A new bar is set to open on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road today.
17 Miles will open its doors in the former Scandinavian clothes shop Bias.
The bar sells a range of independent craft beers, wines and non-alcoholic drinks.
Owner Matthew Gray came up with the name by combining the door number and the name of his son, Miles.
Mr Gray, who was granted planning permission for the conversion in April, said he wanted to open in the “up and coming” Cold Bath Road area.
He said:
“I think the vibe around the area is increasing.
“In terms of the venue, it immediately catches the eye of passers by with its windows.”
Here are some photos of the new venture, which adds to the growing number of bars on Cold Bath Road.
The bar is open from 4pm today and is dog friendly.
Its opening times will be 4pm to 11pm Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 11pm on Saturday and 12pm until 9pm on Sunday.
Read more:
- National pet retailer to open Harrogate store this month
- Major expansion of Rudding Park recommended for approval
Business Breakfast: Harrogate bid specialist appoints director
A Harrogate bid specialist has appointed a new managing director.
Big Bamboo BIDS has hired Ken Erksine, who has 36 years in the industry, to the post.
The company was incorporated in May 2022 and since then has won and retained work with clients in the construction, engineering, soft and hard FM and infrastructure sectors.
Mr Erksine, whose most recent role was head of bids and proposals at Careys, will be tasked with growing Big Bamboo’s business.
He said:
“Having spent 36 years working in bid and proposals in many of the UK’s leading contracting businesses, I am excited to be taking a leap into the world of consultancy.
“Having found myself in a situation where I was looking for a new opportunity, I was approached by numerous companies. Nicola, the founding director and I were introduced via a mutual connection, and it became clear very quickly that we both saw an opportunity for a consultancy that could offer something different and disrupt the marketplace.”
Homes Together sponsors Harrogate Town junior supporters club
A Harrogate housing provider is set to sponsor Harrogate Town’s junior supporters club.
Homes Together, which is based on Victoria Avenue and provides accommodation for disabled people across the district, has agreed the sponsorship deal with the club.
Harrogate Town junior supporters club with Homes Together officials.
The supporters group was founded with an aim to engage more younger fans with the football club.
Joanne Towler, commercial director at Harrogate Town, said:
“We recently launched our very first junior supporters club, and the take up has been astounding, engaging with our younger fans in a fun and interactive way to enhance their experience with the club is key as we grow our next generation of Harrogate Town fans.
“Homes Together are the ideal partner as we both continue our journey to serve the Harrogate Communities, and we are grateful for their valued support on our mission.”
David Ashton-Jones, managing director at Homes Together, added:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Homes Together to support a local club that is so important to the people of Harrogate.
“Supporting the communities that our homes reside in is a top priority for us, and we’re fully on board with Harrogate Towns goal to grow the next generation of fans.”
Read more:
- Business Breakfast: Yorkshire Water launches recruitment campaign for river health team
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate restaurant confirms Leeds venue opening date
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate accounting firm rebrands
Harrogate’s Pannal Ash Road to get £300,000 resurfacing
North Yorkshire Council has earmarked Pannal Ash Road in Harrogate for resurfacing.
The local authority added the road to its highways capital programme, which includes roadworks and repairs across the county.
According to a council report, the resurfacing is set to cost £300,000.
A council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret the project will cover the entirety of Pannal Ash Road.
Traffic calming measures to support the 20mph limit on the road will also be considered as part of the scheme. However, those would be subject to consultation.
The resurfacing is due to be carried out in summer 2024.
The council’s highways programme includes three years worth of roadwork schemes across North Yorkshire.
A total of 840 projects were recently added the programme taking the value of the council’s project pipeline to £64 million.
Read more:
- Landmark Harrogate road safety and transport package unveiled
- National pet retailer to open Harrogate store this month
Police release CCTV images after theft from van in Starbeck
Police have issued CCTV to identify two men involved in a theft from a van in Starbeck.
The incident happened at around 2pm on July 5, 2023, close to Papa Johns Pizza on the junction of Stonefall Avenue and Knaresborough Road.
Items were taken from a van belonging to a telecommunications engineer, who was working at height.
North Yorkshire Police have appealed for help in identifying two men who were involved in the incident.
A force statement said:
“The first man is a white male, 16-20-years-old, 5ft 8 inches tall with short ginger hair. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a black jumper.
“The second man is white, around 30-years-old, around 6ft tall and was wearing a black jumper and jeans.
“If you recognise the men in the images below, please get in contact.”
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation can email joseph.havercroft@northyorkshire.police.uk.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Quote North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230124365.
