For businesses, it has been a challenging and worrying year, in many different ways. Tim Waring, leading estate agent and chartered surveyor at Lister Haigh, reflects on what started as a normal year but soon began to change.

Looking back over the past year, one of my happier times was a fabulous day during a group ski trip to France. We’d just had a day with blue sky and sunshine in Val D’Isere, and then the Saturday night dinner is our dining highlight of the trip.

But this tranquil setting came to an abrupt end. After the first course, we were told everything was closing that night.

It was a real wake up call given I guess we had been in our world for three or four days beforehand. My other half had ironically told me I was in a bubble and didn’t appreciate how difficult things were becoming.

It proved to be a prophetic turn of phrase. It all seems such a long time ago given everything that has happened since.

I was lucky my estate agency was only closed for two months. Since reopening, the property market has been a hive of activity, helped, in no small part, by the stamp duty incentive offered by the Chancellor.

Meanwhile, I have friends in the retail and hospitality sectors who have seen their businesses decimated after two national lockdowns and ongoing tier restrictions. Some may well not re-open in 2021.

Read more:

• Harrogate estate agents relieved at stamp duty holiday
• District estate agent reports a surge in home-buyer interest

So I cannot consider myself hard done to, when one of the things I missed out on this year was celebrating a big birthday with friends in April.

Lockdown has fast tracked my relationship with the aforementioned girlfriend to the point that I now consider we are partners, and happily in a support bubble.

But yet, one friend has died from this awful virus, and at least two others have had hard times in hospital because of it.

I might have not seen my son who lives in London for many months, but fortunately technology has allowed us to keep in contact in a way that wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago.

My grandson, Arthur, was only five months old when this wretched thing started. Now he is walking and already proving to be a typical toddler. He lives in Harrogate, so I have been able to see him regularly.

I love re-watching a video of him trying to walk and instead falling over in the leaves. Yet another reason to feel I have been luckier than most in 2020.

So that’s why, all things considered, I think I’ve been luckier than most of late. What happens next year – who knows?

When the Bank of England says things are “unusually uncertain”, maybe that says it all.

The Latin phrase carpe diem, “seize the day”, comes to mind when one reflects on the last 12 months.

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

Today, we focus on the impact on businesses, from high street to hospitality.

For most business owners, it has been a very worrying and difficult year. From moving their staff to home working to switching to delivery or click and collect, businesses have adapted to constantly changing rules in order to survive the last 10 months. 

For some, though, it has been more challenging than others.  

Among the industries to suffer most in 2020 were events and hospitality. Bars and restaurants found themselves in and out of lockdown, posing huge problems for planning and ordering supplies.  

What made it all the more difficult was the continuing use of Harrogate Convention Centre as the NHS Nightingale. In a district economy which relies heavily on tourism and events, hospitality businesses found their income drastically below what it would usually be. 

Reopening ‘vital’

As the first lockdown eased, some of the district’s major employers were emphasising just how vital it would be for them to reopen and to receive support from the public. 

When news came that the Nightingale would remain in place, preventing events from being held even if restrictions were eased, it was a blow to the sector. 

Major events were postponed and called off for many months ahead, leaving businesses staring at a blank calendar for the foreseeable future. Among the casualties in hospitality were the Country Living St George Hotel, Ripon Spa Hotel, and The Old Deanery, which announced it will close its doors next summer. The Kimberley Hotel also announced its closure in December.

Restaurants were not immune to the challenges of the trading environment, with Harrogate’s Bistrot Pierre and Las Iguanas among the big names failing to reopen their doors.

It made one leading hotel manager’s prediction of ‘carnage’ in May look worryingly prescient – and with uncertainty still ahead, it’s likely we haven’t heard the last of the closures as the new year approaches.

Events industry

Events businesses, meanwhile, were unable to trade at all, spelling the end for one of Harrogate’s longest-established names. 

Joe Manby Ltd was well known for helping to stage events at the convention centre, as well as elsewhere around the country. Andrew Manby, a director of the family firm established in the 1970s, had warned repeatedly that more support was needed for companies unable to trade because of restrictions.  

In October, with no sign of improvement ahead, the company announced it would go into liquidation. 

Cambridge Street in Harrogate was looking busier in the run-up to Christmas

There were casualties on the high street, too, with several big-name brands announcing they would be closing branches in our district, along with long-standing independent businesses.  Among those lost were AP&K Stothard’s pet shop, The Bookstall newsagent at Harrogate railway station, Edinburgh Wooden Mill and Ponden Home in Ripon, Wren’s department store, and menswear shop Jon Barrie. 

Yet it wasn’t all bad news. For some determined entrepreneurs, the pandemic was no reason not to make their business dreams a reality – including a new taco business and a travel agent.

