Oliver Bonas to open in Harrogate in September

Oliver Bonas has confirmed it will open a new store on Harrogate’s James Street in September.

The clothing and homeware store will be based in the former Next unit after agreeing a lease for the ground floor, which includes 3,700sqft of space.

The store agreed the lease on James Street with property owners Countrylarge, which is set to unveil proposals to convert the upper floors into serviced apartments.

Antony Rosindale, from Countrylarge, said:

“We’re very excited to be bringing a leading lifestyle brand to the heart of Harrogate town centre and our vision for the building will fully utilise all the existing space. It’s a grand building and we want to ensure that it is all used in the best way possible.”

Oliver Bonas, which was founded by Oliver Tress, opened its first store in London in 1993. It now has 75 outlets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

This will be its first shop in the Harrogate district, adding to a number of new arrivals on James Street in recent months.

Rumours of its impending arrival began to circulate earlier this year, as reported by the Stray Ferret. Fashion retailer Jules B is also set to open in September in the former Jaeger unit on Cambridge Crescent.

Tom Limbert, Director of niche property consultants, Central Retail, who acted for Countrylarge said: 

“It’s been a pleasure working with Countrylarge and Oliver Bonas is an iconic brand who befits such a majestic building. Having acted for various landlord clients over the past 12 months, we have introduced Pret A Manger, Ebru Evrim and Carl Scarpa to the street and have also upsized Hotel Chocolat.

“James Street has been reinvigorated and its vibrancy has returned to a pre-pandemic state. There are more outstanding high-end retailers destined for the area. The good news is that all units are now fully occupied.

“Oliver Bonas will be a great addition to the existing tenant line up on James Street which truly is one of the best high streets in the north of England.”

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Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district traffic roundup

Roadworks and bus diversions remain in place across the Harrogate district this morning.

Disruption is also expected on public transport tomorrow due to the Knaresborough Bed Race.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic roundup.

Roads

Roadworks are still in place in Knaresborough at the junction between Wetherby Road and York Road which will cause delays this morning.

The works are expected to continue until August 15.

Trains and buses

Train services are running as normal from Harrogate to Leeds and York this morning.

Harrogate Bus Company still has a diversion in place on its 21 service meaning it is unable to reach Ashbourne Road due to a road closure.

The nearest alternative stop is Morrisons in Boroughbridge. This diversion will be in place until June 30.

Meanwhile, the 1 service will be unable to reach stops between Forest Lane Head and Bond End in Knaresborough and Bond End towards the golf club going to Harrogate on June 11 between 12.30pm and 5pm.

This is due to the Knaresborough Bed Race.

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‘Unforeseen circumstances’ delays start of Oak Beck Bridge scheme

“Unforeseen circumstances” has led to the start of a £1 million project to replace Oak Beck Bridge being delayed, council officials say.

The scheme, which is planned by North Yorkshire County Council, will see the bridge on the A59 in Harrogate replaced.

Authority officials say the bridge is in poor condition and needs to be replaced.

Work was due to start in January, but a start date for the project has yet to be confirmed.

The Stray Ferret asked the county council when it expects to start work on the scheme.

Philip Richardson, bridges manager at the authority, said:

“We realise the importance of replacing Oak Beck Bridge. Unfortunately we have not been able to progress the scheme as quickly as we would have liked due to unforeseen circumstances and we cannot confirm a start date.

“At the moment our legal team are still in talks over land agreements for the widening and discussions with Yorkshire Water are ongoing in relation to apparatus close to the existing structure.

“Please be assured that we will begin work as soon as we are able and provide suitable notice.”

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Meanwhile, The Stray Ferret reported this week that the project is set to cost taxpayers £1 million.

A contract valued at £1,067,929.93 has been handed to Leeds-based Howard Civil Engineering to demolish, design and build the new bridge.

The company said on its website that work would take 24 weeks and access would be maintained over the bridge.

It said:

“Access over the bridge will be maintained throughout the project, with the exception of night works for surfacing.”

The A59 road on which the bridge is situated is heavily used by traffic, especially by people visiting Aldi, B&Q and Pets at Home on the Oak Beck retail park.

The volume would increase if Tesco is given permission to build on the former gas works site nearby.

