The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt. Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, she says she’s received a call yesterday evening from the city’s MP Julian Smith.

Dr Hartley, told The Stray Ferret that ” it was good of him to be in touch” but did not want to share more details of the conversation.

The call from Mr Smith came at the end of a day which saw the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin, and two of his mayoral predecessors Councillor Pauline McHardy and Councillor Stuart Martin all united in their condemnation of an email to the Bishop that read, ‘keep out of politics, or it will be the death of you’.

This death threat and similarly-worded threats made to the Bishop of Newcastle Christine Hardman and John Inge, the Bishop of Worcester, have been reported to the police in their respective diocese.

The Bishop, who took over her role in Ripon in 2018, received a number of hateful messages, alongside ones of support, after saying in a tweet that she disagreed with the way in which Prime Minister Boris Johnson had condoned the actions of his key adviser Dominic Cummings, who travelled 260 miles with his wife and young son from London to Durham at the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Cummings has subsequently come under fire from almost 40 Conservative MPs, who  have found his actions unacceptable and called for him to be dismissed. Among those making that call is Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

Following our initial story on Tuesday, the majority of Stray Ferret readers posting on Facebook, said they supported the bishop and her right to speak on the impact that politics has on people’s lives.

Dr Hartley, said:

“I am encouraged by the kind words that I have read and heard.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been given £141,177 from the government to help reopen high streets in town centres in the district safely.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that non-essential shops, such as clothes stores and electronic outlets, will reopen from June 15 and urged people to spend money to help the economy “bounce back”.

Now, councils across the country have been handed money from a £50 million pot to help with measures to make shopping areas safe and will be able to spend the funding from June 1.

The money is designed to fund measures such as new signs, temporary barriers, street markings and marketing campaigns to reassure people that High Streets are safe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to spend money to help the economy when non-essential stores reopen from June 15.

It comes as North Yorkshire County Council has already put out temporary bollards in town centres across the district to widen pavements to help social distancing. The authority’s highways chief was forced to defend the measures after criticism from some traders and on social media.

The funding is expected be among the last from the European Union Regional Development Fund which is allocated to the UK Government and handed to councils. The EU fund will finish at the end of this year.

High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP said:

“As we begin to slowly return to normality, the re-opening our high streets will be key to kick-starting our economic recovery.

“Levelling up the regions and supporting our high streets has always been central to the mission of this government.

“Many businesses have already introduced creative ways of trading such as contactless collection or taking orders by instant messaging and shows that they are ready for the challenges ahead.

“That’s why we are providing an extra £50 million for councils to support a range of safety measures that will help get these businesses back on track and ensure that people can enjoy their time visiting their local high street safely again.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment on what it intends to spend the funding on.

Retailers in the district are reporting an increase in the number of bikes sold since the coronavirus crisis began.

Some bike store owners in the district said they’ve seen more people opt for two wheels, with one reporting as selling as many as seven bikes a day.

It comes as the government urged more people to cycle to work as the lockdown eases.

In Harrogate, Prologue Cycling, which deals with performance model bikes, said it had seen good sales during the lockdown period from people who felt they had more time to upgrade their bikes.

Meanwhile, Damian Brooks, manager at Motor World in Ripon, said he had also seen an increase in sales at his store during lockdown.

He said: “I have never known it so busy. Since the coronavirus, people have become very fitness conscious and we are selling six to seven bikes a day. That’s as many as we were selling in a month before the crisis.”

National outlet, Halfords, reported a “better than expected” month in April where shares in the company jumped by 11%.

Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, said people should consider taking up two wheels as the commute to work changes  and announced a £2 billion funding package to increase cycling and walking capacity across the UK.

Stray Ferret Focuses on Cycling

Over the next three days, The Stray Ferret will explore the debate surrounding the future of cycling in Harrogate in a Focus On Cycling series.

Each morning we will publish a story which will cover how the debate is shaping and what is being done as the call for more cycling lanes grows louder.

Tomorrow we will look at the projects planned in Harrogate and what progress has been made on them.