From music to clothes shops and even a pop-up bakery, Knaresborough seemed like the place to be in the second half of the year. It also saw a pop-up from popular Harrogate bakery Baltzersen’s. 

Nevertheless, uncertainty remained, and the second lockdown left owners desperate to know whether they would be able to reopen in time for Christmas. 

The district’s tier two restrictions meant they were able to do so in early December, aiming to make the most of the final few weeks of trading. Residents can only hope it was enough to get their favourite businesses through the coming weeks and months until the situation begins to improve. 

Read more:

• Looking back: Clap for carers and scrubbing up for key workers
• Looking back: Extraordinary effort to build a Nightingale hospital in Harrogate

A long standing Boxing Day tradition in Knaresborough of staging a tug-o-war contest over the River Nidd has fallen victim to covid.

For more than 50 years, teams from the The Half Moon and The Mother Shipton pubs have done battle on opposing banks of the Nidd with a very long rope.

Whichever team loses, faces the prospect of sliding down the mud and, if they are unable to stop in time, into the Nidd.

Read more:

• Light in the 2020 darkness for Ripon
• Knaresborough Methodist church raises £1,000 for African families

There are separate events for men and women and each contest is decided by the best of three pulls.

The friendly rivalry usually attracts hundreds of people and plenty of ale. But like so many other community events this year, it has fallen victim to covid.

It will be the first time in 51 years the event does not take place.

A church in Knaresborough has raised more than a £1,000 for African families after taking a different approach to Christmas this year.

Members of the Gracious Street Methodist Church usually send 20 to 30 cards to each other at Christmas.

But this year, instead of sending cards they made donations to the Methodist relief and development charity All We Can, which supports vulnerable communities.

The congregation raised £1,190, which will allow the charity to buy three wheelchairs for children in Ethiopia, four bikes for children in Uganda for their school journeys and five goats for families in Zimbabwe.

One member of the congregation, Brian Hoare, designed this card, which was was signed by and sent to everyone who donated.

So instead of receiving numerous cards from each other, each congregation member just received the one. The initiative reduced waste and raised money for a good cause.

Sharon Wright, the local All We Can representative and member of the congregation, said:

“We wanted to keep the congregation in touch with each other and help others too.

“This year we’ve really focussed on encouraging our congregation to reach out to others and this card is another way of doing that.”

Read more:

• Boris Johnson has backed a Christmas Eve jungle campaign that started in Harrogate.
• Harrogate’s ‘giraffle’ raised £1,000 for the local food bank.

The church has adapted this year in response to covid. It also introduced a ‘coffee at 11’ scheme to encourage everyone to sit down and ring somebody for a chat.

Sharon said:

“The pandemic has highlighted the desire for community. People don’t want to be alone.”

Harrogate district residents are being invited to have their say on where a new leisure centre in Knaresborough should be built.

Harrogate Borough Council is consulting on its plans to build the new centre, which will include a swimming pool and gym, on the site of the current swimming pool in Knaresborough.

The council chose the current leisure centre site as its preferred option for the development last month ahead of Knaresborough House, Hay-a-Park, Conyngham Hall and a site on Halfpenny Lane.

It is now offering residents the chance to give their views.

The consultation document says the leisure centre will serve the “east of the district” rather than just Knaresborough, which will do little to calm fears Starbeck Baths will close.

The document also highlights how 150-year-old Starbeck Baths and the current Knaresborough leisure centre are “aging and have significant operational and unplanned maintenance issues and will not meet the future needs of their users”.

Read more:

• Developer says plans for a new business park near Knaresborough could support 2,000 jobs.
• The works on the Knaresborough to Poppleton line are complete.

The survey asks residents if they agree with the council’s choice of preferred site. Survey participants can also express their reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.

The consultation, which ends on January, 18, can be found here.

The plans for Knaresborough are in conjunction with refurbishment plans for the Harrogate Hydro. It is expected to cost over £26 million.

The council has appointed Alliance Leisure, a Somerset-based company, to develop the plans.

Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has said people must “show patience” before the UK turns the corner on coronavirus.

Reflecting on the year on his website, Mr Jones said many people would be glad to see the back of 2020.

But he added we “can be certain life will slowly return to normal” due to vaccinations and improved care for severe cases of covid although it will take “some time.”

Mr Jones wrote:

“As we quietly move into the new year we must show patience and further restraint as that process takes place.”

Coronavirus vaccines began at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground on Tuesday. People aged over 80, care home residents and care home staff were first in line.

It is believed about 900 vaccines a day are being given although the NHS has yet to reveal figures.

Read more:

• Andrew Jones MP calls for HS2 work to start in Yorkshire
• Andrew Jones MP criticised for lockdown U-turn

In further reflections on 2020, the Conservative MP praised the public, private and voluntary sectors for rallying together during a year like no other.

