Harrogate district residents recognised in Queen’s birthday honours

The Queen’s Birthday Honours list has been revealed with several residents across the district awarded for their contributions.

MBE

Rachel Louise Bowes, has been made a MBE for services to the community during the coronavirus pandemic under her role as assistant director for care and support, North Yorkshire County Council.

Christopher John Bentley, from Harrogate, has been made an MBE for services to business and culture.

Kathleen Shirley Clegg, from Harrogate, has been made an MBE for services to prisoners.

Philip Nesbit Graham from Knaresborough will be made an MBE for services to the rail industry. Phil has worked in the industry for 47 years and offered signalling classes, on a voluntary basis, for 34 years.

His classes allow those working in the industry, those hoping to get into it and some who may just have an interest to train as rail signal operators.

He said:

“I am very proud, but it was totally unexpected. I thought it was a wind-up at first. It makes me think the last 34 years and my career have been appreciated. The real reward comes from people being successful from the training I’ve given.”

Marie-Ann Jackson has been made a MBE for services to the community during the coronavirus pandemic under her role as head of Stronger Communities Programme, North Yorkshire County Council.

BEM

Colin William Gibbs, from Harrogate, will receive a BEM honour this year for voluntary service to young people. He has been one of the driving forces behind Tewit Youth Band for almost four decades.

As president of the group for 29 years, he has been part of its ambition to provide instruments, musical tuition and uniforms to all children, whatever their background. Colin and the committee are always finding new ways to raise money for the band, as well as local charities.

With the help of a private investor, Colin was able to secure a 125-year lease on a building to ensure the band can continue offering “a place for everyone”.

On receipt of his honour, Colin said:

“It was very unexpected but I am delighted. It all started when my son wanted to play a brass instrument, I started helping volunteering and working with the band.

“When my son turned 18 he left and the band was going through a hard time and they asked me to take over. I knew I couldn’t let it disappear so I got stuck in straight away.

“As a president I am there to keep it going, we sing for our supper and are always performing to raise money.”

Colin said the honour was also in recognition of the band and the “hard-working committee”. Following lockdown, Tewit Youth Band has only just started rehearsing in quartets, to comply with the rule of six, but it hopes to resume full rehearsals as soon as possible.

Florence Yvonne Grainger, from Ripon, has been made a BEM for services to the community in Masham.
Andrew Wayne Hattersley, from Harrogate, has been made a BEM for services to the community in Harrogate during the coronavirus pandemic.
Denny Levine, from Harrogate, has been made a BEM for services to the community during the coronavirus pandemic under his role as social care assessor for North Yorkshire County Council.
Government invites North Yorkshire councils to submit restructure plans

The government has invited councils in North Yorkshire to submit plans for a shake-up of local government in the county, which would see Harrogate Borough Council and other district authorities scrapped.

Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, invited leaders from North Yorkshire County Council and the seven districts to submit plans today.

It comes as ministers made it a requirement back in July that district councils and county council were abolished in favour of unitary councils before any devolution bid could be lodged.

The government said any unitary council plan would aim to be established by April 2023.

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County council bosses have already outlined plans for a single council for North Yorkshire alongside the City of York, while the districts have proposed two councils in the east and west of the county.

Both proposals would mean Harrogate Borough Council would no longer exist.

Now, council leaders will be able to submit the plans to government who will then consult with the public on a preferred option after each model has been considered.

Mr Jenrick said restructuring local government would help to save money and improve services.

He said:

“Councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset are already working on developing their locally-led unitary proposals and I am now giving them the opportunity to submit them for consideration.

“Where there is local support, changing the structure of local government can offer better value for money and improved services for residents. We have always been clear that any restructuring of local government must continue to be locally-led and will not involve top-down solutions from government.”

The decision comes as Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, had written to Mr Jenrick urging for clarity on the future of devolution.

Meanwhile, district leaders had called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay any devolution policy amid the coronavirus crisis.

Task group meets to discuss care home visits

A task group designed to come up with a solution for care home visits met for the first time this week amid county-wide restrictions.

North Yorkshire County Council restricted visits to care homes throughout October following an increase in coronavirus cases.

It comes as 12 homes in the Harrogate district have so far reported outbreaks of coronavirus since the start of the second wave of infections.

The group, which is made up of care home managers, residents, family members and dementia experts, met online for the first time and said a flexible approach with risk assessments for individual people was needed.

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Richard Webb, director of adult care at the county council, had promised that the restrictions would be reviewed at the end of the month.

He said the meeting was positive and that the group wanted to find solutions for visiting.

Mr Webb said:

“This was a really positive meeting and members of the task group welcomed the opportunity to tell their personal stories of the hardship and impact in terms of people’s mental well-being of stopping visits.

“Everybody at that meeting also acknowledged the challenges of protecting residents from covid but showed great focus on finding solutions to enable visits if at all possible beyond October.

“My own preference is for regular covid testing for designated visitors. However, given the current capacity issues with the national testing programme, it is difficult to guarantee this approach will be practicable at the present time.”

