Nine jobs at risk as Bettys considers closing shop after 50 years

Bettys managers are considering plans to close one of its York stores after failing to find a “workable option” to keep the 50-year-old store open.

The store, known as Little Bettys, in York’s Stonegate lost its upstairs cafe in March but now the company is looking into the future of the shop too.

When the Stonegate cafe closed earlier in the year 34 employees were affected.

If the shop were to close as well, nine members of staff would be at risk of losing their jobs.

In a statement, a Bettys spokeswoman admitted the store had been the “most operationally and commercially challenging of our branches”.

She added every effort had been made to re-deploy staff elsewhere in the company and a final decision was yet to be reached.

“Earlier this year we took the decision to permanently close the upstairs café, but kept the small downstairs shop open with a plan to look at different options and formats for the building.

“Sadly, to date, we’ve been unable to find a workable option, so we’ve made the team aware of a proposal to close the entire branch.”

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The spokeswoman said none of Bettys’ other tearooms in Harrogate, Harlow Carr, Ilkley, Northallerton and York were at risk of closure.

Earlier this year Bettys said it was facing its worst recruitment crisis in recent years forcing it to close its Harrogate store four hours earlier than usual.

34 jobs at risk as Bettys closes York cafe

Bettys has confirmed that it will not reopen its Stonegate cafe in the centre of York.

Speculation started to grow when it was not included in Bettys reopening map before multiple sources told the Stray Ferret that it was closing with job losses.

The famous Harrogate based company has said that it will reopen the shop but not the cafe at “Little Bettys.”

As a result of the closure there are 34 jobs at risk. Bettys is hoping to redeploy staff where possible.

Simon Eyles, managing director of Bettys, said the closure came with a heavy heart:

“We’ve been welcoming customers to a café on Stonegate for over 50 years. We’re incredibly grateful for the loyalty and kindness of York’s residents and visitors over that time, and for the talent, commitment and dedication of our colleagues at the branch.

“We haven’t taken this decision lightly, but we know it’s the right choice for the long term. Bettys is a 100-year-old family business and our history has shown us that we need to adapt and change.

“You may well know that our Stonegate café is the smallest of our cafés, housed in a unique, historic building, full of charm and quirks.

“This character and layout, much loved by customers, has become an increasingly challenging environment to work in.

“The back-of-house kitchen area is very small and the behind-the-scenes space for our people is very different to the working conditions we offer elsewhere.”

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The Bettys Stonegate is the least commercially viable of the six existing branches, Mr Eyles added.

Many businesses have struggled financially during the pandemic.

Famous names like Debenhams and John Lewis have either had to close completely or reduce store numbers.

As part of its reopening plans the tea house in RHS Harlow Carr will open first for takeaway food and drinks from March 29.

Bettys shops will then open to visitors on April 12, which is the earliest that non-essential shops can re-open under the government’s road map.

All Bettys cafes will then re-open on May 17, except for the Stonegate branch.

Bettys to start reopening from end of the month

Bettys is to start reopening its branches from the end of the month.

The famous Harrogate-based company will re-open its tea house in RHS Harlow Carr for takeaway food and drinks from March 29.

Bettys shops will then open to visitors on April 12, which is the earliest that non-essential shops can re-open under the government’s road map.

All Bettys cafes will then re-open on May 17, except for the Stonegate branch in York, which the company has said is too small for social distancing.

As part of the reopening, Bettys is now accepting bookings for afternoon tea in the Imperial Room in Harrogate and the Belmont Room in York from May 17.

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However, Bettys has warned the dates may change subject to the government’s lockdown rules and road map.

Bettys closed its branches completely in January.

Simon Eyles, Bettys managing director, said at the time:

“Given the severity of the coronavirus pandemic that we are currently witnessing, Bettys has decided to close its Yorkshire branches completely. This means our café tea rooms and now our shops too will be shut until further notice.”

North Yorkshire Police: no action after Sarah Everard vigil in York

North Yorkshire Police said today it hasn’t taken any action against people who gathered at York Minster on Saturday for a candlelight vigil in memory of Sarah Everard.

Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick has faced calls to resign over its handling of a vigil on London’s Clapham Common on Saturday, where officers handcuffed women and removed them from the gathering.

But there were no similar scenes in York on Saturday night.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“Around 150-200 people attended a candlelit vigil outside York Minster on Saturday evening in memory of Sarah.

