Charities and community groups in North Yorkshire fighting the impact of coronavirus are being invited to apply for grants of up to £10,000 and £50,000.

Two separate funders are offering the grants for organisations helping people overcome the effects of the pandemic.

Two Ridings Community Foundation will begin accepting applications for its coronavirus community fund on Monday. Applicants must demonstrate how they would use the grants, worth up to £10,000, to help beneficiaries become more self-sufficient and resilient in the wake of coronavirus.

Not-for-profit organisations in North Yorkshire, York, East Riding of Yorkshire or Hull can submit bids providing they meet the eligibility criteria, which include having a management committee with at least three unrelated members and a bank account in the group’s name.

Organisations can also apply in partnership with other not-for-profit groups for grants of up to £30,000. Applicants with annual income of less than £500,000 will be prioritised.

Two Ridings Community Foundation, which is based in York, is the local distribution partner in North and East Yorkshire for funds raised by the National Emergencies Trust. The trust was set up to provide a more co-ordinated national response to emergencies.

Its coronavirus appeal has distributed £56m nationally so far through local distributors, such as Two Ridings Community Foundation. Full application details are available here.

Read more

• Council receives £389,000 grant to transport key workers
• Harrogate charities get vital Arts Council funds

Small charities can also apply for grants of £50,000 from Lloyds Community Foundation’s covid recovery fund.

The fund, which opens on Monday, will offer the grants to 140 charities for initiatives that help people overcome complex social issues.

Carlos Chavez, the foundation’s manager for Yorkshire and the Humber, said many charities in the area “faced significant income losses and other challenges over the last six months” and it “wanted to support these charities to recover in the months and years to come so they can continue to be a lifeline to the people in their communities”.

More details are available here

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses after three men were arrested for fighting in Harrogate town centre on Saturday evening.

The incident took place between Skipton Road and Regent Parade between 7.50pm and 8pm on Saturday, August 1.

All three men have been bailed pending further enquiries.

Police are now trying to establish the full details of what happened, and are asking witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.

Read more:

• Two cars were stolen from Westbourne venue, Harrogate – this is the second time in six weeks the street has been targeted.
• A family has expressed their heartbreak after their dogs were poisoned on a walk in Pateley Bridge, one later passed away. 

To give information to the police, call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for Corrina Graham-Merrett. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate will keep its ‘Tipi on the Stray’ until the end of August after a month of bumper bookings.

The managers opened the tipi on ‘Super Saturday’ on July 4 and had only planned to keep it open for one month.

After opening the hotel said it was flooded with enquiries from people booking tables and hiring out the whole thing.

Read more:

• Beaches, tipis and coffee: Harrogate back to life on Super Saturday
• Historic Killinghall pub reopens

The tipi can hold up to 38 people inside and has seating outside for 34 other people.

Wayne Topley, managing director of Cedar Court Hotels, said:

“The uptake in bookings has been so strong, it was a no-brainer for us to carry on. We wanted to offer up something a little different that would put a smile back on people’s faces and a Tipi seemed a good place to start!”

Here is how Harrogate welcomed back pubs, cafes, and hotels with open arms on Super Saturday:

People in Harrogate are celebrating Yorkshire Day today and the Stray Ferret has been out to find out what the county means to them.

Yorkshire Day is an annual event which promotes and celebrates the county of Yorkshire

Yorkshire Rose

Here’s what people had to say when the Stray Ferret asked “what does Yorkshire mean to you?”

Andy Stanworth, who was born in Skipton and now lives in Harrogate, said:

“It should be its own country, we are bigger than Scotland and it’s just the best place there is.”

Meanwhile, Erica, who was born in Ilkley and lives in Harrogate, said

“It’s just amazing, and to have a day to celebrate the best county is very special… I’m a very proud Yorkshire woman.”

Yorkshire Day celebrations originally started with just a reading, but now the day is marked in many different ways. Mayors from across Yorkshire usually unite in one of the region’s towns or cities, but this year’s celebrations have been moved online because of the coronavirus crisis.