Make sure you sign up to notifications from The Stray Ferret so you don’t miss a story.

The number of jobless claims in the Harrogate district soared by around 150% at the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

ONS data shows that on March 12 there were 1,010 claims in Harrogate and Knaresborough and that increased to 2,570 by April 9. Ripon and Skipton saw a similar rise from 745 claims to 1,935.

In the UK, the claims rose at a record month-on-month rate by 69.1% to 2.1 million from March 12 to April 9, 2020.

That’s according to new data from the Office for National Statistics, which can be found here.

Both the Harrogate and Knaresborough as well as the Skipton and Ripon constituencies saw a much higher rise of 150% in claims than the UK average.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, warned on his website that the unemployment figures could rise as more data becomes available.

“It would be wrong to view these figures as a one-month phenomenon. As the effect of lockdown continues to run through our local economy, as furloughing ends and as lockdown eases we are likely to see more shocks in the unemployment figures.”

It comes as the number of people using Harrogate’s food bank more than doubled when the coronavirus lockdown was introduced.

North Yorkshire County Council will reopen a further five household waste recycling centres, including one in Ripon.

The Ripon recycling centre on Dallamires Lane will reopen tomorrow along with others in Malton, Northallerton, Tadcaster and Wombleton.

It comes after the council opened a further 14 waste recycling centres earlier this month. Penny Pot Lane in Harrogate was particularly busy with queues.

The council closed its 20 recycling centres temporarily in March. The Harrogate Stonefall centre will be the only centre to remain closed.

North Yorkshire County Council has said that it cannot the Harrogate Stonefall recycling centre just yet because of difficulties managing highway safety.

Councillor Andrew Lee, the Executive Member for Waste Management, said:

“It is great to see all but one of the sites reopening, and I would like to thank the North Yorkshire residents for their understanding, and for playing their part by continuing to recycle and dispose of their waste responsibly and only visiting the sites when they can’t store their waste at home. All the sites that have reopened so far have been managed well by our contractor Yorwaste with new controls to keep the public and staff safe. We would like to remind residents that we are currently unable to accept trailers or commercial customers at any of the sites.”

After the first four weeks of lockdown, The Stray Ferret reported on the activity of our two MPs and what role they were playing in tackling coronavirus. We had struggled to establish exactly what they’d been doing.

It’s now eight weeks since lockdown, the country has faced its biggest ever public health emergency, and we have asked them to tell us more about their activity during this time. Again, we did not receive an answer, so here is what we know based on information publicly available.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

In Harrogate- here is what we found on Mr Jones:

• He posted one news story on his website in the last four weeks. It urged businesses to plan for when lockdown eases.
• Mr Jones tweeted three times in the last four weeks. None informed his followers of what work he was doing in Harrogate.
• He has no Facebook page to update his constituents on his community work.
• He chaired the first virtual meeting of the European Statutory Instruments Committee on April 21 and chaired another meeting on May 5.
• Last week, he said publicly that people should not get complacent because lockdown is being eased.
• Mr Jones offered to deliver leaflets and food on behalf of the Harrogate Easier Living Project. The charity confirmed that he did that last week.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon- here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith has posted no news stories on his personal website about his work during lockdown. His last post was in January.
• He does include links to government guidance as part of an advice section on his site.
• On Twitter, two of his 62 tweets since April 20 have been about his constituency – one about Ripon barracks and another on a hardship fund for farmers from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
• Mr Smith posted five times on his Facebook page in the past four weeks to promote the government’s coronavirus bounce back loans. The others were the same Ripon and DEFRA related posts that he made on Twitter.
• He asked a question at Prime Ministers Questions on May 13 where he called on the government to bring an end to rough sleeping in the UK.
• Mr Smith has held telephone surgeries for his constituents throughout lockdown.

What would you like your MP to being focusing on as we ease out of lockdown? Here’s what a number of people from both constituencies asked.  Have you been in touch with your MP? Have they been helpful? Get in touch with us and tell us how.

The Stray Ferret asked people in both Harrogate and Ripon constituencies what questions they had for their local MPs.