“Officers allowed people to lay flowers whilst ensuring that the gathering took place in a safe and lawful way.

“No enforcement action was taken against anyone in attendance and most people had left the area by around 6.30pm.

“Our thoughts are with Sarah’s loved ones at this very sad time.”

Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with Ms Everard’s murder.

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Harrogate people don’t have to travel to York for vaccine, say health bosses

People in the Harrogate district waiting for a covid vaccine have been told they can wait for an invite to the Great Yorkshire Showground instead of travelling to York.

The Stray Ferret has received numerous messages from readers asking why they had been invited to be inoculated in York when they lived much closer to the showground.

Health bosses in North Yorkshire confirmed yesterday some people had been offered jabs at the national vaccination hub at Askham Bar in York, which opened on Monday.

The hub is run by the NHS nationally and sends invites to people within a 45-minute drive.

People in priority groups for the first round of vaccinations may also be invited through the national booking system to receive the jab at a pharmacy.

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However, Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a North Yorkshire Resilience Forum yesterday that patients were not obliged to travel to York for the vaccine.

She said:

“The way that the site is operating is that anybody within a 45-minute drive of the site who has not yet received a vaccination through their local site may receive a letter from the national team to book an appointment.

“If you do get an invitation to that site, you can choose to wait and book an appointment at your local vaccination site.”

Currently, the Harrogate district is served by a local site at the Great Yorkshire Showground and a national hub at York.

Ms Bloor announced yesterday that a further site will be opened in Ripon. However, a location has yet to be confirmed.

The York hub was among 10 sites across the country to open on Monday in an effort to ramp up the vaccination programme.

It will operate seven days a week from 8am until 8pm, subject to the supply of vaccinations.

Professor Mike Holmes, a GP in York, told a City of York Council Executive meeting last week that the new centre will offer up to 8,000 extra appointments in the first phase of the expansion of the site.

The centre became the latest vaccine site to open near Harrogate, with another due to be set up at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

York vaccination site to offer jabs to people within 45 minutes travel

A national mass vaccination hub is set to open in York which will offer coronavirus vaccines for people who live within a 45 minute travel time of the city.

The centre will be opened at Moor Lane car park in the city and first vaccinations are set to be given on Monday.

Nimbuscare, an organisation representing 11 GP practices in York, will run the centre. The NHS will send out letters to invite people for appointments.

The site will become the latest vaccine site to open near Harrogate, with another due to set up at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

Currently, vaccines are being offered to people in the Harrogate district at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

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Professor Mike Holmes, a GP in York, told a City of York Council Executive meeting yesterday that the new centre will offer up to 8,000 extra appointments in its first phase of the expansion of the site.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson set a target for all the high priority groups to be offered a vaccine by February 15.

The rollout of the programme will see mass vaccination centres set up across the country.

But, a local care boss in Harrogate said the lack of communication on the programme has left her “frustrated”.

Health officials have urged people in the Harrogate district and across North Yorkshire to be patient as they rollout the vaccine.

Former Yorkshire pub of the year could be turned into a home

A former winner of the Yorkshire Pub of the Year title could be turned into a five-bedroom home.

The Crown Inn pub in Great Ouseburn won the prize at the White Rose Awards in 2011 but plans have now been submitted to convert it into a family home.

The proposals include four first-floor bedrooms, two with en suites, as well as a guest room on the ground floor. There would also be a cinema room and a single garage, with the proposals including creating a two-storey extension.

The full details can be viewed on the planning section of the Harrogate Borough Council website, using reference 20/04342/FUL.

The pub has been vacant for several years, closing in June 2016. The village, which is five miles from Boroughbridge, is currently served by one pub, the Lime Tree on Branton Lane.

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In October plans were submitted to convert the Green Tree pub in nearby Little Ouseburn into housing. The pub, which is on the main B6265 from Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge, closed in late 2019.

Harrogate and York train services to double with £10 million scheme

North Yorkshire County Council has approved a £10 million scheme to double rail services between Harrogate and York, allowing two trains per hour in each direction.

Improvement will come from upgrading the signalling technology, from enabling faster speeds as well as from more efficient use of areas with double track.

The Harrogate Line Supporters Group has called for many years for the single-track section between Knaresborough and Cattal to be converted into double-track.

However, the county council – which secured funding for the project back in 2013 – estimates that converting the route into double-track would have cost £40 million.

