The organisers of the Harrogate Christmas Market have said that it will not now go ahead in 2020.
Bookings have been recieved from 180 market traders with a target of 200. Most of these Traders were prepared to go ahead with full precautions. However, the recent increase in cases in West Yorkshire and Lancashire has made it unwise to proceed as planned this year.
The organisers had a meeting on 24 August 2020 with Harrogate Borough Council officers together with the North Yorkshire County Council’s Director of Public Health and they laid down precautions that could not practically be complied with.
The key elements are briefly as follows:
- Could we enforce Social Distancing at 2m by limiting the numbers permitted into the event
- Limit maximum number allowed to enter the open site
- At points where 2m social distancing could not be achieved measures were needed to reduce risk
- Contact tracing, track and trace would be required – but how for so many visitors on an open site
- Control of those coming to the event from areas subject to local outbreak plans
- Far more detail on how we would manage the whole event safely
I pass bettys every day and there is no social distancing so one rule for the favourites of the council and sod the rest