Harrogate District Hospital will start to restore vital health services like cancer care as the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK is now over the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

The services were paused nationwide so doctors and nurses could focus on coronavirus. The health secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that hospital trusts would determine the pace of restoration.

Health bosses at Harrogate Hospital have said that they are now reviewing the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

I can confirm that we are past the peak of this disease.

We are past the peak and we are on the downward slope.

And we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term.

But we can only defeat coronavirus by our collective discipline and working together.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 1, 2020

Robert Harrison, Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Emergency Officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“Focus is now turning to the medium term management of the impact of Coronavirus. This primarily covers sustainable care for patients with suspected and confirmed cases along with an approach to recovery and the delivery of services that have been significantly suspended during the past couple of months.

“We are prioritising the reintroduction of services based on clinical need, and ensuring we can do so safely as we continue to respond to Coronavirus. We are currently developing our plans and we’ll be directly in touch with patients over the coming weeks and months.

The hospital also highlighted that its Emergency Department is and has always been available despite the coronavirus outbreak.

“Thank you to patients, relatives and the general public for your understanding over the past few months. Your patience for the months to come while we recover and adjust back to providing a full range of services is also be much appreciated.

“Thank you as well to all my colleagues across our hospital and community services for their focus on patient care, dedication and positive attitude over what has been a very challenging time for the NHS.”

Harrogate BID’s statement comes after The Stray Ferret yesterday reported on the resignation of its chairman and three of its directors.

The four sent a stinging letter of resignation to the board citing undue council influence, a lack of openness, and a business plan that does not reflect the reality of the state of the town centre.

Chairman Bob Kennedy and directors Chris Bentley, Robert Ogden and Rob Spencer cited an accumulation of negative impacts from the UCI Road World Championships and the Covid-19 lockdown, as well as a more general crisis for retail. Read the resignation letter in full here.

In its statement the Harrogate BID does not refer to many of the criticism’s raised in the resignation letter – but does say the BID recognises the challenges facing Harrogate:

“We are naturally very disappointed by the resignations of the four board members after only four months, but we would like to thank them for their contribution since the beginning of the year.

“The Covid19 crisis has meant that our programme of activities outlined in our business plan – which was revised at the beginning of the year and agreed unanimously by all the Board members including those who have resigned – is having to be re-thought.

“We are now looking at a number of innovations and promotions to ensure that, when the lockdown is ended, Harrogate is the first choice shopping destination for residents and visitors alike

“We are here to work with all town centre stakeholders – namely traders, transport providers, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, and of course our Customers who come here to shop, eat and be entertained

“We are certainly not under any illusion about the challenges that we face over the coming weeks and months.

“The departure of these four will not detract us from the job in hand. Our focus is firmly fixed on making the town the best it can be, enhancing what we already have here, and promoting the town centre and the diverse range of businesses that it is home to.”

The Stray Ferret has asked for a response from both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council to the issues raised in the resignation letter and have not received a reply at the time of publication.

The fundraising army veteran who walked 100 laps of his garden to raise millions of pounds for NHS charities has been honoured by Harrogate’s Army Foundation College to mark his 100th birthday.

Captain Tom Moore has been made Honorary Colonel of the college, recognising his Yorkshire links through his hometown of Keighley.

Today, as Colonel Tom marks his 100th birthday, his fundraising has passed the £30m mark for NHS Charities Together.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hall MBE YORKS, Commanding Officer of AFC Harrogate, said:

“Colonel Tom Moore has uniquely captured the imagination of the nation during this difficult time. Our staff and Junior Soldiers stand in awe at his achievements and we see his values of his sacrifice and service to one’s country reflected in the College’s ethos.

“Colonel Tom’s benevolence, his steadiness on parade and his determination to give something back are all truly inspirational. To have such a role model for the Army Foundation College, and to count him as one of our own, is a privilege and an honour.”

Inspiration to young soldiers

Harrogate AFC prepares 16- and 17-year-olds for a career in the army. As the first Honorary Colonel of the college, Captain Tom will be invited to speak to junior soldiers there and show the continuation of the values he learned as a young recruit.

