John Grainger, Author at The Stray Ferret

New café opens in Starbeck

A café in Starbeck has been refurbished, renamed and relaunched following a change of ownership.

The Munch Box – which was formerly the Little Way Café – opened its doors on Tuesday and sells a range of sandwiches and panini, with coffee sourced from Dancing Goat in York.

Owner Mel Lyons took over the lease on the Camwal Road property in August and has spent the last couple of months redecorating and re-equipping it. She told the Stray Ferret:

“I gutted the place, repainted it and laid a new floor, so it looks a lot brighter and lighter now. We’ve been pretty busy, and the customer base is building as more of the guys from the workshops along this street find out we’re here.”

Mel Lyons, owner of The Munch Box.

Mel is from Winchester, Hampshire, and only moved north at the end of October 2022. She previously spent several years managing coffee shops for Caffè Nero-owned chain Coffee #1, and then managing coach stations in Southampton and Bournemouth for National Express.

She moved north to be with her partner and says the change has been very positive. She said:

“I love Starbeck. It’s full of characters and has a real sense of community. It’s unpretentious – just a nice place to be.”

But she’s also having to navigate a few cultural differences when planning her menu. She said:

“I’m learning quickly. On my first day I made a huge tub of egg mayonnaise. That would have flown out the door down south, but no-one wants it here, so I’ve still got it!

“But breakfast is a much bigger deal up here. Bacon and sausage baps may not be health food, but they’re much tastier than some of the breakfasts I’ve seen.”

Business Breakfast: Electrical retailer rescues Bake-Off makers

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8 am to 10 am.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

The makers of TV’s The Great British Bake-Off were desperately searching for some retro fridges recently and had their wishes fulfilled by an electrical retailer in Boroughbridge.

Love Productions was combing the UK for a specific model of fridge-freezer but was drawing a blank because it had been discontinued by Italian manufacturer Zanussi.

Fortunately, G Craggs, which also has a shop in Ripon, had recognised how popular they were and had bought the last ones in January. The production company sought them out and a deal was done.

Enjoying the moment, the company posted on its Facebook page:

“To celebrate this wonderful partnership there are complimentary cakes in store for all customers while stocks last. You might even be served by team member Paul Bakes!”, adding: “Yes… that really is his name!”

New business director for net zero firm

A Harrogate firm that specialises in carbon accounting and net zero delivery has announced a senior appointment as part of its growth strategy.

Rob Conway joins Flotilla to lead sales and business development operations after 15 years’ work with B2B scale-ups.

Flotilla, which is based on Station Parade, works with client companies to reduce their CO2 output, and its science-based carbon reduction service has been recommended by the United Nations Climate Change initiative.

Rob said:

“After a number of years in the tech space, it was seeing the world through my daughter’s eyes and seeing her interest in the environment, combined with ever-increasing extreme weather events globally, that made me rethink my career path. When I saw the role at Flotilla, I knew that this was the right place and the right time to make a meaningful impact through my role.

“By increasing the number of clients we work with, the larger environmental impact we can have.”

Polish shop in Harrogate moves to bigger premises as demand grows

A Polish deli in Harrogate will relaunch in new town centre premises at the weekend.

Cracovia, which used to occupy a small shop on King’s Road, will reopen on Saturday in a larger unit on Bower Street.

Owner Maciek Bujakowski told the Stray Ferret:

“Our little shop on King’s Road had become slightly too small, so we’re moving to a bigger shop where we’ll have more space. The uniqueness of our home-made products, such as pâtés, meatloaves and sausages, gives us a strength over other shops, so we’ve become quite popular.

“If you come along on Saturday between 9am and 6pm, you’ll be able to taste different kinds of Polish food and drink, and everybody’s welcome.”

Illustration of how Harrogate's new Cracovia shop on Bower Street will look with its new signage.

The new shop on Bower Street in Harrogate.

Maciek and wife Kasia not only own the Harrogate shop, but also a restaurant in Chapel Allerton and shops in Armley in Leeds, Acomb in York and Hessle in Hull. In total, they employ 15 people, including four in the new Bower Street shop.

Originally from Krakow in southern Poland, Maciek began his career with a four-year catering degree and represented his country in international food competitions.

