Harrogate Archives - Page 813 of 916

Harrogate hospital covid patient finally feels the sun

This is the moment when a coronavirus patient at Harrogate District Hospital was finally able to enjoy the sun after nearly four months in intensive care.

After much planning and collaboration, the intensive care unit team took the patient to the hospital’s friends’ garden.

The patient, who asked to remain anonymous, was admitted with coronavirus early in January.

Although she still needed the aid of oxygen tanks for last week’s first trip outside, the fresh air boosted her recovery.

Dr Sarah Marsh, who is a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, said:

“Thankfully they are now at a stage where we are able to safely take them out of the intensive care environment.

“The patient very much enjoyed the visit to the garden to feel the sun on their face, hear the birds, smell the flowers and to look at the sky.

“It also really gave the patient a huge boost and new determination to strive for home.

“She still has a long road ahead in terms of recovery and rehabilitation, but acts like this make such a positive difference in terms of outlook.”

The NHS has well-established rehabilitation methods but coronavirus has forced doctors and nurses to rethink their methods.

Harrogate District Hospital has said starting rehabilitation early and trips out to the garden are both part of its arsenal for treating coronavirus.

Vera Davison, physiotherapy team leader, said:

“Being able to take this lady outside has been wonderful. It is helping to motivate her and her family too; they can see progress being made.

“Rehabilitation is hard work and slow progress, so any positive steps towards normality are welcomed.

“It’s really heartening to see people getting better while in hospital and also after they’ve gone home. This really helps us to appreciate that our efforts are really worth it.”

Knaresborough Road betting shop could become piri-piri chicken restaurant

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Coral bookmakers on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate into a piri-piri chicken restaurant.

Planning documents indicate the restaurant would open as part of the franchise Pepe’s Piri Piri, which has 132 restaurants in the country including in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

The chain specialises in flame-grilled fried chicken.

The company Foodie Zone Ltd applied to Harrogate Borough Council last week to open the restaurant. The application said it would create 15 full-time jobs.

Documents say the restaurant would provide family-friendly ‘healthy grilled food’. They add:

“The proposed restaurant will provide a family-friendly dining experience with family seating areas, providing healthy grilled food, as part of the new healthy style of living, something which is limited in the area and would be very successful.”

Marilyn Stowe: They’ve made a dog’s breakfast of cycle lanes in Leeds

This opinion column is written by Marilyn Stowe. Marilyn built the largest family law firm in the UK, which she ran from Harrogate. She sold her firm in 2017 to private equity left the law and is now a writer and speaker.

Moving my law firm to The Old Courthouse on Raglan Street Harrogate in 2004, I ventured into new territory. It happened as a result of being thrown onto the pavement and robbed by three masked men on a dark evening in December as I was leaving my East Leeds office. One was screaming ‘kick her head in’ as he held an iron bar over my head. Traumatised and concerned it could happen to clients and staff, the decision was made overnight to close and reopen elsewhere.

What a godsend the Old Courthouse proved to be. Within a few years, we were unusually mentioned in a court report about the increase in work we had introduced to the Harrogate County Court, situated in the next street.

Our beautiful Victorian building was a draw in itself, but so was the parking it provided. We could comfortably park 14 cars, and for several of our clients who required absolute privacy, they could park and enter by a back door, no-one the wiser. For others, as our firm grew, on street parking was a boon. It was so convenient.

Visitors to the office could easily slip in and out. And as we grew, many of our competitors also decided Harrogate was the place to be. It’s no coincidence there are so many family law firms in Harrogate. But I thought, if our model worked in Leeds and in Harrogate, it might work elsewhere – and thus, staying ahead of the competition, I grew a local family law firm to the largest in the country, which I sold in 2017.

Thanks Harrogate.

But let me repay the favour, as I still remain ‘the landlady’ at The Old Courthouse. Rumour has it that bicycles, not cars, are now ‘de rigeur’ and the days of cars, even green and electric as they soon will be, are numbered in Harrogate. ‘Don’t bring your car into Harrogate, or car share if you must’ we are told. ‘Catch the bus, or cycle in.’