The authority said that care homes are still encouraged to allow window visits for residents so that relatives can still see their loved ones.

Homes are also being urged to use telephones and other technology to allow residents to contact relatives.

School services in North Yorkshire face cuts

Some children’s services in schools are set to be scrapped as part of cuts by North Yorkshire County Council.

Hearing and vision screening for four and five-year-olds and sexual health drop-ins are among the services facing the axe.

The council executive will next week discuss the plans, which aim to save £750,000 over three years on the local authority’s healthy child programme.

The council hopes these cuts will help it meet its overall plan to save £4 million.

If the plans are approved, they will go to consultation on October 26.

The programme, which supports 130,000 young people aged 0-19 in North Yorkshire and their families, is worth £70m over 10 years.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, North Yorkshire’s director of public health, said:

“We must take account of the national changes in public health funding, which will see a reduction across the board of around 15%.

“We will continue to deliver mandatory health checks for children under five years old and will continue to support new parents with a focus on those children and families most in need.”

‘Not the same level of service’

A report prepared for the executive meeting says:

“The proposed programme will not be able to provide the level of service that it currently provides to school aged children. Some services provided in school settings will stop, including hearing and vision screening for children aged 4-5 years and sexual health services drop-ins in schools.”

Currently children receive five in-person check-ups to the age of five, but under the new proposals three of these could be done virtually.

The report says the proposals would prioritise children aged under five.

Under the proposals, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which delivers the programme in partnership with the council, would be awarded a 10-year contract.

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Suzanne Lamb, head of safeguarding at the trust, said:

“While the trust recognises that the future model will need to look very different to what is being offered now, we appreciate the opportunity to continue to work closely with North Yorkshire County Council in a longer term arrangement.

“This will ensure more targeted support in relation to need and new ways of working including support via digital channels.”

Harrogate councillor Geoff Webber, who is the Liberal Democrats leader on the council, criticised government cuts for forcing the council to reduce its services. He said:

“It is disgraceful the government have chosen this time to reduce public health spending in North Yorkshire by £4 million over the next few years.

“I am sure that members of all parties will support the effort to maintain the healthy child service and we look forward to seeing the result of the public consultation.”

Killinghall school reopens after coronavirus case

Killinghall CE Primary School has welcomed students back today after someone at the school tested positive for coronavirus.

The school, on Otley Road in Killinghall, said today its hot lunch service is not available due to reduced staffing.

Headteacher Sarah Bassitt also thanked parents for collecting their children at short notice yesterday lunchtime. She reiterated that the coronavirus case is not connected to any of the pupils.

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The headteacher’s letter from yesterday said the school had identified a “very small” number of staff who had “close contact” with the individual concerned.

Stuart Carlton, the corporate director of children and young people’s services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“There are no other cases within the school and we hope the person affected enjoys a speedy recovery. Our schools remain very safe places.

“Killinghall is only one of four schools that have closed since the beginning of this school year out of hundreds of education settings which we are supporting in North Yorkshire.

Mr Carlton added that the council takes rapid and timely action whenever there are coronavirus cases in schools and said “we are working with 44 settings”.

County council postpones James Street pedestrianisation

North Yorkshire County Council has decided to postpone a temporary pedestrianisation of James Street in Harrogate.

In an email to businesses, David Bowe, director of business and environmental services at the county council, said the authority will not pedestrianise the street before Christmas.

It comes as the authority had planned a trial pedestrianisation which would have blocked off the street to cars for up to six months.

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Business managers, landlords, Harrogate BID and Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce met virtually with the the council earlier this week where some raised concerns over the issue. They said the timing was poor, as the run-up to Christmas will be particularly vital for them this year after losing trade through lockdown for several months.

Now, Mr Bowe has told traders that their concerns were heard “loud and clear”.

He said in an email:

“In conclusion having discussed the matter with Cllr Don MacKenzie, the leader of the council and the chief executive I would make the following proposal. That we agree not to introduce the experimental order before Christmas and that NYCC officers will engage with representatives of your group to develop a detailed proposal for an experimental part closure of James Street to best advantage.

“I recognise that you may still have reservations about the plan and they will be taken into account when a report for a decision is subsequently presented.

“I believe the response above demonstrates that we have listened to the points you have raised and have noted them. Whilst the final decision on this has yet to be taken, we do now offer you assurance that any experimental closure will not be implemented before the New Year.”

The temporary closure of the street to traffic was requested by Harrogate Borough Council for “social distancing and safety purposes”. Cllr Don Mackenzie, NYCC’s executive member for highways, backed a temporary, partial pedestrianisation, saying such moves had proved popular with residents and businesses elsewhere in the country.

However, landlords and businesses on the street continued to voice concerns about the potential impact on trade.

No plans to add Harrogate to Covid watchlist

Harrogate is not expected to be added to the government’s Covid watchlist this week, according to North Yorkshire’s public health bosses.

However, they said the situation could change if the number of infections is not brought under control.

Scarborough and Selby districts are currently on the watchlist as “areas of concern” and neighbouring Leeds was put into local lockdown last week.

