The seven-month-long Whinney Lane road closure “could kill” the Squinting Cat pub, says its manager.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Andy Harrison said he is “absolutely mortified” that the main road to the pub from Harrogate will be closed for seven months – just as it attempts to recover from lockdown.

North Yorkshire County Council announced that a section of Whinney Lane will be closed to traffic from Monday, July 27 to February 28 2021, due to the construction of two site access points for the Castle Hill Farm housing development as well as a new roundabout.

The closure will end around 200m before the Squinting Cat. Mr Harrison said it will have major implications as most people driving to the pub use Whinney Lane rather than the longer route through Burn Bridge.

He added the road closure will be a major blow after reopening following lockdown on July 6 and questioned whether NYCC could offer the pub financial compensation.

He said:

“We’ve struggled. Trade is hard anyway and with the road closure I don’t know if we can sustain it”.

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Local residents told the Stray Ferret that the closure of Whinney Lane will be the start of years of disruption due to the different housing developments planned for the area.

One resident, who didn’t wish to be named, said she has seen construction vehicles blocking the lane for residents who use it to exercise. She said “it’s like a takeover”.

Another resident, David Siddans, said he is expecting further closures when more homes are built on the adjacent field of Whinney Lane.

Nigel Smith, head of highway operations at NYCC told the Stray Ferret that they hope works can be completed ahead of schedule and that there will be a temporary footpath installed for pedestrians.

However, he said the authority would not be able to provide any compensation to the Squinting Cat.

He said:

“We understand the inconvenience the closure will cause however these are essential and unavoidable works associated with the development.

“A signed diversion will be in place and pedestrian access has been agreed with the landowner, providing a temporary footpath to houses and businesses.

“We understand the concerns that businesses have regarding trade during any road closure. However, there is no statutory provision for compensation by the Highway Authority for businesses affected by essential roadworks.

“If a business is concerned about a road closure please get in touch with their local highways office, but regretfully we are unable to make any offer of compensation due to the temporary disruption of traffic flow in this area. That said, local access to residences and The Squinting Cat will be maintained where possible.”

Commuters travelling between Harrogate and Leeds will be able to get a new smart ticket for discounted travel from today.

It is a step towards a London-style contactless payment system and comes as part of Transport for the North’s (TFN) drive to update public transport.

The new season tickets are available on Northern and LNER services. They give passengers 10 unlimited travel days for the price of nine valid for six months.

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TFN plans to roll the scheme out on further routes. A Transport Focus survey found that over a third expect to work from home with limited travel to the work place.

TFN hopes the new tickets with a flexible season pass will work well for those workers.

Jeremy Acklam, TFN director of integrated and smart travel, said:

“Now more than ever, due to the impact of coronavirus on our travel habits, passengers need safer, better value and more convenient ways to pay for public transport. Flexi seasons will provide this for thousands of passengers.”

This is part of the £150 million integrated and smart travel programme. The next stage proposes to deliver more contactless payment technology across the North.

“Parking remains free for staff, visitors and patients. We already had in place the exemptions listed below for specific patient groups. We didn’t for staff on night shifts but then we put in place free parking for all staff (before the national directive came out) so that was a resolution.”

This news will be warmly welcomed by staff and visitors to the hospital.

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A Harrogate beautician has told the Stray Ferret that she is seriously worried for the industry as people are being driven to go “underground” to be able to make a living.

Beauty salons now have the green light to reopen but therapists will not be able to perform many of the treatments that are their “bread and butter”, she said.

Treatments which involve work directly in front of the face are not allowed under government guidance.

Michelle Mohindra, owner of Coco Tan

Michelle Mohindra, owner of Coco Tan, which is a group of three salons in Harrogate, told us that she has some major concerns:

“We have been given green light to go ahead and then told we can’t do certain treatments. People are so desperate to do treatments and to earn money again that we are actually driving our reputations and our industry underground and I am very concerned that we are going to damage our industry.

“People feel they have no choice but to carry out treatments behind their front door and they shouldn’t be doing that, but I understand we have been forced into a very difficult place.”

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Michelle went on to say that despite a demand for other treatments, they have lost customers.

“We have had lots of clients that wanted to book in, but because we can’t do any work to the face we have lost the appointment. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to us that we can wax from the neck down without any issue at all but we can’t touch anyone’s face. This means no eyebrow waxing, no threading and no lashes, and people are desperate to have these done.”

With the cost of PPE rising, this creates another challenge for salons.

“There’s a lot of financial concern because of the cost of PPE. We used to purchase a box of face masks for £3.99 – the price of this just quadrupled overnight, so we have had to budget very, very carefully to staff the salons with the budget we have.”

It comes as questions are being asked by the beauty industry about why barbers can offer a beard trim but a beautician can’t offer treatments such as eyebrow waxing.

Beauty salons and nail bars across the borough are welcoming back clients after almost four months of closure.

Harrogate’s independent beauty salons may not be able to offer all treatments, but they are expecting to be busy.

Many things have changed since salons shut in March, so what does it look like now?

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to salons across the district as they open their doors to the public.

Paintbox nail and beauty boutique, Harrogate

The Harrogate Nail Bar, based in the centre of the town told the Stray Ferret that bookings are “flying” in.

” We are very busy… People are walking in but we are fully booked as we are not allowed to have as many people in as usual. It feels very different, especially getting used to the PPE but it’s great to see my clients again and to make them feel better!”