Junior Soldier Ash Greenwood, aged 16, currently attends the Army Foundation College in Harrogate and will go on to join 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (2 YORKS). He said:

“Captain Tom Moore states that the NHS are today’s ‘front line’ and he knows what it’s like to be on the front line, serving in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War and fighting in battles such as the Battle of Ramree Island.

“Captain Tom has not only inspired me but an entire nation to reach their personal goals no matter how big or small. It’s an honour to have you as our Honorary Colonel, and the college is extremely proud of you and your achievements both within your military career and your fundraising for the NHS. Having you affiliated with the Army Foundation College is brilliant.

“In the army you never walk alone.”

Captain Tom has been presented with his Second World War Defence Medal, which he sadly lost, ready in time for next week’s VE Day celebrations. The Yorkshire Regiment also presented Captain Tom with their prestigious annual Regimental Medal, given to the individual in the Yorkshire Regiment family who is considered to have made the greatest contribution in the last year.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Miller, CO 1 YORKS, said:

“As The Yorkshire Regiment, we are exceptionally proud of Captain Tom and his achievements.  He has captured the hearts and imagination of the nation, inspiring many in these testing times.

“From a serving soldier’s perspective, he is all we aspire to be – he epitomises courage, determination, humbleness and good old Yorkshire grit. He is one of many who have made such a positive difference, and we are proud that he is part of our Regimental Family.

“On behalf of the Colonel of the Regiment, it has been an honour to be able to present the Regimental Medal for The Yorkshire Regiment, to Captain Tom Moore on his 100th birthday. The medal is awarded annually to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to our military effectiveness and military reputation.

“I could not think of a more worthy recipient. He personifies the Values and Standards of the British Army and is an inspiration to our serving soldiers, young and old.”

Captain Moore was invited to open the Harrogate Nightingale Hospital

Captain Tom Moore was born in Keighley, and served with the 8th Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, which is now part of the Yorkshire Regiment. Last week, he was guest of honour at the official opening of the Nightingale hospital at Harrogate Convention Centre, appearing via video link from his Bedfordshire home.

New figures on coronavirus deaths, which now includes statistics outside of hospitals, paint the clearest picture yet of the outbreak in the Harrogate district.

The government has released three different sets of data, which will be released on either a weekly or a daily basis.

The first set of data, released daily, is the number of deaths in hospitals and, with two more deaths reported today, Harrogate District Hospital has now reported 46 deaths.

The second set of data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has revealed that up to April 17, there have been 22 Harrogate coronavirus deaths outside the hospital.

19 of those deaths outside hospital were recorded in care homes, one death was recorded at home and another two deaths happened in “other communal establishments.”

The final set of figures is the number of care homes that have reported a coronavirus outbreak, which is the first time this data has been released.

Of Harrogate’s 71 care homes, 26 have so far reported outbreaks. That works out at 36.6% of the district’s care homes.

North Yorkshire County Council has approved a £10 million scheme to double rail services between Harrogate and York, allowing two trains per hour in each direction.

Improvement will come from upgrading the signalling technology, from enabling faster speeds as well as from more efficient use of areas with double track.

The Harrogate Line Supporters Group has called for many years for the single-track section between Knaresborough and Cattal to be converted into double-track.

However, the county council – which secured funding for the project back in 2013 – estimates that converting the route into double-track would have cost £40 million.

The scheme could have been scrapped altogether when Northern Rail was taken into public ownership but the council has worked with Network Rail to find a cheaper option.

Network Rail has agreed to fix the cost of the project, including all development and design work, at £9.854 million.

The council has identified £9.6 million from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership as well as £3.4 million from parking fines to fund the works.

Council documents have proposed using the surplus from the under budget rail improvement scheme for the overbudget A1 (M) Junction 47 works.

Councillors met virtually to approve the funding for the scheme on Tuesday morning. The deadline for the completion of works from December 2020 to May 2021.

Brian Dunsby, from the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, told the Stray Ferret that the group welcomes the news:

“We have been waiting for this investment for several years after our plans for doubling the actual track throughout were rejected, because there was not sufficient money in the budget to meet Network Rail’s estimate of the potential cost.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet will hold its first-ever virtual meeting next week on Wednesday, May 6.