Photo of Maciek and Kasia Bujakowski, owners of Cracovia Polish deli in Harrogate.

Kasia and Maciek Bujakowski.

He came to England in 2004, moving around the country for various chef positions, culminating in being made executive chef of the Kimberley Hotel in Harrogate. He opened his first shop, Magic Meat – a wordplay on his first name – on King’s Road in 2015 to cater to the town’s then-growing Polish community.

He said:

“When we opened our first shop eight years ago, about 80% of our customers were Eastern European and only 20% English, but now the balance is about 50/50.

“With Polish food it’s exactly the same as with other kinds of foreign food. People come here from other places, local people try our food and like it, and it becomes more popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 30 years’ time, you would see Polish restaurants like you see Indian and Chinese restaurants now. It’s just the evolution of knowledge of food, and it’s changing all the time.”

Business Breakfast: Construction firm hires two new directors

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8am to 10 am.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate construction management company has made two senior appointments.

Artium Construction, which specialises in design and build projects, has taken on Martin Watson as managing director and shareholder and Joe McDermott as director and shareholder. The pair, both formerly of Leeds-based GMI Construction Group, join Garry Shaw, who was appointed director and shareholder of Artium Construction last year.

Artium Construction currently has an order book worth £12 million for its first year of operation, with projects in Harrogate, Ripon and York. The directors intend to build it into a £50m turnover construction business over the next five years.

Sam Colley, director and co-owner of Artium Group, said:

“Garry, Joe and Martin possess outstanding and pragmatic experience in every dimension of construction. Their reputation as dynamic, conscientious, and results-orientated professionals proceeds them.”

Project services offered by Artium Construction include cost analysis and budgeting, risk assessment and mitigation, programme management, construction co-ordination and delivery, supply chain management, health and safety, and environmental compliance, and delivery of corporate social responsibility requirements.

New workshop for tourism businesses

Tourism and hospitality businesses planning their marketing for 2024 are being invited to a new workshop organised by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

The training is available exclusively to hotels, B&Bs, self-catering operators, wedding venues, restaurants, spas, visitor attractions and events organisers, and will be delivered by Martin Evans of The Tourism Business, a York-based marketing consultancy. Martin has over two decades’ experience working with more than 150 of the UK’s leading hotels, attractions and other tourism operators.

The free workshop, which will explore marketing and promotional ideas that attendees can put into practice in their own business, will be held place on Thursday, October 26 at Harrogate Co-Lab, next to the Convention Centre. The session will take place from 10am to 4pm and a light lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Places are limited so reserving a place is recommended. To sign up, see the event page on the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub website.

More than 100 of UK’s best artists to exhibit at Harrogate Art Fair

This story is sponsored by Harrogate Art Fair.

More than 100 artists from all over the UK will be converging on Harrogate next month to exhibit their best work at the Harrogate Art Fair.

The event, on October 13-15 at the Yorkshire Event Centre on the Great Yorkshire Showground, will bring together painters, printmakers, photographers, sculptors, ceramicists and selected galleries from all over the UK, offering the best in British contemporary art. Prices range from £50 to £5,000.

The perfect place to immerse yourself in a world of art.

One of the most popular exhibitors is Jos Haigh. Jos is a painter based in Harrogate and Buckinghamshire whose vibrantly colourful pictures of African animals made her one of the best-selling artists at the inaugural Harrogate Art Fair last year. She said:

“I’ve been showing my art all around the country for years – at Windsor, Surrey, Manchester and Edinburgh – and Harrogate Art Fair really is one of the best. It’s fantastically organised, everything’s made very easy for exhibitors, and it attracts a lot of the UK’s best artists.

“When I came last year, people were so warm, enthusiastic and interested – I didn’t have to think twice about coming again.”

Although she was born in Goa, Jos’s art is inspired and informed by her childhood in Kenya. But her trips north have provided her with new sources of inspiration. So her most recent paintings include striking images of cows, owls and other British animals.

Artist Jos Haigh, who will be exhibiting her work at the Harrogate Art Fair, with one of her works.

Jos has found inspiration for some of her latest works here in Yorkshire.

