knaresborough Archives - Page 159 of 182

Henshaws arts and craft centre to reopen thanks to £100,000 grant

A £100,000 government grant has enabled the charity Henshaws to reopen its arts and craft centre in Knaresborough this month.

Henshaws announced last year the centre would be closed for the “foreseeable future” because it was no longer economically viable.

However, it received a grant from Arts Council England in the second round of funding awards from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which helps organisations affected by covid.

Henshaws which supports disabled young people with special educational needs is inviting disabled people to come forward and apply for places as art makers.

The centre, which runs a range of workshops including music, crafts, pottery and horticulture, will remain closed to the public for the time being.

Henshaws chief executive Nick Marr said:

“Covid has had a massive impact both on the arts and crafts centre and the charity as a whole and we have been working tirelessly to continue to support those who need it most, so I am absolutely delighted that we are now able to take this major step forward.”

About 2500 people signed a petition in June to keep the centre open.

The charity is hosting a virtual tour on May 12 between 10am and 2pm to give potential art makers and their families a taste of what is on offer.

In October, the charity announced a Harrogate-based provider, Homes Together, would take over its residential services due to its financial situation.

Planning submitted to add to Knaresborough pub re-development

A further planning application has been submitted for the re-development of one of the oldest inns in Knaresborough.

The building and land already has permission to be converted into three flats, three houses and a hospitality venue.

However, if approved, the new application would see an extra two one-bedroom flats built within the current building.

The plan is the 10th planning application for The Board Inn found on 3 High Street in its history.

The property was sold in August last year by Harrogate estate agents FSS Property after eight months on the market. It sold “very close” to the guide price of £325,000, according to the estate agents.

The residential units are intended to be rented out rather than sold. It is hoped the hospitality space will reopen as a restaurant or micro-pub.

The building near the bus station has lain empty for a number of years with the design consultants at MAS Design Consultants Ltd hoping this development will offer a “positive change”.

It is unknown when the works will begin but planning responses can take around 12 weeks.

Harrogate district bucks UK trend with empty shops in decline

Across Britain the number of empty shops has risen again, but the Harrogate district has enjoyed a boost in businesses opening over the past 12 months.

In March 2020 8.6% of the district’s retail units were empty, but in March 2021 this had dropped to 6.8%.

Research by the British Retail Consortium published by the BBC found that one in seven shops in Britain were empty, with the north of England said to be the most affected.

But the Harrogate district is bucking this trend – despite the repeated lockdowns to tackle the pandemic.

Tina Parker opened a French furniture store, Once Upon A Time, in Killinghall in September and said she would never look back:

“We did feel like we were a little crazy at the beginning but we thought people would go back to supporting local after the pandemic and they have!

“It’s been fantastic, people have been really supportive.

“Of course it has been difficult having to close twice but luckily we did get some grants so it worked out well.”

Liz and Richard Hawkes with Anna Martola (left) from the Watermark Gallery.

Liz Hawkes, owner of the Watermark Gallery on Royal Parade in Harrogate, opened her premises just as the first lockdown was imposed last March. She said:

“We had already signed the lease and done the refurb just as lockdown was enforced but I’m glad we did open then otherwise I never would have done it. The independent scene in Harrogate is really strong and getting stronger.

“It’s been a positive experience for us and encouraged use to be more creative with our space, windows and how we serve our customers.”

David Lombardi opened his music shop, The Music Bank, in Knaresborough in October and said although he has not been open as much as he would like, the local support has been great. He said:

“We kind of thought it was an opportunity and prior to the pandemic people were moving online so it was risky then too.

“I think we are stronger than we would have been if we stayed open because we had the time to work on the business.”

Andrew Jones urges care minister to ease ‘restrictive’ outdoor guidance

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has urged care minister Helen Whately to review care home guidance on outdoor trips.

The guidance says residents that leave homes must isolate for 14 day except for medical appointments or exceptional circumstances.

It has been widely criticised nationally and locally, including by care home residents, the Bishop of Ripon and the director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council.

Nick Moxon, 32, who has cerebral palsy and is a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s care home on Claro Road, Harrogate last week told the Stray Ferret he feels “trapped” and “treated like a lesser being” because of the guidance.

Now Mr Jones has described it as “too restrictive and not in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of our care home residents” and urged Whately to act.

Mr Jones revealed the news not on his official website but on Community News, a website he runs featuring local Conservatives.