Read more:
- Man pleads not guilty to seriously injuring teens in collision outside Harrogate school
- Police warn of spate of sneak-in burglaries in Ripon
- North Yorkshire Police improve 999 answer times
Business Breakfast: Ripley butchers wins regional business award
A Ripley butchers has won a regional business award.
Castle Meats of Ripley, which was formerly Hutchinsons Butchers, won best butcher category at the Yorkshire Retail Business Awards 2023.
The ceremony, which is part of the England Business Awards, was held at the Queens Hotel in Leeds.
Brian Robinson, who is now in his fourth year trading at Ripley, was voted by the public of Yorkshire and now qualifies to enter the national finals.
He said:
“It was a team effort, my wife Tracy and son Aaron work as hard at trying to give that extra bit of customer service.”
Harrogate company becomes first to join hospital charity scheme
A Harrogate company has become the first business to join a Friends of Harrogate Hospital fundraising initiative.
The scheme invites local firms to donate £1,000 and become an “enterprise friend” with the charity.
(left to right) Greg Tunesi, Friend; Rachel Tranter, EnviroVent; John Fox, Chair of the Friends and Andy Makin, Managing Director of EnviroVent.
EnviroVent, which is based at West Business Park, has become the first company to join the initiative.
Andy Makin, managing director at EnviroVent, said:
“Hospitals are at the centre of our communities, there for when we need them most.
“For this reason, EnviroVent are delighted to support Friends of Harrogate Hospital as their first Enterprise Friend and congratulate John Fox and his fellow trustees on creating this initiative and look forward to joining other Enterprise Friends in supporting for many years to come.”
Read more:
- Business Breakfast: Yorkshire Water launches recruitment campaign for river health team
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate restaurant confirms Leeds venue opening date
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate accounting firm rebrands
Wrexham apologise to Harrogate Town after failed Luke Armstrong transfer
Wrexham FC has apologised to Harrogate Town and Luke Armstrong after a planned transfer of the striker fell through.
The English Football League rejected a a deadline day deal between the clubs for Armstrong, 27, after it said the Welsh side failed to submit paperwork on time.
This morning, Wrexham confirmed that it would not challenge the decision after considering lodging an appeal.
In a statement, the League Two side apologised to both Armstrong and Harrogate Town after it was “unable to complete the transfer by the deadline”.
It said:
“Having reviewed the additional information received from the EFL and considered this in the context of the submission of the documents for the transfer of Luke Armstrong from Harrogate Town, the club have determined there is no reasonable chance of success if we were to appeal the EFL’s decision to reject the transfer.
“Now this decision has been made, we wish to apologise to Luke as we were unable to complete the transfer by the deadline and Harrogate Town, who we are sure will be as disappointed as we are that the transfer will not now be completed in this window.
“The club will be reviewing the circumstances and processes that have led to this outcome with all the relevant parties.”
The sum for the 27-year-old was not disclosed but it was believed to have been in the region of £450,000, which would have been the most Harrogate have ever received for a player.
Armstrong has scored 31 goals in 106 appearances for Harrogate.
Wrexham have been on the lookout for a replacement for star striker Paul Mullin after he suffered a collapsed lung and four broken ribs during the club’s USA pre-season tour.
Read more:
- Harrogate Town want £500,000 for Luke Armstrong, Carlisle manager claims
- Luke Armstrong returns to Harrogate after transfer rejected
Harrogate NHS dentist to move to ‘membership only’ patient scheme
A Harrogate dentist has announced it will only see patients on a membership only basis from December.
Chatsworth House Dental Clinic, which is based on King’s Road, announced it will move to a monthly payment scheme once its NHS contract comes to an end.
The move comes as concern has been raised about the lack of access to NHS dentistry within the Harrogate district.
In a letter to patients seen by the Stray Ferret, Chatsworth House said it made the decision to “reduce appointment waiting times” and “improve prevention of dental disease and decay”.
It said:
“After careful consideration, we have decided that from 1st December 2023 we will be seeing patients on a membership basis only.
“We know this decision will allow us to spend more time with you, reduce appointment waiting times, improve prevention of dental disease and decay, and offer you a greater choice in the variety of treatments we are able to deliver in a much more relaxed environment.”
Read more:
- Investigation: ‘Shocking’ waits for NHS dentists in Harrogate district
- Access to NHS dentists in North Yorkshire has ‘got worse’, says MP
- ‘Radical reform’ needed for North Yorkshire NHS dentists, says councillor
The letter adds that patients will be offered a membership plan of £21.45 per month – or 70p per day.
The practice had previously proposed plans to refer NHS patients to Starbeck Dental Centre in August 2020, but later dropped the proposal.