All committee, council, and cabinet meetings had been suspended since the coronavirus lockdown in March.

This is because of laws which said meetings at which decisions are made, and votes taken, had to happen face to face with elected members all at the same location.

The government temporarily changed the rules to enable council meetings to take place from April 4 and other councils across the country have been taking advantage of that.

Now Harrogate’s councillors will use Microsoft Teams for the 5.30pm meeting, and it will be combined with a live stream so the meeting can be followed on the council’s YouTube channel.

Graham Swift, cabinet member with responsibility for democratic services, said:

“We have managed to conduct business continuously throughout the pandemic but larger decision making that engages council, cabinet or committee had to be postponed. However, now that the government has introduced new legislation to permit remote meetings, we can get back to conducting our committee decisions collectively, and in public.I am grateful to our democratic services and ICT teams for the work they’ve done to make this happen.”

Harrogate district gin distillery has opened a ‘Drive-in Market’, where people can either pull up and order or use the click and collect service.

Steven Green, co-founder of Harrogate Tipple has set the drive-in up at the distillery in Ripley. He told the Stray Ferret:

“People want to support local buisnesses… We have pulled together all these great companies in one place to offer a safe service for customers, and also support buisnesses during a crisis.”

You can pick up some Harrogate Tipple hand sanitizer, as well as supplies from local companies such as Baltzersens, Coldbath Brewery, The Little Ale House, Daleside Nursery and many more.

Last year’s UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate brought thousands of visitors onto the Stray. 

At the same time, heavy downpours arrived in Yorkshire. Anyone who knows Harrogate is familiar with the flooding along West Park which accompanies rainfall at least once a year. Add in heavy footfall and even heavier vehicles crossing the grass and the result was a quagmire, churning up the ground deep below the surface. 

For the event, the timing could not have been worse. The state of the ground forced the organisers to close the fan park several times during the week. On the final day, the weather was so bad that the route of the race had to be changed and the helicopters were grounded, leaving the only television footage beamed around the world to be some very soggy shots from a motorbike behind the participants. 

It was unsurprising, then, that the fan park was also closed a day ahead of schedule. Over the following days, the take-down of the event’s hub was much slower than planned because of the conditions – and the resulting damage to the Stray was gradually revealed. 

What has been less obvious is where responsibility lies for the repairs. The question of who pays for the Stray has remained unanswered, with HBC insisting it would be Yorkshire 2019 or its insurers.

Yet investigations by The Stray Ferret have today revealed a £150,000 expenditure proposed by the council – on top of the £51,000 already paid out since the event. It confirms, for now at least, the work will be paid for by the people of the Harrogate district.

The 200 acres dividing us

Both physically and metaphorically, the Stray represents Harrogate. It’s the stunning open space for which the town is known – and, at the same time, it divides us perhaps like nothing else. 

For many, it’s a valuable asset which must be protected at all costs. The damage done to it is unforgivable, not least because of the long-term impact it is having on our town – Harrogate in Bloom has declined to enter any competitions this year, young footballers and others can’t make use of the space, and the bright orange fencing is a constant reminder as people approach the town centre that this seven-month-old debate rumbles on. 

For others, it’s just a patch of grass. The argument at the time was that it would soon re-grow in the spring, and that those complaining about the damage done should find something more important to occupy their time. After all, Harrogate had been shown off around the world thanks to the huge international event it had just hosted.

Wide stretches of land remain grass-free

Fast-forward from September to April and it is evident that the grass is not going to re-grow on its own. Significant work is needed – to the tune of £200,000 as revealed today by The Stray Ferret, and perhaps even more than that, according to one groundworks expert. 

The question is not whether the event was worth the resulting damage – nor even whether it should have been foreseen. Rather, it’s whether sufficient provision was in place to protect taxpayers from having to fund the repairs. 

Today’s revelation about expenditure confirms that taxpayers’ money will be used to carry out the work. That means at least £150,000 will have to be found from elsewhere in the council budget – at a time when, as it admitted last week, it faces a shortfall of £10m because of coronavirus. 