In Harrogate, the questions centred on how the town centre is going to bounce back after restrictions are lifted and what support is going to be in place for both people and businesses.

Here is what people in the town had to ask Andrew Jones MP.

Phil Argent, CEO of Tenancy Stream, said:                                          “Businesses are going to have to try and start again and are not going to have the footfall that they once did. How exactly is Harrogate going to bounce back from lockdown?”

Jan Bathurst, team leader at Harrogate District Food Bank, said:               “Once lockdown is lifted, what support is going to be in place for vulnerable people both in terms of financially and food?”

Kimberley Wilson, owner of The Camberley Hotel and chair of Accommodation Harrogate, said: “I would like to know when we are going to have the Harrogate Convention Centre back and what is going to happen with events going forward?

In Ripon, the questions hit a different tone. There was an anxiety over how vulnerable people will cope and what the government is going to do to address rural poverty which some fear will be worse after lockdown.

This is what the people of Ripon wanted to ask Mr Smith:

Dave Robinson, chair of Henry Jenkins Community Pub Ltd: “The coronavirus crisis has served to emphasise the need for rural communities to come together and make best use of their facilities for local residents. As previously indicated by you, once the crisis is over, can we count on your support in our campaign to save the historic Henry Jenkins Inn in Kirkby Malzeard, reestablishing the Asset of Community Value over the whole site and protecting its status as a community amenity for the three villages in our expanding parish?”

Phil Marley, owner of Marley’s Butchers, Ripon: “The worrying scale of rural poverty in Ripon and surrounding areas, has become even clearer with the coronavirus crisis. We are doing our bit as a business to help families and individuals in dire need, but people cannot rely on charity forever. As I see it, the financial situation can only get worse, particularly as unemployment is likely to rise when small businesses go bust because of the money they have lost. What do you think the government can do to assist places like Ripon in keeping businesses open and helping the poorest in our society?”

Alison Hope, No 12 Greengrocers, Masham:                                                  “Local farmers are working around the clock in the crucial role of keeping us all fed. Many are working in difficult circumstances, with concerns for their future. What have you been doing to support our local farming community during the crisis?”

All of these questions were submitted to Andrew Jones and Julian Smith at the end of last week. We are still waiting to hear back from both MPs.

Parking restrictions have been introduced across the Harrogate district, with signs suggesting they could be applied for more than four months.

James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street in Harrogate town centre have been roped off, along with parking bays on Knaresborough High Street. Pateley Bridge’s High Street and Ripon’s High Skellgate and Westgate have been reduced in width to a single lane.

North Yorkshire County Council’s signs say the restrictions are designed to enable social distancing and are in place until the end of September. However, the authority confirmed on Twitter the parking bays will be closed this weekend, with monitoring in place to determine how effective the measures are.

While shops, cafes, bars and restaurants are not currently allowed to open, the government has said the restrictions could be eased in the coming weeks. NYCC has not confirmed whether the weekend’s restrictions will be extended, though the signs suggest they could be in place until the end of September.

The notices on James Street suggest restrictions could be in place until the end of September

Richard Flinton, chief executive of NYCC, said in a message to residents:

“We are doing our best to limit crowds in those places where lack of space is particularly concerning such as Whitby, Filey, Scarborough and Harrogate.

“We are closing a number of streets, shutting certain car parks and suspending parking in a number of areas. We will also have highways crews looking out for any issues of concern over the weekend and ready to take the action open to us, to respond.”

If restrictions on town centre parking remain in place after shops are allowed to re-open, they are likely to cause concern for businesses already affected by declining footfall before lockdown began. Independent Harrogate, which represents small businesses in the town, has been campaigning for free parking to encourage more shoppers to visit and bolster the local economy.

Environmental campaigners argue the quiet roads and increase in cycling and walking over recent weeks should be part of the Harrogate district’s plans for the future. Zero Carbon Harrogate has said now is the ideal time to improve infrastructure for low-carbon transport and encourage people to choose options other than cars.

