Harrogate bars want alfresco drinking and dining to be permanent

Two Harrogate bars and restaurants have seen a boost as a result of temporary alfresco drinking and dining and want it to become the new normal.

Both the Blues Bar and the Yorkshire Hotel have taken full advantage of the temporary relaxing of rules around alfresco dining.

They do not know when the scheme will end but suspect that it might come to a close as social distancing rules relax further.

Sharon Colgan said that the Blues Bar has seen its overall sales double compared to the same period last year. Simon Cotton also said that the bar sales at Yorkshire Hotel has doubled.

Mr Cotton told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been very fortunate with the weather. We might not be as busy without the sun but when it shines we have a good continental vibe that lots of people enjoy. Even when weather isn’t great we could put out some blankets and heaters.”

The Blues Bars has also enjoyed a boost.

Mrs Colgan also told the Stray Ferret:

“It might have taken the pandemic for the council to soften up a bit on this but we have welcomed it. I would love it if we could continue to use the grass just outside and I think there is a real appetite for it in Harrogate. The town would really stand out.”

North Yorkshire County Council relaxed the rules on outdoor dining to help businesses without dedicated outdoor spaces to welcome customers back with social distancing in mind.

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It has always been a temporary measure but the local authority has now said it is “happy to review any requests for longer term use of the public highway” for alfresco dining.

David Bowe, the corporate director for business and environmental services at the county council, added:

“We have had some really positive feedback from businesses about the measures already in place. However, it is important to understand that there are inevitably differing demands for all road users and these have to be safely balanced.”

‘Save our trees’ plea from Harrogate residents

A group of Harrogate residents have raised concerns after a property developer chopped down five trees in the grounds of St Mary’s Church.

One of the residents, Matthew Weller, said he noticed that three trees had been felled last week. A couple of days later he woke to the sound of chainsaws.

It is unclear at this time whether the trees are protected or in a conservation area. The council is investigating.

Mr Weller rushed out of his flat as he watched the fourth tree fall. He asked to see their workman’s paperwork but said he was dismissed. The workers chopped down a fifth tree soon after.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“The planning department has not made any decision on the original planning application from a year ago so we stopped paying attention to it. We are not trying to halt this process, we recognise that it needs redevelopment. This group just wants the best possible outcome for everyone.”

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The group has now got 45 members and has called a meeting for residents outside Westcliffe Hall at 4pm this Saturday. The organisers have asked just one person per household to attend.

St Mary’s Church on Harlow Terrace dates back to 1916 and is a Grade II* Listed Building. The church has structural problems and is in need of a lot of work.

What remains of the trees at St Mary’s Church.

The Stray Ferret approached Hattersley Property Solutions as well as Shaw and Jagger Architects with a request for comment. Both said they were not responsible for the felling of trees.

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret that it is considering placing a Tree Preservation Order on the remaining trees:

“We have been made aware of trees that have been removed from the site and we are now looking into whether that has been a breach of planning conditions, or not.”

Those who deliberately destroy a protected tree face fines up to £20,000 per tree through a magistrates’ court.

Ashville College reports 64% A* to B grades

Ashville College in Harrogate has reported an increase in this year’s grades with the number of A* to B grades going up to 64%.

A further 39% of grades were A* and A, including students studying art and music who all achieved those grades.

Further subjects seeing high grades were English literature, French and Latin. The school has congratulated all of its pupils on their dedication to their studies and work during the lockdown period.

Acting head of the school Elspeth Fisher said:

“We want to pay tribute to our most senior pupils who have lost out on many activities and privileges throughout their final year at school but have continued to actively engage with staff through online lessons until May half-term. Each individual deserves to be proud of their achievements.”

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Fourteen students from the college received A* to A grades across the board.

Among the high achievers were Mia Croft and Simon Floyd, who both gained A*s in all three of their A levels. Mia will now study geography at Durham, while Simon will go to Bath to study economics.

Harrogate Grammar School has 35% of A-level results changed

Harrogate Grammar School A-level students received their grades this morning, with 35% of grades being changed.

It is estimated that 384 grades have been changed at the Harrogate Grammar School, with the majority of those changed achieving a grade lower than the school anticipated.

Due to coronavirus, the 2020 cohort of students have had their exam marks generated by the school, taking into account factors such as teachers’ expectations and mock exam results. This grade was then passed on to government body Ofqual for standardisation.

Neil Renton, headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School, said:

“Our immediate priority today is to support our students to secure suitable progression routes. Our focus over the forthcoming days will be to further analyse and investigate the variation between grades and pursue subsequent appeals. We will pursue change through the appeals process as it is our view that the overall final grading of the cohort does not fully reflect what a typical cohort at our school would achieve.”

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The impact of this year’s grading system reflects a national picture of grade changes for many students.

The Harrogate Grammar School students received their results via an email due to social distancing restricting their ability to go onto school grounds.

Students receive A-level results online

Today was A-level results day for hundreds of young people in the district, most of whom have received their results online this morning.

Amid the pandemic, the students’ exams were cancelled and their grades have been based on teacher expectations, mock exam grades and previous cohorts’ results. All were then standardised by government body Ofqual.

Unlike previous years, students weren’t able to attend their college or sixth form today and instead found out their grades online.

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Apprehension regarding the results was heightened after a U-turn in Scottish exam results. All results that were downgraded through the new system were replaced by the original estimates.