Read more:

• End of an era as chip shop owners sell up
• See where you can get 50% off your food as of Monday

This article is written for the Stray Ferret by Harrogate employment lawyer Richard Port. Richard is Principal Solicitor and Founding Director at Boardside legal. In a series of articles, he explores the issues raised for employers and employees returning to work post furlough. This article is not legal advice – more a look at the complexities of the current situation. 

This week, he looks at where an employee stands if he is asked to return to his workplace, but does not want to do so.

My client, ABC Ltd is a food production business, meaning that as an essential service it has continued to operate in lockdown. Many, but not all, of its employees have continued to work, albeit paying due regard to health and safety measures in the workplace, in line with government guidelines.

‘Fred’ was one of a small number of employees who were furloughed in response to Covid-19, at least until ABC Ltd recently asked Fred, in particular, to return to the workplace. But he was not keen.

Employees may be reluctant to return to work for a variety of reasons, some of which may not be genuine, but many of which are likely to be so (often supported by various legal protections). Even if ABC Ltd believes that a reluctant returner is exaggerating his other concerns, it would still need to approach the problem with caution, dealing with those ‘concerns’ very carefully indeed.

As an adviser to ABC Ltd, I have had to discuss various scenarios with the client warning them about how easy it is to get things wrong and with it the very real risk of exposure to legal proceedings and the significant associated costs.

Like all employees, Fred has certain protections should he refuse to attend the workplace because of a reasonable fear of ‘serious and imminent danger’, a concept that will differ from one employee to another. For Fred, one major concern was the matter of travel to work on public transport, the risk of which he finds unacceptable.

Bearing in mind that the concept of ‘clinically vulnerable’ includes the over 70s and those with underlying health conditions, I also discussed with ABC Ltd Fred’s age and the fact he has no known health conditions. Fred is in his 60s, so does not trigger the age qualification for being clinically vulnerable, so potential age discrimination was not relevant.

It has been well documented that a number of employees have suffered with the consequences of Covid-19. My concern was that this could potentially be an issue for Fred, save that Fred’s own GP refuses to sign him off work.

Nonetheless, ABC Ltd should still listen to his concerns about returning to work, to understand how he is coping and what his real concerns about returning to his duties are. Remember, employers have an obligation to consider reasonable adjustments, including employees’ work patterns.

Finally, employees do have a right to request a reasonable amount of time off caring for dependants, albeit this would be unpaid. Fred’s wife does suffer from arthritis and I am aware that he does all of the shopping, for example. However, he has not raised this as an issue and in any event ABC Ltd has already offered him unpaid leave.

But of course, it is one thing thrashing this out with me, quite another to be discussing these types of matters with Fred directly. Effective communication is key to reducing the risk of employment related issues and even an adverse finding at an employment tribunal.

Next week, Richard looks at redundancies as businesses deal with the impact of the covid crisis.

Read more from Richard Port:

• Can you force an employee back to work?

Harrogate’s Turkish Baths’ 123-year-old flooring could have “become dangerous” if specialists had not carried out repairs.

A report seeking retrospective approval for the work detailed how Harrogate Borough Council needed to spend close to £30,000.

The baths have been closed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown and the specialists took it as an opportunity to work on the floor.

In the report, the council said that the floor is showing signs of water egress, wear in grouted joints, and cracks in the terrazzo.

Read more:

• How the council handed over control of leisure services to a new company
• When the district’s leisure facilities closed over coronavirus fears
• Turkish Baths Harrogate considers cutting same-sex sessions

The report also mentions that the floor could become uneven and “potentially dangerous” where mosaic pieces are exposed.

Andrew Tiles and The Mosaic Restoration Company carried out the works earlier this month and it is expected to be complete next month.

The council says the works were badly needed. Pictures from the Turkish Baths.

Turkish Baths Harrogate does not yet have a set date to reopen as saunas and steam rooms have not been given the go-ahead.

Harrogate Borough Council has launched a consultation into dropping single-sex sessions from the Turkish Bath’s timetable. Moving to mixed-sessions only would reflect “equality and balance,” according to the council.

Meanwhile, the historic venue is set to become part of a new local authority controlled company (LACC), along with the district’s pools and gyms, as part of an overhaul of leisure services.

