8am until 8pm.

Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today the site will have the capacity to test eight people at once.

She added the site would be able to conduct between 280 and 320 tests per day.

Read more:

• Permanent covid testing site to open in Harrogate next week
• ‘Very few’ covid infections in North Yorkshire pubs

People will be able to turn up on foot, unlike at the mobile testing centres. However, tests must still be booked in advance.

The forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackle the pandemic, successfully made the case for permanent testing sites in Harrogate and Scarborough to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Stray Ferret asked the DHSC how much the site cost to build but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Latest Public Health England figures show a further 27 cases were confirmed in the Harrogate district in the last 24 hours. It takes the total amount of cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,500.

A total of 137 cases were confirmed across North Yorkshire today.

The Harrogate district has the highest weekly case rate of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire, with 116 per 100,000 people up to October 10.

North Yorkshire was placed in the lowest category of the government’s new three tier local lockdown system this week.

A luxury Harrogate wedding venue is transforming into a ski lodge restaurant to keep staff in work this winter.

Current covid restrictions limit weddings to a maximum of 15 guests.

This has had a huge impact on venues like Wharfedale Grange, near Harewood, which is able to seat 270 wedding guests and can cater for 165 people in its restaurant.

It hopes that by adapting the use of its barn it will be able to retain staff, especially with the furlough scheme ending this month.

Claire Thomas, managing director of Wharfedale Grange, said:

“We’ve got 18 full-time staff and 12 part-time staff so we’re effectively keeping 30 people in work by converting to a restaurant and not making them redundant.”

Described as ‘La Folie Douce meets Yorkshire’, the restaurant — called Apres Bar & Grill — will incorporate elements of ski lodge resorts.

It is due to open from November 1 to the end of March.

Read more: 

• Covid restrictions won’t stop ‘beautiful’ weddings, says Harrogate celebrant
• Harrogate couple cancel wedding for third time

The Italian bar and restaurant Porco Rosso on The Ginnel in Harrogate has permanently closed.

The restaurant was owned by the people behind another Italian restaurant, Stuzzi, on King’s Road, and opened in summer 2017.

It reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in July but a post on the Porco Rosso Facebook page earlier announced its demise.

The post said:

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the government is prepared to consider district rather than county-wide covid tiers in North Yorkshire in response to variable transmission rates.

This would mean some parts of the county could be placed in a higher category — and be subject to greater restrictions — than others.

The Harrogate district currently has the highest infection rate of the seven district council areas in North Yorkshire.

York, which is a unitary authority, does however have a higher rate than Harrogate.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Thirsk and Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake asked Mr Hancock:

“The rate of transmission varies significantly within the eight different districts of North Yorkshire.

“When we are looking at putting different areas into different tiers, can we look at that by district rather than at county level?”

Mr Hancock replied:

“Yes, absolutely, and I will go further than that: we look at this at sub-district level, if that is appropriate.”

He said this had already happened in High Peak, Derbyshire, where some areas are in level 2 and others are in level 1.

Read more:

• Permanent covid testing site to open in Harrogate next week

• Community spirit thrives despite covid crisis

Mr Hancock added, however, that it was not purely down to transmission rates:

“Some districts within North Yorkshire have individual outbreaks in individual institutions that we are managing, and we should not mistake that for general community transmission and therefore put those areas into a higher level than is necessary.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new tier system on Monday, which placed all of North Yorkshire in tier 1, which is the lowest category.