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Masks, Visors and perspex screens are some of the things you can expect to see in salons. There will also be less people allowed in at one time and increased cleaning will take place.

Gone are the days of a cup of tea whilst having your nails done, as food and drink other than water are likely to be banned.

Debra owns Paintbox nails and beauty she told us that they have been “ready to open for several weeks.”

” We were ready to open on the 4th July… I think the government finally realised that these companies were ready. We aren’t able to do any treatments to the face at all. This includes lashes, waxing, facials but we can do manicures, pedicures, waxing below the neck and massages. We are fully booked today, tomorrow and Saturday with a couple of space in between. Some people are just desperate to get back to looking after themselves and are ready for some kind of normal.”

As directly in front of the face has been deemed the highest risk zone by the Government, face waxing, sugaring, eyebrow and eyelash treatments, facials and make-up application will not be allowed until advice changes.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any new coronavirus deaths for the last six days.

The last time the hospital recorded a death was on July 7. That came after more than two weeks without any deaths.

It means that Harrogate District Hospital remains on 81 deaths and 139 patient discharges after treatment for coronavirus.

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England’s hospitals reported that a further 11 people had died with coronavirus in today’s NHS figures.

Patients were aged between 72 and 95 years old. All patients had known underlying health conditions.

Almost 4 months after overcoming coronavirus, Vicky Snook from Harrogate (pictured right) says she still has days where she feels “completely wiped out.”

” Still now I have days where I can barely do anything at all and for a time I felt quite breathless at times… I would just have to go and have a lie-down, which is not like me at all. I have also been losing my hair, which has happened to one of my friends that had it too.  I lost a stone at the time… I have got that back but not my energy, unfortunately. I’m normally a very active person but It’s just the ongoing symptoms that are bizarre, but slowly the bad days are now getting less.

Vicky went to Cheltenham races in March and 4 days after she started to display symptoms of coronavirus:

“I was never admitted to hospital at the time, and actually I have had flu much worse.. If someone asked how ill i was at the time i would say a 2/10. I was just really exhausted and had a splitting headache. I was in bed for 8 days initially  then I started to feel a lot better and I thought I’d got off quite lightly, but the after-effects have been awful.”

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While the vast majority of those who contract Covid-19 will make a full recovery, there is increasing concern about a small but significant number of patients whose symptoms persist weeks and even months after first falling ill.

The NHS has now launched a tool to aid long term recovery.

“Your COVID Recovery” will be an online portal for people in England to access tutorials, contact healthcare workers and track their progress. The project will be rolled out in two phases, with the web portal launching later this month. It will only be accessible via a personal log-in and will be available to virus patients who had to be treated in hospital, as well as to those who managed their illness at home.

Later in the summer, tailored rehabilitation will also be offered to those who qualify, following an assessment.

Police say a woman from Harrogate who was reported missing yesterday has been found.

Monica Webber, aged 66, was last seen in the Dragon Parade area of Harrogate. North Yorkshire Police says Ms Webber has since been found safe in Berwick.

Police thanked those who helped in the public appeal.

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Beauty salons, tattooists and tanning salons now have the green light to reopen from Monday 13 July but some types of beauty work are still banned.

Treatments that involve work directly in front of the face such as facial waxing, eyelashes, make-up application and facial treatments are not allowed due to the much greater risk of transmission.

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to some local beauty businesses who still won’t be able to re-open on Monday.

Anna Jones, Owner of Harrogate Electrolysis

Anna Jones who is the proprietor of Harrogate electrolysis said she feels “very hard done too.”

“I specialise in permanent hair removal and 95% of my work is facial so there’s just no way I can re-open. I felt totally deflated yesterday and  I think it’s very unfair, as medical procedures such as facial aesthetic work can resume as they deem that as a ‘sterile and clinical environment’ but what I do is no different. I have always worn PPE and I work in a totally hygenic way but yet I am still in the beauty bracket rather than medical… I just feel left in the lurch.

“I’m hoping that by august we will get open, but to totally rule out facial treatments is just ridiculous. If they actually knew the figures, the bread and butter of the industry is facial- more needs to be done to help the beauty industry.”

Charlotte Wilson, Owner of CW Artistry

Charlotte Wilson who owns CW Artistry in Harrogate also feels ‘furious and upset’ by the restrictions.

“I am a makeup artist and lash technician so 100% of my work is facial… I feel annoyed as people are able to get on a flight and go to a pub, yet I can’t open even though I have a medical level of PPE and know it’s a safe environment. I initially thought I would be able to open at the same time as hairdressers so I had provisionally booked my clients in and I had a full diary for three weeks, but then when beauty was given the green light and i still can’t open its pretty devastating.”

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Charlotte who is 25 started her beauty business in January 2019:

“Financially its been terrible. I have had no help as I’ve not been self-employed long enough and I still live with my parents.  I am hoping my clients will come back, but I can’t see the makeup side of my business being very busy as a lot of my work is weddings and there just isn’t any going ahead and also people aren’t going out to events every weekend so they have no reason to get party makeup.”

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths in today’s NHS figures.

It comes as the hospital records three more patient recoveries. That takes the hospital up to 139 discharges and 81 deaths.

The hospital had not reported any deaths for 16 days before the latest death on July 3.

Meanwhile, a further 22 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in England’s hospitals.

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Of that number, two were recorded in the North East and Yorkshire.

NHS England said patients were aged between 53 and 94 years old. One patient, aged 77 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

It means the national total number of deaths in hospitals has increased to 28,991.