It’s woke madness.

In Leeds the local council, having spent millions on empty cycle lanes, recently turned Leeds centre into a dog’s breakfast. Full speed ahead if you happen to be a cyclist. It’s a nightmare to manoeuvre. Are there really that many cyclists around? How many out of town shoppers or workers are going to voluntarily struggle with flimsy bikes, punctures, cycle baskets, risk terrible accidents, or park/ride in a bus with our relentless weather? Or pay for daily expensive parking? Why on earth would they?

Leeds has unwittingly created the perfect opportunity for the entire Harrogate economy to take advantage and boom. It’s as easy to turn towards Harrogate than Leeds Centre and still be welcomed with open arms.

If not, it will happen to Harrogate too. People going to shop, seek professional advice, eat out, don’t do it en masse by bus, or worse, by bike. Bikes are for those lucky to live nearby and/or hardy enough to relish the distance, the hills and cold wind into Harrogate.

So let’s take advantage of the clueless elsewhere, who have never had their own skin in the game, and run their own businesses.

Let’s support the motorist and support the entire Harrogate economy.

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Decision delayed on Turkish Baths nude bathing ban

A decision on whether to ban nude bathing at Harrogate Turkish Baths has been delayed while a planned move to mixed-sex sessions only has been reversed.

The 124-year-old spa and health club – which is run by Harrogate Borough Council – has previously had swimwear-free options at single-sex sessions.

However, covering up could be made compulsory under changes which the council said would reflect greater “equality” in the modern world and address concerns for customers of “varying gender categories including transgender, gender dysphoria and transsexual”.

A decision from the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, councillor Stanley Lumley, was due this week but he has now asked for more time to mull it over.

He did, however, decide that plans to change the current timetable of single-sex sessions and to mixed-sex sessions only would be scrapped following big response from bathers.

Confirming the decision, a council spokesperson said:

“The decision regarding changes to the timetable, has been approved.

“The decision regarding compulsory swimwear at the Turkish Baths Harrogate has been deferred. This matter will be given further consideration, and will include our wider equality obligations.”

After the now-abandoned timetable changes were revealed last year, customers criticised the move and said people would stop visiting if it went ahead.

Baths manager Chris Mason previously said the changes would “promote inclusivity” but 92% of 325 respondents to a survey said they felt mixed-sex sessions only would stop customers attending.

The majority of respondents also agreed that a “safe space” was needed for men and women separately at the baths.

The Grade II-listed building on Parliament Street has been described as “the most fully-restored” Turkish baths in Britain.

It first opened in 1897 and has been managed by the council since the late 1990s.

Harrogate to host climate change conference ahead of COP26

Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition (HDCCC) will host a conference in October that aims to highlight how local businesses can do their bit to tackle climate change.

The event will take place on Friday October 15 at Harrogate Convention Centre in the run-up to COP26 — a major international climate change conference run by the United Nations that will take place in Glasgow.

HDCCC says its Harrogate event will include expert speakers and workshops from businesses that have successfully decarbonised their operations or supply chains.

The coalition was set up by Harrogate Borough Council to bring together local government, green groups and businesses. In February, its members voted to become an independent organisation from the council.

The event will be part of the Climate Action Festival (CAFé) that will include several events over three weeks in Harrogate in October.

Kirsty Hallett, communications lead for HDCCC, said she hoped the festival 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-focused events, which reach multiple audiences and inspire a wide range of climate actions.”

If you would like an exhibition space, to provide a speaker, participate in a panel discussion or can offer sponsorship to the conference, email HDCCC here.

Drop in vacant shops boosts hope for high streets

The deputy leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said he is “extremely optimistic” about high streets recovering from the covid crisis as he revealed positive economic data boosted by the reopening.

Cllr Graham Swift, who is also cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said the percentage of vacant shops across the district had fallen to 6.8% in March – a “significant improvement” from 8.6% around this time last year.

He added data on people’s movements showed the number of visitors to rural areas had returned to pre-pandemic levels, although Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon had not yet reached this point.

Cllr Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Swift said:

“I’m extremely optimistic. The rural areas are already seeing traffic flow of people movements, as measured by Google, back to pre-pandemic levels.