Further restrictions were announced elsewhere in the north today, including Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Warrington and Liverpool.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, said the county had asked for a cautious approach to putting districts on the watchlist after Scarborough and Selby were added to it even though other districts that are not on the list have higher infections rates.

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He added:

“As the national system is revised in terms of where the whole country is, we will probably get some more detailed guidance about how the watchlist system will work in the future. That may or may not come out this week.

“But we have no expectations that Harrogate will be added this week. That does not mean that situation may not change for next week.”

Meanwhile, Richard Flinton, chief executive of the county council, said yesterday in a council newsletter that the transmission of infections was mainly between households.

Latest Public Health England data shows 519 new cases in the county in the past two weeks at a weekly rate of 36 per day.

Harrogate saw 16 new coronavirus cases yesterday and hit a three-week daily high of 19 on Tuesday.

Mr Flinton said the county’s infection increase was in line with the national picture.

He said:

“We are studying the data carefully and can clearly see that the majority of cases can be linked back to household and social transmission. 

“This is important, because what it also tells us is that our schools are safe places to be. That, in turn, is testament to all the hard work schools, colleges and childcare setting have put in to plan for a safe return for pupils.”

Care home visits in district may be allowed after October

North Yorkshire County Council may allow visits to care homes after this month following a backlash from upset relatives.

Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at the council, wrote to care homes this week advising them to halt routine visits throughout October.

This prompted some members of the public, as well as Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, to say visits should be allowed to go ahead.

At a press briefing yesterday, Mr Webb said the council would set up a working group with relatives and care home providers to investigate ways that allowed people to visit homes after this month.

One possible solution, he said, would be to allow a nominated person to visit.

But Mr Webb added he “could not make any promises”.

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One Harrogate resident, whose 99-year-old mother has dementia and is in a local home, contacted the Stray Ferret to say care home residents deserved better. She said:

“It is sheer cruelty and tragic to not address this problem and leave our loved ones to live out their last days alone and severely depressed, as is happening now.

“What we desperately need is adequate testing, which would enable one key visitor, who should be tested and treated in the same way as staff, to be allocated with unlimited access to each resident.’

The resident was critical of Mr Jones’ suggestion to Parliament that visits could take place behind glass screens or windows.

She said it would add to the confusion and frustration felt by residents with dementia, adding:

“It would most likely seriously distress them and add to the cruelty of this situation.”

‘Act now before a child is killed’

A primary school headteacher and parents are calling for urgent speed measures in Killinghall before a child is killed or seriously injured.

Sarah Bassitt, headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School, spoke out after a fruitless two-year campaign to tackle speed outside the school.

Traffic hurtles downhill along Otley Road into the village at a 60mph limit, which only reduces to 30mph about 200 metres from the school. Often cars are doing at least 40mph when they pass the building.

Ms Bassitt said many schools had 20mph limits outside and traffic calming measures, such as speed humps.

But two years of writing to North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police have not led to similar outcomes in Killinghall.

Ms Bassitt said:

“The criteria seems to be that you have to have a child killed before anything is done.

“That hasn’t happened mainly because of the vigilance of parents and teachers.

“It’s very dangerous and different to what happens at other schools. It feels like we are hitting out heads against a brick wall.”

Ms Bassitt said some parents were so exasperated they had even used fake speed guns to encourage drivers to slow down.

Otley Road, outside the school in Killinghall.

Parent Gary Donoghue, who has led the campaign, said children were scared to walk to school.

Mr Donoghue said there should be a 20mph limit outside the school.

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He also called for the 30mph limit coming into the village to be moved back to the junction with Lund Lane to allow traffic more time to slow down before passing the school. He added:

“We are looking for prevention rather than repercussions. We don’t want something to happen to our children so they are the ones who bring about change.

“There seems to be a lack of acknowledgement that there is a problem. But when your child is scared to walk to school that is an issue. I wish someone from the council would come and speak to us.”

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire County Council several times for comment but did not receive a response.

James Street pedestrianisation looms amid ’empty shops’ warning

Businesses debated pedestrianising a key Harrogate street with North Yorkshire County Council for the first time last night.

The plans to stop traffic from entering James Street could still come into force as early as October. It is expected to last up to six months but there is still no set date for the start.

Some raised concerns at the meeting about the look of traffic cones at the meeting last night. However, the council has mooted tree planters as a replacement.

The County Council met virtually with business managers, landlords, Harrogate BID and the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

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Bob Kennedy, of Porters and G23, told the Stray Ferret that the meeting was “courteous” but still has reservations:

“There is a debate to be had about pedestrianisation in the long term. But I do not think it is the right time to hold a trial run. Christmas will be a crucial time for many businesses and this plan to temporarily pedestrianise James Street may be detrimental.”

David Steca, of Steca Barbering, posted a picture of James Street with barely a shopper in sight:

“The reputed busiest shopping street in the affluent up market town of Harrogate at 10am on Wednesday.  Please now take the cones away they help nothing. People are not stupid they can distance. See the full picture or more vacant shops.”

The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council for a comment. We received no reply by the time of publication.