Councillors raise concern over Harrogate fire station cuts

Councillors have raised concerns over plans to cut the number of fire engines at Harrogate fire station.

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, has suggested operating just one fire engine at night as opposed to the current two.

Members of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee discussed the proposals, which were unveiled as part of a consultation into changes at the fire service.

The station would continue to be resourced with two fire engines during the day but it would have just one appliance from 10pm to 9am, when fewer incidents usually occur.

The move would also see the station lose its tactical response vehicle, which would be moved to an on-call station elsewhere in the county, and a self-rostering staffing system introduced.

Cllr Robert Windass, who spoke at the constituency committee this morning.

Cllr Robert Windass, who spoke at the constituency committee this morning.

Cllr Robert Windass, who is a former fire fighter, said he welcomed the removal of the tactical response unit which he described as a “total waste of time”.

However, he raised concern over the reduction of crews on a night.

He said:

“My worry is at night time. Night time is when most people die in house fires.

“To have one crew going out, there will be another machine coming from another station. But say it was down at the bottom of Woodfield, the next nearest response vehicle is either going to come from Ripon or from Knaresborough.

“Both of them are part-time, what they call “on-call stations”, where they will get a bleeper going off at home and they would have to go down the fire station before that machine turns a wheel.

“So it’s going to take them quite a few minutes to get to the fire. That concerns me.”

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The committee agreed to invite Ms Metcalfe and the chief fire officer to the next meeting to be quizzed by councillors.

Cllr Chris Aldred said the committee had to get it right before it responds to the consultation.

He said:

“It is so important, as Robert has just stated, that we have a second crew.

“Fires may statistically may not happen that often at night, but as Robert has just said, the ones that do lead to deaths.”

The changes are part of Ms Metcalfe’s Risk and Resource Model 2022-2025, which sets out how the fire service will deploy its people, equipment and resources.

Fire officials told a meeting last month that the proposals would help to save £1.5 million a year from 2025.

Jonathan Foster, interim chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said that the proposals were about investing in “protection and prevention”.

He said:

“I stress this very much so, this is about reinvestment back into the on-call duty system to improve overall availability and then also to reinvest in protection and prevention activities so that we can protect the people of North Yorkshire and City of York in a much more effective manner.”

Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district traffic roundup

Traffic is moving steadily in the Harrogate district this morning.

However, roadworks are still in place in some areas which may cause delays.

Here is your Stray Ferret morning traffic roundup.

Roads

Traffic is moving steadily in Harrogate this morning, although that is expected to build up during the morning rush hour.

Roadworks are still in place in Knaresborough at the junction between Wetherby Road and York Road which will cause delays this morning.

The busy junction just past King James’ School and the cemetery has been undergoing resurfacing works for a few weeks and continues to cause delays during rush hour.

The works are expected to continue until August 15.

Trains and buses

No delays or cancellations to report on the trains from Harrogate to Leeds and York this morning.

Harrogate Bus Company still has a diversion in place on its 21 service meaning it is unable to reach Ashbourne Road due to a road closure.

The nearest alternative stop is Morrisons in Boroughbridge. This diversion will be in place until June 30.

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Council rejects Knaresborough scuba diving facility plan

Harrogate Borough Council has rejected plans for a bespoke scuba diving training pool in Knaresborough.

Tim Yarrow, owner of Harrogate-based Diveshack UK, lodged the plan to build the facility at Thistle Hill in the town.

Mr Yarrow said the proposal offered the district a chance to get a “truly unique” facility.

The plan would have seen the pool built at land at Thistle Hill and see the site changed from agricultural land to a deep water diving centre.

However, the borough council refused the proposal on the grounds that the plan would “result in harm to the visual and spatial openness of the green belt”.

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Council officials added that the site was outside the development limit of any village or settlement.

In a decision notice, the council said:

“The proposal is for a new tourism and recreational use however the application fails to demonstrate that there is a local need for the facility in this location, that the facility is of a scale and nature appropriate to its location and intended purpose, and that the facility is accessible to the community or catchment population it is intended to serve.”

Mr Yarrow, who has been a a scuba instructor around the world for 30 years, told the Stray Ferret previously that the move would help to draw people in from the area and improve access to the sport.