With the warm weather helping to dry out the worst of the surface-level mud, now is the perfect time to begin repairing the damage, especially with such low footfall. But whether scarifying and re-seeding over the coming six months will return the Stray to its former glory – and whether there is any possibility of, or even appetite for, further events to come to Harrogate – remains to be seen. 

This column is written for The Stray Ferret by Susie Little co-founder of Covid Co-Operation, Harrogate 

News of a new virus emerging in China started filtering through during January, just as snippets in amongst the Brexit furore.  I don’t think anyone, here in the UK, could possibly have envisaged then where we would find ourselves, just a few weeks later.

Fast forward to mid-March and rumours were swirling about an imminent “lockdown”. Loo roll was as rare as hens’ teeth and I started thinking; initially about over-70s I knew who would be facing the prospect of three months housebound and how I could help them.  The natural extension to that were others I didn’t know, and others like me, who would surely want to help them.

So Covid Co-Operation, Harrogate on Facebook was born. Within 72 hours we had over 4,000 members and, now six weeks later, over 10,500.  The response has been extraordinary and, as the fifth week of “lockdown” ends, people’s kindness, generosity and willingness to step up still astounds every day.  Need Calpol?  No problem.  Broken thermometer?  Amy will drive across town with a new one for you.  Lost your job and need to feed your children?  A week’s worth of food and treats gathered and delivered in a matter of hours.

It became obvious to me, early on, that this will be a life-changing event in so many ways – I think we will see lasting, positive societal and corporate change.  I sense a shift in people’s priorities and values.  Through “lockdown” we’re being forced to live a far more simple life and certainly for my generation and those younger than me, this is the first time we’ve experienced shortages and being unable to buy what we want, when we want it.

I’ll be honest; the non-stop activity of the Group means I rarely have time to dwell on the horror; the sheer enormity of what it is we’re all living through.  Mentally, this works for me; I can’t change what’s happening but I can, along with the best team of admins ever created and over 10,000 Harrogatonians, make things a little easier for people who need it.

I’d like to think, in years to come, when we look back on this period in our lives, we will remember how our town and its people came together to look after one another in a way never seen before.

It’s a privilege to be part of it.

Covid Co-operation has picked six small local charities who help vulnerable groups and launched a Crowdfund project to support Harrogate Foodbank, IDAS, Hear to Help, Supporting Older People, Canaan Warehouse and SparkSupport.  So far it has raised £6,000 – a £1,000 for each charity.  

To donate:  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/covid-co-operation-harrogate

This column is written for The Stray Ferret by Fiona Movley, Chairman of the Harrogate International Festivals 

With the most difficult challenges come some of the greatest opportunities.

As a charitable arts organisation with little public funding (less than 1% of turnover), the current situation calls for robust business thinking and some tough decision making.

Historically we have kept our team small, enabling us to be agile and react to change.  The team’s quick thinking has led to some imaginative changes including ‘remote Festival experiences’ via our website.  But it has meant that we have furloughed half of our staff; the remaining team working from home as they not only deliver remotely, but plan for the future and dismantle the summer programmes.

We were well ahead with reaction to Covid19. We made the difficult decision to hold back the launch of our Summer Season as major arts events were only just beginning to close down around the world. We knew early on that it was the only decision to take to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our audience and team.

Economic times are very tough but after much deliberation we decided against launching a public appeal for funds.  We will lose £850k of our income this year through cancelled events, sponsorship and fundraising as much of our income is generated from March to July. However, it is not the right time when we all have so many personal worries about health and jobs.  The time will come when your help and support will be vital to us as we move forward.

Today I appeal to you in a different way.  The support of the arts in Harrogate is vital to the future of the town.  We may have lost many events, with a knock-on effect for everyone, not least of all our local economy.  When we come back after this dreadful time, we will need your help to bring back to life the rich vibrancy that is Harrogate International Festivals.

Lives are changed for the better through arts organisations. We need the arts to help us rebuild and enrich our lives once more. Some of our work may in the future be delivered in a different way, we are all learning a great deal during this exceptional time, but when we come back in our full glory, we will need your help to spread the word to bring our audience back again.

Let’s cherish our arts organisations, nurture them, and protect them.

Find out more via HIF Player and HIF at Home, it is all free to access – www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com