He wrote:

“We didn’t need a pandemic to know how brilliant our public services are but it was a very powerful reminder.

“We have though learnt some things about ourselves and one another which I hope we can carry through into 2021 and beyond.  And we have also learnt lessons that reinforce that which we already know but perhaps didn’t recognise enough.

“Community matters.  We looked out for our neighbours who were elderly or less well than us. We got in touch with support organisations to volunteer our services.  Street-based groups sprang up to help those around them.”

A fire that destroyed a barn in Knaresborough in the early hours of the morning is thought to have been started deliberately.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews attended the incident on York Road at 1.19am and used two main jets.

It added the derelict building suffered ‘100% damage’ and the cause is believed to be deliberate.

One eyewitness from Knaresborough, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret he saw the building on fire and then watched three males running from The Chase onto Manse Lane. Multiple fire engines attended the scene.

The witness added he reported the men to police who “arrived in minutes” and spoke to them. He added the police later told him the men had a ‘viable excuse’.

The barn is believed to have been vacant for a considerable period of time. It is also thought a nearby building had previously been burnt down deliberately.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Police for further details about the incident but neither had replied at the time of publication.

Read more:

• House fire in Harrogate caused after a plastic toaster was placed inside an oven.
• Fire at a much-loved pub in Coneythorpe left locals devastated. 

Police are appealing for information after £1,000 worth of jewellery was stolen from two homes in Knaresborough yesterday.

The burglaries took place at Hilton Lane and Park Row between 10.30am and 6pm.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information about any jewellery seen for sale on local social media sites or in shops. The items include a silver ring with gold love hearts and a Tiffany necklace with a silver heart attached.

Read more:

• Two arrested in Harrogate police drugs swoop
• Police appeal for help identifying man after Nidd Gorge theft

Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Mark Nursey. You can also email mark.nursey@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12200235413.

It’s lights, camera, action for this year’s Knaresborough nativity, which has been made into a film for the first time this year.

The nativity is usually performed live in the town’s Market Square on Christmas Eve. But covid forced plans to change this year.

The film will feature familiar faces from local dramatic society Christians Together.

The society has been filming since September, bringing the production to life by using local backdrops.

Viewers will see the wise men following the star over the Stray and buying gifts from Knaresborough shops. The final manger scene is set inside the bar Six Poor Folk.

Peter Lacey, the producer, said:

“It felt obvious in the summer that a Christmas gathering of over 400 people rubbing shoulders and shaking hands was unlikely to be sensible in the context of covid, and so we set out on our own journey.

“We’ve had to negotiate lockdowns and ensure all filming has been covid-secure, but we’re delighted with the outcome”.

Some of this year’s cast during filming.

Read more:

• Knaresborough encourages shoppers with a free map of all its Christmas trees.
• Masham is to hold outdoor services this Christmas. 

The society hopes to have the film available on its website by the end of the week. It will be uploaded here.

A community showing has also been arranged for December, 24 at 5.15pm – household can receive the zoom link by booking on the website.

The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate is to be used for the vaccine rollout from next week.

The first vaccination is due to be given on Tuesday and the programme is expected to last for several months.

The government has asked the 17 GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding district, including Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham to oversee the rollout.

The practices are appealing for volunteers to marshal the car park and signpost patients through the vaccination site at the showground, which is owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

No details have been given to the media about the rollout but a post on the Harrogate covid co-operation Facebook group yesterday on behalf of the GP practices revealed the news. It said:

“Harrogate and rural district are working together in order to plan for delivering a mass vaccination programme and we need to ask primary care staff and volunteers to help.

“We will need staff and volunteers to undertake a variety of roles and we need to plan for vaccinations to be carried out seven days a week, 8am-8pm, including bank holidays.

“This is a huge ask, but we would like volunteers to indicate if they would be willing to help in some capacity.”

The 250-acre showground has ample car parking and is used to staging large events, most notably the three-day Great Yorkshire Show, which was cancelled this year.

But nothing in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s 183-year history compares with the task in hand.

Read more:

• Harrogate researcher finds two-thirds will take vaccine
• Two further covid deaths confirmed at Harrogate Hospital

The GPs’ post today said it required 18 volunteers a day. Morning sessions will start with an 8am briefing and the first jabs will be given at 8.30am.

Morning sessions will end at 1.15pm and afternoon vaccinations will take place from 2.30pm to 6.15pm.

The GPs’ post said:

“Unfortunately we aren’t able to offer vaccinations to volunteers at this stage as we have to prioritise certain patient groups.

“Next week is the first stage of the vaccination programme and we are going to need volunteers from the New Year onwards to fulfil the same types of roles for probably a number of months.”

Anyone interested in volunteering is invited to register their interest and complete the questionnaire here.