“The three major conurbations are not back to pre-pandemic levels yet but the fact is retail is looking extremely positive and I’m very hopeful we will see a strong bounce back in the economy.”

Shops classed as vacant are those not paying business rates to the council.

Cllr Swift said the strongest performing areas for this currently are Boroughbridge, which has just one vacant shop, and Pateley Bridge, which has a vacancy rate of 2.5%.

His comments followed a question from Boroughbridge councillor Robert Windass, who said members of the public were “curious” over the current state of high streets during the pandemic.

Cllr Swift responded:

“We are now seeing considerable extension of the opening up and unlocking of the country. Last week we saw the opening up of non-essential retail on April 12.

“I went into Harrogate on that morning and was overwhelmed by the innovation and creativity that is going on, particularly around the bar and hospitality sector who have used limited spaces to create exciting opportunities to open up.

“I was very, very impressed by the sector but most important to this question is what is going to be happening in the near future.”

He added:

“There has been a lot of talk over the last few months about Harrogate as a district and how its towns and city have responded to retail sector closures.

“A lot of people count the stores to see which ones are open or closed. In a case where we are in lockdown, it’s obvious that people will see things closed and think they have withdrawn from the site.

“But in actual fact, what we record are the business rate activities of these retail sectors and I’m extremely heartened by the fact that as of March 2021 our retail sector has improved.”

The latest unemployment figures for the district show a slight increase with 3,625 people claiming out-of-work benefits in February, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This equates to 3.8% of the population aged 16 to 64 and is up from 3,460 in January.

Meanwhile, the number of people in the district who were furloughed from their jobs was 12,300 in February, according to the latest HM Revenue & Customs figures.

This was an increase from 9,100 in December, before the third national lockdown began.

Harrogate indoor play centre aims to raise £3,500 before reopening

A Harrogate indoor play centre is hoping to raise £3,500 with a raffle before it opens its doors on May 17 as lockdown restrictions ease.

World of their Own, which is based at Hornbeam Park, has been hit particularly hard over the past year: since March 2020 it has only been able to open for 10 weeks.

Although its owners have no intention of closing down and are determined to find the cash somehow, they hope the raffle will cover the costs.

Both Winkies Harrogate, which was based in Starbeck, and Goose, which was based at Hornbeam Park, have permanently closed as a result of the pandemic.

It means that Harrogate now only has two indoor play centres in World of their Own and Little Bees Harrogate, formerly Kidzplay.

Christa and Lee Webber, of World of their Own, have said that while they have made full use of government grants and have a supportive landlord, they still have a funding gap.

To plug that gap they are raffling off a year’s unlimited play pass, afternoon tea in the fairytale parlour for four and a wild west birthday party for 20 children.

There are 700 tickets available at £5.50 per ticket. So far they have sold 185 tickets and the deadline to buy a ticket is at 5pm on May 1. Raffall, the platform they are using, takes a 10% cut.

Crista Webber told the Stray Ferret how this funding gap is their final hurdle:

“Every ticket sold is a massive help. We have been very frugal over the last year. When we needed to develop more space upstairs Lee built it by hand.

“We will reopen no matter what happens. If we cannot reach the £3,500 then we will need to find the money another way.

“We opened a World of their Own and it was just two months before the pandemic hit. Since then it has been an incredible struggle, which we hope we are coming to the end of.”

Arrest warrant for former Coach and Horses landlord

A court in Harrogate has issued an arrest warrant for the former landlord of the Coach and Horses pub.

John Nelson, who held the pub’s licence for 33 years until last summer, was due for a hearing at the Harrogate Justice Centre today.

Police arrested Mr Nelson on October 30, the day after the council gave his daughter the licence, on Leeds Road and tested him for drugs.

The test found that he had 30 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood in his system. Officers also found three bottles of methadone in his car.

As a result, officers charged him with drug driving and with possession of a class A drug.

Mr Nelson, 65, was due to enter a plea at court today but failed to show. So the court has now put out a warrant for his arrest.