More visitors were seen in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens today

Visitor attractions

Fears had been raised that, over the first weekend since changes to lockdown advice from the government, crowds could descend on town centres and attractions, making it very difficult for people to keep their distance.

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens today appeared much busier than it has been over recent weeks, with no parking restrictions nearby. Organisations including Yorkshire Water and the Yorkshire Dales National Park issued advice against travelling to potentially busy places.

Mr Flinton added:

“We hope this is reassuring, but you all have a part to play in this, too. Of course, enjoy the outdoors; there is no finer place than our county in my, perhaps biased, view.

“But, please, access open countryside rather than paths, narrow lanes or town and village centres. If you can do so close to your home all the better, and be prepared to change your mind if where you are heading looks busy. Protect yourselves and your family by avoiding crowds and encourage anyone you know who is thinking of coming – to wait until we can offer them a real North Yorkshire welcome in the future.”

What are your experiences of the new restrictions and social distancing across the Harrogate district this weekend? Email us with your views.

Steve and Clare Walmsley may well be leading the field when it comes to an unusual way of thanking the NHS.

The couple live with their teenage children Heidi and Freddie at Brooklands Farm close to the A61 Ripon to Harrogate Road near South Stainley and have a corner of a field on a raised plain has proved a prime location for catch the eye messages, such as Support British Farming and follow the Tour De Yorkshire.

Now they have taken matters to a whole new attention-grabbing level by placing a sign that reads ‘Thank You NHS’ and putting rainbows on the side of resident ewes Muffin and Milkshake, who munch the lush grass as lorries, cars, motorcyclists and cyclists pass by on the nearby road.

Steve told The Stray Ferret:

“We decided to do this because people are having a tough time at the moment and need something to smile about.”

The rainbows on Muffin, who is a Mule and Texel Cross Milkshake, were put on using an animal marker and are so far on one side of the ewes, but Steve and Clare are planning use the marker colours on the other side of each animal, so the rainbow can be seen whichever way the ewes are turning.

Clare, who has family that work in the NHS, added:

“We are so grateful for what the front line workers are going for us all, that we wanted to find a special way of saying thank you to them.”

Their decision to put the sign in the field with their rainbow sheep is clearly working, as drivers of vehicles passing by could be heard papping their horns as they went past.

Union bosses fear jobs could be under threat at leisure centres across the Harrogate district as the council plans to create a new company to run the services.

Harrogate Borough Council has proposed to create a new company, which it would own, to run leisure and community centres in the district.

The authority said the plan would help to save around £400,000 a year by bringing in more income and making savings.

It comes as the council has estimated a £15 million shortfall as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

If given the go-ahead, it would mean facilities such as Harrogate Hydro, the Turkish Baths and Ripon Leisure Centre would be run by the new company.

The Turkish Baths, Harrogate.

Known as a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC), staff who currently work in leisure and sport would be transferred over from the council to the new company.

Some 200 workers would fall under the LACC, but Unison said it feared those staff would not necessarily be on the originally agreed terms and conditions as with the council.

It added that a number of staff have already been redeployed to support other services during the coronavirus pandemic, such as waste and recycling, and now have concern over their original roles because of the council’s plan.

A spokesperson for Unison Harrogate Local Government Branch said:

“Unison are aware that Harrogate Council is currently consulting with residents about its proposal to convert its sport and leisure service into a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC), which it will own.

“Whilst the council says that by doing so it could do more with sport and leisure and innovate the way it works, there should be no doubt that the aim will be to reduce costs and save money.

“Staff who move over to the new company would not necessarily be on the nationally agreed terms and conditions as those in the council they leave behind and our experience of other LACC’s tells us that cuts to terms and conditions but also to real term pay, often occurs soon after.

“Currently, there are a number of sport and leisure staff who, due to the coronavirus lockdown, have been redeployed in to other services, such as refuse and recycling, who are continuing to give their all for the community.  

“They now see their real jobs under threat and this is a big concern for them.

Harrogate Borough Council declined to comment.

The authority is currently consulting with residents on the new leisure company. You can fill out the survey here.