He added that his club, which has been open since 2018, currently trains young and upcoming divers. He said the facility would help to expand this.

Mr Yarrow said:

“The facility proposed will allow access for Diveshack to promote courses tailored to individual needs and timings, taking very little of the land for change of use and no negative impact on the close neighbours of whom all have been consulted and are in support.

“It has been drawn up in a sympathetic way to the environment with materials and energy usage and aims to be the best, most eco designated scuba training facility in the North.

“It will allow access to an amazing sport to numerous people who would maybe never have thought they could ever give it a try.”

Harrogate Oak Beck Bridge project to cost £1m

A project to demolish and replace a bridge near to Harrogate’s New Park roundabout will cost taxpayers £1 million.

The scheme, which is planned by North Yorkshire County Council, will see Oak Beck Bridge on the A59 replaced.

Authority officials say the bridge is in poor condition and work was earmarked to start in January but has been delayed.

A contract valued at £1,067,929.93 has been handed to Leeds-based Howard Civil Engineering to demolish, design and build the new bridge.

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The company said on its website that work would take 24 weeks and access would be maintained over the bridge.

It said:

“Access over the bridge will be maintained throughout the project, with the exception of night works for surfacing.”

The Stray Ferret asked the county council if a start date for the scheme had been confirmed, but had yet to receive a response.

The A59 road on which the bridge is situated is heavily used by traffic, especially by people visiting Aldi, B&Q and Pets at Home on the Oak Beck retail park.

The volume would increase if Tesco is given permission to build on the former gas works site nearby.

Harrogate district MP calls for end to Tory ‘leadership speculation’

Nigel Adams has called for the Conservative party to “put leadership speculation and distractions behind us” after the Prime Minister survived a confidence vote.

Boris Johnson won last night’s ballot among his own MPs by 211 to 148.

The result means Mr Johnson will remain as leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister, however the number of his own MPs voting against him has raised questions about his long-term future.

Following the announcement of the result, Mr Adams, who is MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate, tweeted his support for Mr Johnson.

Mr Adams, who is in the cabinet and a close ally of the Prime Minister, said:

“Tonight, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won another clear mandate as leader of the Conservative Party.

“Now we can fully focus on delivering on the people’s priorities and put leadership speculation and distractions behind us for good.”

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Among those who voted against Mr Johnson was Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

Mr Jones said he made the decision after “hundreds of people” in his constituency wrote to him, with most calling for the Prime Minister to resign.

Tonight, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won another clear mandate as Leader of the Conservative Party. Now we can fully focus on delivering on the people’s priorities and put leadership speculation and distractions behind us for good.

— Nigel Adams (@nadams) June 6, 2022

Mr Jones said in a statement yesterday:

“There were many harrowing stories in those emails where people couldn’t visit elderly relatives or mourn them at their funerals. These were people following the rules the Prime Minister set and championed.”

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, has remained silent on how he voted.

The result means that the Prime Minister cannot face another confidence vote for 12 months.

But it has been suggested that the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs may change the rules to allow for a vote sooner.

Traffic and Travel Alert: Temporary Ripon Road lights causing Harrogate queues

Temporary traffic lights are causing delays on Ripon Road coming into Harrogate this morning.

Drivers are urged to avoid the area as the lights are causing queues.

The lights are in place just past Jennyfield Drive coming into Harrogate and have been installed by CityFibre as part of maintenance work.

According to North Yorkshire County Council, the lights will be in place until tomorrow.

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Travellers leave Harrogate’s Stray

A group of Travellers who set up camp on Harrogate’s Stray have now left.

Six caravans and several cars arrived on the section near to Oatlands Drive on Saturday.

It is thought that the Travellers were on their way to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria, which starts on Thursday.

Harrogate Borough Council, which is the legal protector of the Stray, was due to begin the eviction process today, according to the Stray Defence Association.

But the Travellers are believed to have vacated the parkland yesterday.

Travellers also parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough three days earlier and remain on site.

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A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that the travellers in Knaresborough were now subject to a legal process.

The spokesperson said:

“The travellers in Knaresborough are being managed through the legal process and a team will undertake a clear up (if required) once they have gone.”