Here you can find out how each centre has performed (more links will be added as results are released):

Harrogate Ladies’ College A-level results exceed previous years

Students at Harrogate Ladies College have achieved over 50% more A* to A’s in their A-level results than previous year groups.

Further success was achieved with 85% of the girls achieving A* to C grades across all subjects.

Unlike other schools in the district, the pupils were invited to a socially distant celebration on the lawn after reading their results online this morning.

Sylvia Brett, principal of Harrogate Ladies’ College, said:

“We are enormously proud of the achievements of all our girls who have worked incredibly hard in these exceptional and challenging circumstances. As an all-girls school we make it our business to encourage the girls to be bold and brave in their subject choices away from fear of judgement or embarrassment.

“I’m delighted to see that so many of them have achieved so highly across such a breadth of subjects. The teaching staff at Harrogate Ladies’ College and I are extremely proud of them all.”

As with all schools, the college students were unable to take their exams this year due to coronavirus. The grades have been calculated using a range of factors and then standardised by government body Ofqual.

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Harrogate shops launch team hampers for Horticap

A group of Harrogate shops on Otley Road has launched a hamper raffle to try and raise £1,000 for Horticap.

Nicola Jones, the owner of Harlow House and Beauty, has organised the raffle along with other shops on the street.

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All money raised will go towards fitting out Horticap’s new cafe. The charity, which helps adults with learning disabilities, hopes to open it in the next few months.

There are six prizes in total which include vouchers, fruits, beauty treatments, hair treatments and cakes in hampers.

Nicola Jones is the owner at Harlow House of Beauty.

People can buy tickets at £2 a strip from the Wharfedale Fruiterers, Harlow House and Beauty, The Kitchen, The Sandwich Deli and Le Salon.

It has been a difficult few months for Nicola Jones from Harlow House and Beauty after she had to cancel treatments. She told the Stray Ferret:

“The first couple of weeks was great because everyone was desperate to get back and we were approaching August 1 when we were expecting to start with face treatments. But we had a day’s notice to tell us that we actually couldn’t start with those treatments again and we still don’t know what’s happening.”

Harrogate personal trainer ends classes after more than 30 years

A personal trainer from Harrogate has decided to end his classes after more than 30 years due to coronavirus restrictions.

Ray Thomson started Pulse Beats circuit training in 1989. He has taught thousands over the years and has done most of his classes in recent years at Harrogate Grammar School.

But with tough requirements on indoor exercise Mr Thomson does not believe that his classes are viable anymore. He will still continue with his sports and posture massages.

When Ray Thomson made the announcement he was inundated with messages of support and memories from his former students.

A fancy dress picture from the archives in the 1990s.

Mr Thomson said:

“I wanted to leave a legacy where people fondly remember the classes as a place where they had fun.

“Exercise should never be a chore, it should be something you enjoy.

“One of my favourite memories was when we had a noise complaint from one of our neighbours. We were whooping and hollering when he was watching Coronation Street.”

When the Stray Ferret asked Mr Thomson if he would ever start the classes again, he said “never say never” but added that now was not the time.

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Mr Thomson also raised fears about Harrogate’s exercise industry after the news that one of his former colleagues was forced to put Gambaru fitness into liquidation.

He added that the exercise industry has been hit by coronavirus and there will be more closures to come but he believes that a resurgance will follow.

Harrogate district care homes report one more coronavirus death

Harrogate district care homes have reported one more coronavirus death in the latest weekly figures – meaning they have reported three deaths in four weeks.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures today, which cover up until July 31, show that care homes across the district have reported 107 deaths where coronavirus is the cause of death.

The figures also reveal that there have been five deaths at home, one death at a hospice, and two more deaths at “other communal establishments”, since the start of the outbreak.

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Meanwhile, Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust remains at 82 coronavirus deaths. The coronavirus positive death happened there on July 15.

The hospital reported a couple of weeks ago that it did not have any coronavirus patients. For that reason, the Stray Ferret paused its daily reporting of the coronavirus statistics.

However, this week’s ONS data revealed that there have been seven extra deaths at the hospital where covid is mentioned on the death certificate. However, they are not part of the official statistics, which only include cases where the virus is the cause of death.

Hundreds of meteors will fall over Harrogate tonight

Hundreds of meteors will fall over Harrogate skies tonight.

Around 60 to 100 meteors will fall from the sky every hour, but stargazers may struggle with finding somewhere clear to view them because of predicted thunderstorms.

The event is called the Perseid meteor shower and happens every year.

It is expected to be most visible in the early hours of tomorrow morning between midnight and 5am.

Tristan Campbell, an astrophotographer from Harrogate said:

“The weather doesn’t currently look as though it’s going to be clear until at least 1am and unfortunately the moon rises around then which makes the meteors harder to see.”

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Meteors, more commonly known as shooting stars, are formed as debris falls from the tail of a comet. Since July 14, earth has been ploughing through particles left behind from the Swift-Tuttle comet, which turn into bright falling specks.

As Perseid meteors are so bright, Tristan said if the skies remain clear they will be visible from most gardens, although a better location would be somewhere dark with little light pollution. Tristan’s personal favourite spot to shoot is in Crimple Valley.

He said:

“If I’m feeling more adventurous I’ll head out to Nidderdale for much darker skies.”

The shower can be seen across the whole of the UK and is expected to continue until August 24. More information can be found on the Royal Museums Greenwich website.