The scheme could have been scrapped altogether when Northern Rail was taken into public ownership but the council has worked with Network Rail to find a cheaper option.

Network Rail has agreed to fix the cost of the project, including all development and design work, at £9.854 million.

The council has identified £9.6 million from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership as well as £3.4 million from parking fines to fund the works.

Council documents have proposed using the surplus from the under budget rail improvement scheme for the overbudget A1 (M) Junction 47 works.

Councillors met virtually to approve the funding for the scheme on Tuesday morning. The deadline for the completion of works from December 2020 to May 2021.

Brian Dunsby, from the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, told the Stray Ferret that the group welcomes the news:

“We have been waiting for this investment for several years after our plans for doubling the actual track throughout were rejected, because there was not sufficient money in the budget to meet Network Rail’s estimate of the potential cost.”

How did we get here? The closure of Harrogate’s Briary Unit is a story of political debate and debt

When the decision was taken a year ago to close the Briary Wing and move inpatient mental health services to York, it marked the end of a long and intensely political debate about the future of adult mental health inpatient facilities in the Harrogate district.  

Plans had been well advanced for a 36-bed facility at Harrogate’s Cardale Park. Planning permission had been approved and work had begun when – a year ago – Harrogate and Rural District CCG and the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust (which runs mental health services) voted to halt the project and focus on sending patients to a new facility in York.   

The site at Cardale Park where the mental health inpatient unit was set to be built

Harrogate and Rural District CCG defended its decision at the time, arguing the move to York was to produce “the best possible care” and it wanted to invest more in community care to prevent people needing inpatient facilities – but the reality was the CCG had a £14m deficit and had to prioritise funds.  

To many politicians of all persuasions, it was another example of the long term chronic under-funding of mental health services. Conservative councillor Jim Clarke, the Head of North Yorkshire County Council’s Scrutiny of Health Committee, said at the time:  

“This is not a recent problem, this is the result of years, decades of underinvestment in mental health.”  

The Liberal Democrats, too, expressed concern that patients and their families would have to travel to York – county councillor Geoff Weber said Harrogate had been “screwed by the CCG and NHS”. 

This week, however, the CCG has reiterated its statement that the decision was not based on finance.

A spokesman said:

“The decision was made based on best practice in providing high quality mental health inpatient services and expanding the services locally available in the community. The decision to invest in community services and redeploy inpatient services to York was taken after extensive engagement.

“The solution adopted was the only option that maximised patient safety and experience, while remaining true to its commitment to providing care as close to home as possible.”

Decision came against a backdrop of health service debt and restructuring  

Since 2008 mental health services (both inpatient and community based services) in the Harrogate district have been operated by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, a specialist mental health Trust. Clinical Commissioning Groups effectively “buy” services such as inpatient mental health beds from the Trust. 

The decision to close the Briary Wing and reject the Cardale Park option came at a time of change for the Harrogate District CCG.  In November last year NHS England agreed to merge Harrogate with two other CCGs: Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby, and Scarborough and Ryedale.   

The North Yorkshire CCG was formed on April 1st 2020 – in the height of the current coronavirus crisis – with a requirement to cut 20% from its admin budget.  

This new North Yorkshire CCG will now be responsible for “buying” mental health services from TEWV for the Harrogate district. The CCG though has a projected deficit of £18m for this coming year and has proposed a £72m savings programme over the next 5 years.

The Stray Ferret put a series of question to the CCG and got the following responses: 

Will the 72 beds in York be enough? If it is full, where will inpatients from our district be sent? 

“Through the modelling undertaken we are confident that there will be enough beds at the new unit, especially given the expectation that there will be a reduction in admissions and length of stay. However, as now, it is sometimes more clinically appropriate for patients to be placed elsewhere.”

Will the newly merged CCG make its administrative and managerial cost savings, including the proposed £72m? 

“The CCG is now operating under a partnership arrangement with TEWV for mental health and learning difficulties which also includes NYCC.  The partnership is committed to delivering the mental health investment standard which ensures that investment into mental health is protected but there is acknowledgement that services need to transform and innovate to deliver improvements and meet an increasing demand for services.

“The 20% reduction in running costs applies to all CCGs and this has been achieved through the recent merger to form the North Yorkshire CCG.”

What impact will the current pandemic have on all health services and what will be prioritised as a result?

“Under the North Yorkshire Mental Health and Learning Disability Partnership, we are working jointly with TEWV to agree how the funding available is used.”