Public Health England figures show 12 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate District in the past week, but infection rates across the county remain low.

The data shows a small day-by-day increase in the number of cases between July 20 and 26, with just one positive case since then.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the prevalence of the virus is “likely to be rising” in England with some lockdown easing due for August 1 being delayed.

Further data has been released by government, known as the “middle super output area”, which shows the number of cases at a neighbourhood level across the country.

The move follows complaints from local authorities that a lack of data at a local level prevented them from managing outbreaks effectively.

According to the data, four cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the Boroughbridge and Marton-cum-Grafton area last week. However, data for areas where fewer than two positive cases have been reported is not included.

Read more:

• No positive coronavirus patients at Harrogate hospital
• Harrogate Nightingale cost £15m – but still no news on its future

So far, a total 724 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the district compared with 2,566 in the wider county.

Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital announced yesterday that it currently has no positive coronavirus patients for the first time since the pandemic began.

The hospital has also gone 16 days without reporting a coronavirus death and no further deaths were recorded in care homes in Harrogate last week.

A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said that people “must remain vigilant” in order to keep cases low.

Well done to each and every one of #teamHDFT. pic.twitter.com/zimIENBlfF

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) July 30, 2020

It comes as last night Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, announced a local lockdown in Greater Manchester, Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale. Residents in those areas will no longer be allowed to mix with other households indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.

Mr Hancock said the government was placing areas into local lockdowns in order to prevent a second wave of the virus.

The government also announced a delay on reopening of “higher risk” areas, such as bowling alleys and weddings of up to 30 people

However, earlier this month, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, told senior councillors that the county was not in the same position as those areas with high infections.

Dr Sargeant said figures in the county “remained low” and that rates in Scarborough, which were the highest, were at half the levels of Leicester – which was also put into a local lockdown in June.

He said:

“We are in a situation where the numbers are low and that gives us a good opportunity to consolidate that situation to work effectively with test and trace to keep those numbers low.”

Disability Action Yorkshire’s second-hand furniture warehouse in Harrogate is to reopen on Tuesday.

The warehouse, in Hornbeam Park, sells office and home furniture as well as ornaments, books, DVDs, clothes, games and jigsaws.

The location has been a favourite haunt for TV prop buyers, with items acquired appearing in programmes such as Shameless, EastEnders and Birds of a Feather.

The enterprise not only generates income for Disability Action Yorkshire but also provides retail and customer experience skills for young disabled people.

The warehouse will be open for sales from 10am to 2pm Monday to Fridays. It will also be open for donations from 2pm to 3pm Monday to Friday.

Customers will be required to wear face coverings and observe social distancing measures.

Read more:

• Roadworks cause stress for Starbeck wheelchair user
• Harrogate disability charity brings countryside into homes

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said:

“Since we were forced to close the operation down, we have lost more than £12,000 in revenue – money which would otherwise be used to fund our services to disabled people.”

“We have introduced a one-way system around the warehouse for customers, and there will be regular cleaning, quarantining of all donations, and fogging at the end of every day.

“And whilst we won’t initially be able to collect or deliver items, we will be reviewing this later in the month.”

In his first interview since he left office ten years ago, we spoke to former Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis about Harrogate’s retail woes, whether the House of Lords should move to York and what he thinks makes an effective constituency MP.

Read part one of the interview here, where Lord Willis of Knaresborough, as he is now known, discussed why he thinks Harrogate’s convention centre has lost its way.

What makes an effective constituency MP?

You did not need to be a great sociologist to see that Harrogate was a Tory-leaning town so I saw no future trying to spend my time outdoing the opposition.

I saw my job as an MP to really represent those who required representation. It didn’t matter to me what their politics were.

More than that, I actually enjoyed people. I enjoyed being at the summer fair, the Christmas bazaar or going to church on a Sunday. I enjoyed visiting elderly people’s homes and having a laugh with residents.

If you don’t enjoy these things then actually being the MP is a pretty miserable job, quite frankly.

Can Harrogate’s high street be saved?

Anyone who thinks the high street can go back to what it was, even 10 years ago, is living with false hope. High streets throughout Britain are undergoing a revolution.