He said “slow but positive improvements” meant care home residents could now receive two nominated visitors and hold hands with them

But he added the same could not be said for outdoors visits, which particularly impacted younger care home residents:

“New guidance says that when they leave their homes for any reason, as they often do to exercise in the fresh air, they must self-isolate for 14 days thereafter. This is said to be necessary to keep other residents safe.

“Whilst I support the government’s motive, this is undoubtedly too restrictive and not in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of our care home residents.

“I have written to the Minister for Care, Helen Whately, to ask for the guidance to be reassessed and reconsidered and I hope this will be acted upon quickly.”

Exclusive: No more first vaccines in Harrogate district until June, leaked letter reveals

People hoping to receive a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the Harrogate district may have to wait until June, a letter leaked to the Stray Ferret has revealed.

The Harrogate district had made good progress with the vaccination programme. According to the latest NHS England figures, more than 95,000 jabs have been given.

But as the national rollout focuses on people aged just over 40, it seems the NHS has cut vaccine supply to the Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System, which oversees the vaccine programme in the Harrogate district.

A letter signed by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, and Beverley Geary, chief nurse at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and leaked to the Stray Ferret, revealed the supply problem. The letter says:

“We were informed earlier this week that there would be no first dose vaccination supply for the ICS until June.

“The situation is still developing and there may be some Pfizer vaccine available earlier in May. This is a huge disappointment to everyone who has worked on the vaccination programme in the ICS.

“We know you will all be concerned about the impact of this national supply issue on your own ability to continue to deliver the programme, the impact on patients as well as the reputational risk.”

The letter, dated April 22, was sent to senior health officials in the region as well as large scale vaccination sites and community pharmacies.

It says Humber, Coast and Vale ICS is “extremely concerned about the proposed national campaign for the vaccination programme due to start next week”, when the focus is likely to be on over 40s.

“We have expressed our surprise at such a disjointed approach at the national level and the impact that this will have on local areas managing patient expectations.”

The pharmacy-run vaccination centres in Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge have not held a vaccine clinic since April 17 and because of supply problems do not have a date for the next one.

Since it opened at the beginning of the month, the Pateley Bridge centre has only been able to give 400 coronavirus jabs.

Samin Khan, who runs Pateley Bridge Pharmacy, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have only managed to hand out 400 vaccines since opening because we have not been given any coronavirus vaccines.

“Other places are getting a supply. The NHS is sending people out to York and Leeds when they want to get a jab in their local area.

“It seems like because the Harrogate district has done so well with the coronavirus vaccines that we have been penalised.”

Ms Bloor told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today that first dose supply was “getting low.” She added:

“I think it is fair to say that throughout the vaccination programme there have been peaks and troughs in vaccine supply.

“It is a bit lumpy, some weeks we get more and some weeks we get less. At the moment, we are getting slightly less in terms of first doses than we have been previously.

“But, actually, what that means is we can really focus on getting people through for second doses because we have got that guaranteed second dose supply.

“We are also assured that we will still be on track to deliver first doses to all of those aged over 18 by July 31 in line with the government guidance.”

Knaresborough couple campaign for ‘Matilda’s Law’ after death of baby daughter

A Knaresborough couple are campaigning for changes to maternity services after ‘avoidable delays’ in delivery led to their baby daughter’s death.

Whitney Pickup went into labour at Harrogate District Hospital on July 2, 2018.

She was advised by doctors to proceed with a natural delivery even though her first child was delivered via emergency caesarean section at another hospital.

Following an unsuccessful forceps delivery, her daughter Matilda was born by caesarean section with severe brain damage.

Matilda was admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Martin House Hospice, where she died at nine days old.

Ms Pickup, 33, and husband Andy, 35, subsequently instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care provided by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

An investigation, carried out by the trust, found “there were avoidable delays in achieving the delivery of Matilda which caused or materially contributed to her sad death”.

Among the problems identified by a subsequent Root Cause Analysis Report was a failure to obtain previous maternity and delivery notes, which would have alerted doctors to the risks involved as well as avoidable delays in the operating theatre and communication issues.

Matilda Pickup in hospital

The couple are now campaigning for Matilda’s Law to make it mandatory for hospital trusts to share antenatal, maternity and labour records if the mother is under the care of a different trust in future pregnancies.

Ms Pickup, who is also mother to Charlie, five, and Isaac, one, believes her daughter’s death could have been avoided if the hospital had requested her medical records. She said:

“It’s still so difficult for me and Andy to accept that Matilda is no longer here and she didn’t get to experience any sort of life.

