As 2020 draws to a close, the Stray Ferret looks at the news stories that stood out among a year of extraordinary events. 

Today, we remember all the ways in which our district’s key workers were shown appreciation, beginning with the weekly Clap for Carers. 

As many of us stayed at home to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus, determined key workers continued to put themselves on the front line. Showing their appreciation, people across the Harrogate district took to their doorsteps each week to Clap for Carers – and they didn’t stop there. 

The Clap For Carers lasted for 10 weeks and, as well as individual households, saw the hospital and care homes become focal points for the community’s appreciation of key workers.  

One of the biggest campaigns to support the NHS in the Harrogate district was started by maths teacher Fran Taylor. 

At first planning to sew a couple of sets of scrubs for Harrogate District Hospital, Fran soon found herself coordinating hundreds of volunteers, thousands of metres of fabric – and donations running into thousands of pounds. 

Fran Taylor made use of her church hall to cut out thousands of metres of fabric for the volunteers

With a supporting team helping her to organise sending out patterns and fabric, collecting completed scrubs and delivering them to where they were most needed, Fran managed to deliver an astonishing 4,000 sets of scrubs – on top of looking after her two young children and teaching her St John Fisher students remotely. 

They were sent to staff across the hospital who would not normally wear scrubs but needed clothing that was easy to wash as soon as they got home from a shift. Requests from other NHS and care providers also came in, and were fulfilled by the dedicated team. 

It wasn’t just scrubs that were in demand, however: in April, other vital PPE supplies were hard to access and appeals were put out by the hospital and North Yorkshire County Council.

Straight away, the community stepped up to help. Among them was the technology department at Harrogate Grammar School, which turned its talents to rolling out visors for key workers. Ashville College was also creating visors and scrubs after donating 200 pairs of goggles from its technology cupboards.  

Dancing in the street

Meanwhile, local residents showed their support from home with displays of bright rainbows in their windows. 

And the community spirit didn’t stop there.  

For three months from late March, the country was placed under national lockdown, with residents largely confined to their homes and their movements restricted.  

That did not stop people in the Harrogate district from looking out for each other, though – including finding inventive ways to keep up spirits in the face of adversity. 

For residents in Harrogate’s Mount Gardens, music was lifting the spirits every week. Derry Jones, best known for playing the piano for diners at Bettys, took his accordion to the pavement as wife Jovita sang, and the neighbours were out and dancing. 

Just a few streets away, 22-year-old Lucy Crocker was using her musical talents to give a concert for her neighbours each Friday. 

Playing the viola, she took requests for songs as well as performing some classical tunes she already knew. Her efforts were appreciated by the rest of the residents of Mallinson Oval, who enjoyed getting outside to see each other and chat from a distance every week. 

Fitness classes were held on Spring Grove, Harrogate

And on Spring Grove, residents came outside daily to take part in Mel Milnes’ exercise classes. 

People across the Harrogate district formed groups with their neighbours to ensure nobody went without what they needed. Though keeping them apart physically, the pandemic brought communities together like nothing before.

Two new benches have taken pride of place in Harrogate and Knaresborough to celebrate key workers.

One of the benches is in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens; the other overlooks the boats on the River Nidd in Knaresborough.

The volunteer group Supplies for Key Workers in and around Harrogate is behind the project.

The group commissioned the benches from Harrogate Borough Council at £1,200 each, using money left over from fundraising events.

Julie Mills, head of the Supplies for Key Workers group, told the Stray Ferret:

“It is just brilliant to see. When I saw that plaque, I was quite emotional. This is what we have all done together.

“We have not really stopped since the first lockdown but it is nice to sit on the benches and reflect on what we have achieved.”

Read more:

• Ripon coronavirus testing site being considered
• Coronavirus clinic to open at Jennyfield community centre

More than 3,000 people are in the group, which was set up at the start of lockdown.

The group is still receiving requests for scrubs and visors.

Houses at a newly completed housing development at Kirby Hill, near Boroughbridge, are being offered to key workers with a 5% discount.

Developer Caedmon Homes says the discount will be applied to three and four bed houses and could add up to a £19,000 reduction on the price.

The Priory Meadows site is a development of 34 homes ranging from two-bedroom bungalows to five-bedroom detached homes, with prices starting at £377,500. James Baker of agent Preston Baker said:

“As the world slowly gets back to normal after the global pandemic, we have hosted a number of open weekends at Priory Meadows and the reaction has been phenomenal. We were so incredibly busy last weekend that we opened on the Monday as well – and that was equally stacked out.

“The upshot is that we have agreed four sales since lockdown, which is a superb return – and a massive endorsement of this stunning development. There are now only 12 houses left to buy.

“As a special thank you to the selfless key workers during Covid-19, we are offering them a five per cent discount on this site for two three/four bed houses, which are the same house type as the show home. That equates to a discount of almost £19,000.”