The Stray Ferret approached the clinic for comment on its plan, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
NHS dentist fears
It comes as politicians have raised concern over the lack of access to NHS dentistry in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans and Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, raised the issue in the House of Commons in February.
She said only half of children in North Yorkshire managed to see an NHS dentist last year, adding:
“In Harrogate if you are lucky enough to find an NHS dentist taking on any new patients you face a two-and-a-half year wait to see them. This is a shocking state of affairs.”
Meanwhile, Conservative Cllr Andrew Lee, chair of North Yorkshire Council’s health scrutiny panel, wrote to the government’s health and social committee in February with evidence over “extremely problematic” access to dentists.
A review of NHS dentistry published in August 2021 found that there was just one NHS dentist practice per 10,000 people in the Harrogate district.
Cllr Lee said:
Council draws up North Yorkshire Combined Authority branding“Radical reform is absolutely needed. The solution lies in the management of dental services. Recruitment and retention remain difficult, and dentists themselves are frustrated with the service they can provide.
“The problem does not lie with recruiting dentists, the problem lies with a broken and dysfunctional dental contract with severe underfunding. Dentists themselves cannot rectify this and it is creating by default a two-tier system whereby those that can afford to go private do so and others struggle to access any kind of care.”
Council officials have drawn up logos and designs for the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The combined authority, which will be headed by an elected mayor, is scheduled to be launched in November this year.
It will include councillors from North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council and make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.
Officials have drawn up brand designs for the new council at a cost of £5,000.
The designs, which were developed in-house, include colours from each of the authorities including North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
A spokesperson for the council said that the designs were drawn up “in order to minimise spend and utilise existing assets as much as possible”.
They added:
“The branding was developed taking into account all of the partners existing logos and colour palettes, including for the LEP’s Growth Hub and Invest in York and North Yorkshire brands.
“This was in order to minimise spend and utilise existing assets as much as possible. An iterative process, working through a number of concepts led to the brand that was approved by the joint committee.”
The branding is expected to be included on social media, the authority website, posters and staff lanyards.
What is a combined authority?
A combined authority is a body set up for two or more councils to make joint decisions.
In this case, North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council would come together to make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.
It will be a separate body to North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council.
The closest example of this is West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which recently has led on the £11.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme, as well as similar schemes in Skipton and Selby.
The combined authority would be headed by a mayor who is directly elected by the public.
An election for the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is set to be held in May 2024.
Read more:
- Council approves additional £1m to set up North Yorkshire combined authority
- Explained: What is North Yorkshire’s combined authority?
Business Breakfast: Women in business networking group returns to Harrogate
A networking group aimed at business women in Harrogate is set to return this month.
Harrogate Ladies Who Latte was launched in February and has so far signed up 100 members.
Now, the group is set to return with a meeting at the Lilypad restaurant, King’s Road, at 9.30am on September 13.
The group is free to attend and is open to all women in employment or running their own business.
Business consultant Sarah Shaw, who founded Ladies Who Latte with Carol Beeley, said:
“We’ve had an incredible response so far, and it’s wonderful to hear some of the fantastic outcomes from connections made in the group.
“We can’t wait to get going again and would love to see new faces alongside our current members.”
For more information on the meeting, visit the Ladies Who Latte website here.
Rudding Park partners with Harrogate lighting company
Rudding Park has announced a partnership with a Harrogate-based lighting company ahead of the Christmas period.
The hotel and spa has partnered with Lights4fun to help enhance the estate with festive lighting and illuminations.
The company will set up a “Follow the Christmas Stars” experience, which will allow guests to discover stars adorning the trees and glistening golden rings during the night time.
Nicola Cook, head of marketing at Rudding Park, said;
“We always strive to enhance our guest experience, so this year we are delighted to be collaborating with our friends at Lights4Fun whose talented creative team are helping illuminate a series of outdoor spaces to inspire magical and unforgettable moments.”
Read more:
- Business Breakfast: Yorkshire Water launches recruitment campaign for river health team
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate restaurant confirms Leeds venue opening date
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate accounting firm rebrands
Man jailed for raping women from Harrogate and Leeds
A man has been jailed for 14 years and nine months for raping women from Harrogate and Leeds.
The man, who was from south-east Leeds, also engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour with both victims.
The 30-year-old was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to the four offences on August 2.
The offences occurred several years ago, with extensive enquiries taking place to secure justice for the victims, whose identities are protected by law.
North Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police conducted the investigation jointly.
Detective constable Nicky Wareham, from Harrogate CID, who led the investigation for the offences that happened in North Yorkshire, said:
“This case shows that convictions of this kind are achievable, and I encourage anyone to report sexual violence and controlling and coercive behaviour to the police and our partner agencies.
“Professional support and care are readily available. We are here to help you.”