“What makes it worse and all the more upsetting is knowing our daughter’s death could have been avoided had the hospital simply requested my medical records, making them aware of the risks.

“We will never forget Matilda and she will always be part of our family. We now want to honour her memory by it being law for trusts to share relevant information to improve patient care and ensure staff are aware of any potential complications.

“If we can prevent this happening to anyone else than at least we can take something from what we’ve had to go through.”

An inquest into Matilda’s death, which is expected to last for four days, started in Harrogate yesterday.

Victoria Moss, the specialist medical negligence lawyer representing the couple, said:

“Through our work, we sadly come across too many families left to pick up the pieces following the death of a baby following avoidable failings.

“We would urge trusts to always work in partnership, not only by sharing patient records so the best possible care plans can be put in place, but also by sharing best practice. This we believe would reduce the number of mother and babies either seriously injured or killed.

A spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said it would comment after the inquest.

Knaresborough train station bar is a ‘labour of love’

The owners of a new bar arriving at Knaresborough’s train station next month say the project has become a “labour of love”.

Jason White and Phil Paling of Gorilla Brothers Ltd already own a brewery and bar near Doncaster that focuses on craft ales.

The Track & Sleeper will open on platform two by the last week of May, serving a selection of real ales, ciders and gins.

Its two large rooms allow for plenty of seating, 20 outside and 70 inside.

The owners have made the most of the generous space and installed a large bar, made out of sleepers, to hold 12 pumps. They are hoping to use four of these for guest ales from local breweries.

Mr White said:

“We want to be part of the bar scene in Knaresborough and hopefully people will buy into it. It’s been a labour of love for us.

“We have fallen in love with the town and who’s to say we wouldn’t open another bar locally.”

It has taken the men more than a year to get to this point after originally submitting their business plan to Northern in January 2020 and only getting into the building to start renovations three weeks ago.

The Grade II listed station dates back to Victorian times. The Track & Sleeper’s design is said to be in keeping with its history by using period colours and maintaining some original features.

Mr White added:

“We’re trying to go along the lines of how things would have looked 100 years ago.”

Coronavirus cancels 1,000 driving tests in Harrogate district

The coronavirus pandemic forced examiners to cancel nearly 1,000 driving tests in the Harrogate district over the last year.

Figures released by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) this week show the true scale of backlog faced by learner drivers.

Nearly half a million tests were cancelled across the country. The testing centre in Knaresborough, which serves the Harrogate district, cancelled 982.

A further 68 tests were cancelled between April 2020 and March 2021 in Knaresborough.

11 tests were cancelled for medical reasons, 34 because the examiner took leave. Acts of nature, like bad weather, also forced 23 cancellations and they were all in December.

There was a major drop off in tests at the Knaresborough centre over the last year as a result.

Between April 2019 and March 2020 there were 3,649 tests compared to 1,265 tests between April 2020 and March 2021.

Of those that took place, 685 people were successful and that gave the test centre a pass rate of 54% which is above the national average of 50%.

The AA has called for the government to make more test slots available to cope with the pent-up demand.

Robert Cowell, AA Driving School interim managing director, said:

“Young people have faced several hurdles with starting their adult life in the last year.

“Many have faced disruption to education due to Covid outbreaks, frustration with securing employment and delays to learning to drive.

“Because of lockdowns thousands of would-be learners have also missed months of lessons and missed driving tests.”

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.

Knaresborough deliberate fire becomes one of many in recent weeks

A fire started by youths last night in Knaresborough joins a list of numerous others in recent weeks.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the fire on Hay-a-Park Lane around 9pm last night.

The Knaresborough crew used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire in the woods and gave advice to the the group.

This incident is amongst numerous others recorded in recent weeks. The fire service had already put out a plea on its social media recently in an attempt to combat the rise.

It asked parents and guardians to ensure they know what their children are up to now groups can meet outdoors.

The plea, later published of the fire service website, gave this advice:

“Please remind children that:

Deliberately starting fires is usually a criminal offence and even small fires can endanger lives

Fire spreads quickly and can be unpredictable

Playing with fire in the home or garden can have serious unintended consequences

Fires outside can easily get out of control and cause damage to woodland, moorland and wildlife.”

The fire service says this issue is repeated every year around Easter as the evenings become lighter.

Earlier this month a picnic bench was set alight near the Pinewoods, the fire service also believed this was started deliberately.

Last year The Stray Ferret found the number of deliberate fires, in June, July and August, had actually halved from those in 2019.

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