The development has proved popular even over lockdown with 60% of the house already sold.

Read more:

• Harrogate Borough Council has been “steamrollering” through plans to build a 3000 house settlement in Green Hammerton. 
• A plan for 270 homes and a primary school on Whinney Lane has been submitted. 

Simon Bowler, a Yorkshire-based landscape architect, has crafted three bespoke porches for the development’s flagship houses.

Priory Meadows has been shortlisted for Residential Development of the Year (fewer than 50 homes) in the Yorkshire Property Industry Awards, alongside three other developments – including one other in the Harrogate district, The Chase on Harlow Hill, Harrogate.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, has praised the new rainbow tribute to key workers above the Stray’s cabman’s shelters.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Jones revealed a private donor and local electrical firm had paid for the tribute.

He then called for a debate on how to celebrate the efforts of key workers.

“Our key workers have kept the nation going throughout lockdown and I want to see local and national celebration of that,” he said on Thursday.

Read more:

• How local bus companies can transport key workers with a government grant
• When the Harrogate district commemorated the work of key workers
• 8,000 Easter eggs donated to children of key workers in Harrogate district

The tribute to key workers in Harrogate.

In response, Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats tweeted the MP had “made a career out of refusing our key workers the pay rise they deserve”.

They added: “Many feel unwelcome in the country they call home. But sure, we all love rainbow lights.”

Two taxi firms in Harrogate that have run an essential service during the pandemic, are hoping that demand will increase as we ease out of lockdown.

The firms have offered extra services over lockdown including 24/7 phone lines and a shopping service for the elderly and shielding.

They have put safety measures in place including drivers and clients wearing masks and customers are asked to sit in the back seat.

Tracie Geelan who works for Elite Taxis told The Stray Ferret  that the firm has continued to run during lockdown:

“We are doing more to support our older clients, our drivers are even taking shopping orders over the phone and doing that for them too. We also have one of our directors Paul who rings all of our shielding customers weekly to check in and say hello to give them someone to talk to.

“We’ve had different requests during the pandemic, for example, driving to Heathrow airport to pick up customers after they’ve been stranded abroad or we had one client who was stuck on a cruise boat and wasn’t sure where it would dock. So we put one driver on standby who left as soon as we knew where the boat had docked.”

One of the directors of Elite Taxis, Paul Cox, has been ringing his shielding clients weekly to give them someone to talk to.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire County Council has set up a new company to run its highways operations. 
• Harrogate bus company sells face masks to raise funds for the NHS. 

Another taxi firm in Harrogate, Blue Line taxis, has

“We are still fulfilling contracts with some schools, especially those with parents that are key workers. We have kept our offices open 24/7 so customers hear a human voice rather than an automatic message when they ring us, its normally hospital staff that ring us overnight and we want to make sure we’re maintaining a high level of service.

“Things are getting back to normal but people are still frightened to come out. It won’t happen in a month or two but we’re optimistic business will pick up again.”

Residents and businesses across the borough have donated 8,000 chocolate eggs and sweets to children, whose parents are working on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus this Easter.

The idea was started by a group called ‘Supplies for key workers in and around Harrogate.’ It was set up to help key workers get access to the supplies they need during coronavirus.

Fiona Ryan who runs the group told the Stray Ferret:

“Children of key workers are also emotionally affected, many having to temporarily live apart from their mum or dad who is on the frontline of this pandemic, so we wanted to try and make sure Easter was still special for them,”

Sweets for the ‘Key Worker Mini Hero’s.’

They have delivered the packages to the hospital, police force, care homes, schools, GP surgeries, pharmacies, community midwives and district nurses across the borough, so parents had one less thing to think about over Easter.

“Some parents have said they wouldn’t of had time to go out and get Easter Eggs for their children which has made them quite sad, but they are so humble and commited to their jobs.”

People from the district have been posting pictures of their children on social media with their Easter treat using the caption ‘I’m a key worker mini hero.’

Maddie and Max Deely from Harrogate. Mum, Sophie Deely is a pharmacy dispenser.

Harrogate Borough Council has scrapped all fees at its off-street car parks to help NHS staff and other key workers.

In Harrogate, it will mean that it is now free to park at West Park Long Stay Multi-Storey, Victoria and Jubilee car parks.

But there are over 33 car parks across the Harrogate district which will all be affected by the move.

The council has warned motorists to still follow parking restrictions to ensure they do not create a hazard.

It comes as the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust scrapped parking fees for its staff.

The government will cover the cost of scrapping parking fees after a petition calling for the move reached over 400,000 signatures.

However, with a surge of volunteers signing up to help at hospitals there were fears that there would not be enough car parking spaces.

This move to scrap off-street parking charges should help relieve some pressure on hospital car parks but government ministers have also called on some private parking firms to follow suit.