If he does not hand himself in at a police station then officers will attempt to find and arrest him.

He lost his licence after North Yorkshire Police found customers drinking outside the Coach and Horses and not observing social distancing over the weekend of May 30.

Customers of the pub launched a petition to grant the licence to his daughter Samantha Nelson, which the council did in October last year.

She said she would refurbish and reopen but there has been no movement at the pub ever since. The Stray Ferret has made several enquiries but has received no reply.

‘We feel like prisoners’: Harrogate care home resident on isolation rule

A Harrogate man who lives in a care home has spoken out against rules telling residents not to go outside and to self isolate for two weeks if they do.

Nick Moxon, 32, has cerebral palsy and is a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s care home on Claro Road. He was shocked, like others in the home, to learn of the new guidance.

Residents like Mr Moxon have the backing of Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Ripon, and Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council. All three have spoken out against the guidance.

While the debate continues, care home residents like Mr Moxon see others enjoying the more relaxed lockdown rules and are left feeling bewildered.

Mr Moxon, like all residents at his care home, has had both doses of the coronavirus vaccine. He told the Stray Ferret:

“When I first found out what the rules were I shared it with my family and friends, they cannot understand it either.

“If you fly to the UK you just have to isolate for 10 days. If you live in supported living these rules don’t apply. It is crazy. We just want to be treated like everyone else.

“But we are being treated like lesser beings. We are trapped in here like prisoners. Better than most, we understand the risks of coronavirus.

“Before the pandemic we were all extremely sociable. We understood over the last year but now we have had the vaccine and lockdown is easing, we just want to get our lives back.”

The more restrictive guidance for care homes was issued shortly after restrictions eased on the hospitality sector last week and non-essential shops were allowed to reopen.

Ms Snape, who has written to Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones about the issue, previously said:

“For the people that live at 34 Claro Road this is devastating. They are young people who just want to have the same freedoms as everyone else.

“They are seeing pictures of groups enjoying a beer outside the pub and they are being told they can’t even go for a walk around the block.”

Harrogate residents disappointed at 95-home Granby Farm approval

Residents’ groups that fought against the 95-home Granby Farm development have expressed disappointment at Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to grant planning permission.

Redrow Homes was given the green light yesterday to build the homes by the council’s planning committee despite complaints the development will result in the loss of the last remaining link between the Stray and the town’s surrounding countryside.

Gary Walker, from Granby Residents’ Group, wondered whether the fear of contesting a costly legal appeal had played on the minds of some councillors.

Last month, the government’s planning inspectorate overturned a planning committee decision to refuse 149 homes on nearby Kingsley Road. The council was ordered to pay the developer’s legal costs.

He said:

“It’s been a long fight and we are obviously very disappointed. Four councillors voted against the development and we were impressed with what Cllr Pat Marsh had to say.

“We already have a good supply of housing in Harrogate.”

The plans include an access road that cuts through Pickering Gardens, which was created when the former Harrogate rugby union ground was redeveloped for housing.

Members of the Devonshire Gardens Residents’ Association argued that the road will destroy a green space that has been a lifeline to people during lockdown.

An access road to the new development will be created through Pickering Gardens.

The group’s chairman, Mark Tordoff, said:

“We feel as residents we all pulled together and put up a good fight.

“However, many of the planning committee members appeared totally disinterested at the impact the development will have on our park.”

The Local Plan

People who have contested the plans over the past year pointed to a council assessment report published in 2016, which said about half of the site should be maintained as a green corridor under any housebuilding plans.

This, however, was only a recommendation and didn’t become official policy when the Local Plan was adopted last year and included the Granby Farm site.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“Every planning application received is carefully considered on its own planning merits.

“Recommendations presented to the planning committee are based on whether they align with our adopted Local Plan, local and national planning policy, legislation, consultation and anything else that might be material to the case.

“They are not based on fear of incurring legal costs.”

John Handley, managing director of Redrow Yorkshire said:

“We’re pleased that the benefits of our proposed development have been recognised and are looking forward to fulfilling our promise to deliver a scheme that demonstrates strong placemaking and contributes to the surrounding community. “

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The Local Plan