There’s a limit to how many coffee shops you can have because in order to enjoy that there has to be other things going on.

I was delighted to see the Everyman cinema come in. It’s a good experience in a part of the town that was slightly off-centre. I do feel the answer for Harrogate is, how do you get people to come in and stay? It means you have to have some attractions.

Simply having more of the same is really not the answer. Harrogate starts from a very good place. It hasn’t got huge 1960s and 70s shopping centres that are tired. Our centre is very attractive but I don’t see research into the future of the town going on.

It’s not something that politicians should do, it’s something for business people and local people — and you have to inspire them to work at it.

Do you have any regrets from your time as an MP?

I never live with regrets. I’ve always had that philosophy. You do your best and sometimes you get things wrong or right. As a constituency MP I genuinely believed my team and I did make people feel they were represented.

If they had an issue then we would deal with it. I’ve never claimed to create miracles — but there were literally thousands of people who were better off during our time there.

Should the House of Lords move to York?

If we think as a nation the one thing we need to do is provide a retirement home for elderly politicians then I do think we’ve hit rock bottom! I don’t think it’s going to happen.

The House of Lords is becoming more irrelevant with every day. This government has adopted a US-style where Parliament is a nuisance rather than being what it should be — which is holding up the flames of democracy to the government’s feet.

Would local government devolution benefit Harrogate?

During my time, the relationship between HBC and North Yorkshire County Council was always fraught. There was no doubt NYCC saw itself as being of far greater importance than HBC and sometimes decisions were taken that were not always to Harrogate’s benefit.

The whole two-tier system was flawed right from the outset in 1974. As we move forward to the devolution era, will we make the same mistake again? Instead of making democracy closer to people will we take it further and further away?

Once people feel they do not have ownership of decisions, then you get mass cynicism and people say, what is the point of all this?

I’m a great lover of local government. It wasn’t always totally successful but I don’t think the models being drawn up will bring us closer to the people. Unless local people are involved in the services which they pay then you will not get the quality they need.

Is Harrogate’s Local Plan good for the town?

When you design a Local Plan and you base it on what is best for us politically then you lose out. Local Plans have got to be designed with a number of broad concepts in mind.

Harrogate has a lot of incredibly wealthy people but it’s serviced by a lot of people on modest salaries who want to live in homes they can afford — they’ve not had that.

As council leader, I did deals with the late George Crowther to put in affordable housing on the old general hospital site. I just think unless you provide good housing for local people then your town dies a bit really.

It’s a truism that development is never popular with those who don’t want it, but it has got to be evenly distributed. Unless you have a plan that is long-term that you can sell to the people as their plan, not our plan, then you won’t get a buy-in. You look at the 3,000 homes in Green Hammerton and think to yourself — what’s all that about? Does that serve Harrogate?

One reason I won the election to be council leader in 1990 was because we refused to sell land to a supermarket at where is now Stonefall Cemetery.

We turned down £15m, but when you look at how many people have the ashes of their loved ones spread there over the last 30 years, you realise that was a price worth paying.

We still got a supermarket but we didn’t get the money for it — but that’s not what councils are in business for. They’re in business for weighing things up and making sure they’re creating an environment for people to live in. That’s my philosophy.

Do you miss being an MP?

I miss enormously being the MP in Harrogate. I enjoyed those 13 years very much indeed. They were exciting times and I felt an enormous connection to the people of Harrogate.

I owe them an enormous debt for the way they supported me in what I was trying to do. I remember it with huge fondness. I had a love affair with Harrogate.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths for the last two weeks.

It is the second-longest time the hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, highlighting how the number of deaths has slowed in recent weeks.

The hospital has so far reported 82 coronavirus deaths and released 141 people after treatment for covid.

Read more:

• ‘Far more’ lockdown fines for Asian men in North Yorkshire
• Harrogate Nightingale cost £15m – but still no news on its future

Care homes figures for the Harrogate district, released yesterday, showed the number of deaths since the start of the pandemic remains at 104.

NHS England figures today showed that a further 14 people who had tested positive for coronavirus have died, including three in the North East and Yorkshire. They were aged between 55 and 90, and all but two had known underlying health conditions.