Jos’s spectacular painting of a red kite even features on this year’s general admission ticket. She said:

“I’ve been enchanted by animals ever since I saw them roaming right next to the road in Kenya, which is why I’ve always enjoyed painting pictures of elephants, giraffes and zebra. But there are so many wonderful animals right here in the UK that it would be a shame not to paint some of them.

“I just hope that visitors to the Harrogate Art Fair will love viewing them as much as I’ve loved painting them.”

Harrogate Art Fair is organised by Contemporary Art Fairs. The company also hold art fairs in Windsor and Surrey.

The fair will be open from private viewings from 6 to 9pm on Friday, October 13 (tickets: £15), and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 14-15 (£8, concessions £6).

Jos has have 10 complementary Harrogate Art Fair tickets to give away! She will send the code to the first 10 people to email her at joshaigh@yahoo.co.uk

Find out more:

You can book tickets for this event online at the Harrogate Art Fair website.

For information about exhibiting at the Harrogate Art Fair, visit the website or call 01753 591892.

You can also see more of the artworks on offer at Harrogate Art Fair on its Instagram page.

Masham community scheme pioneers wool insulation

Sheep’s wool has always been at the heart of Masham’s economy, and now it looks set to be at the heart of a new development in the town and a new initiative aimed at the construction industry.

Number 15 Silver Street is currently undergoing extensive redevelopments to be transformed into a new community and heritage centre called Peacock & Verity.

It will include a Victorian grocer’s, an Edwardian-style tearoom, a Post Office main counter, and a new heritage centre celebrating the story of Masham. Four apartments will also be created as part of the redevelopment, managed by Karbon Homes and kept exclusively for local people at affordable rents.

An Edwardian vintage black-and-white photo of Peacocks in Masham.

How Peacock’s looked over 100 years ago.

The 300-year-old building’s refurbishment will also go back to the town’s roots, using sheep’s wool for insulation.

They will also be leading on a new initiative called Sheepish, which aims to get sheep’s wool insulation used in the building of new homes across the country.

Peacock & Verity will be the first test site where contractors and builders can learn how to install sheep’s wool insulation. They will also build a supply chain of farmers, insulation producers and social housing providers, creating a green circle economy based in Yorkshire.

The project is backed by £38,722 from the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub and £16,000 from North Yorkshire Council, as part of a larger grant of £273,000 towards the wider conversion of the Silver Street site.

Jan Reed, project manager at Peacock & Verity, said she was excited about the Sheepish project:

“We didn’t just want to refurbish our own building; we also wanted to do everything we can to share the knowledge and skills to make other buildings more sustainable.

“Sheep’s wool is the perfect insulator for traditional stone buildings – not only is it a warm blanket, but the wool’s structure helps to wick moisture away and is a natural fire-retardant. And most importantly, it’s environmentally friendly. It lasts for decades and can be composted at the end of its life, unlike man-made insulation which is often full of plastic.”

The links between Masham and sheep farming go back over a thousand years. Sheep farming is thought to have been introduced to the area by Viking settlers, and Masham is still well known for its annual Sheep Fair which takes place this weekend. There’s even a breed of sheep named after the town.

Old black-and-white of sheep in pens in Masham's town square.

Masham has long been known for its sheep trade.

Karen Oliver-Spry, hub manager for the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, said:

“The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub is all about using local assets to create clean energy and to make buildings across the region easier and cheaper to heat – what better way to utilise an often overlooked by-product from the region’s plentiful sheep population!

“Bringing local people and organisations together to reuse, recycle and repurpose materials which otherwise may end up as waste is a huge part of that work and this project could have very interesting implications for improving the energy efficiency of buildings across the North East and Yorkshire and beyond – and we are delighted to be able to support it through our Energy Project Enabling Fund.”

Miss Yorkshire contestant from Harrogate hopes to inspire others

A young fitness trainer from Harrogate is hoping her tilt at the Miss Yorkshire title this weekend will encourage others battling mental health problems through fitness.

Chloe McEwen, 21, will be competing in the regional round of Miss England in Doncaster on Sunday, but her immaculate appearance will leave judges none the wiser about her past struggles.

At the age of 16, Chloe was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she endured an arduous eight-month hospital stay, and her weight soared by almost four stone.

But by embracing a healthier lifestyle and a dedicated fitness regime, bolstered by an unwavering support network, she not only regained control of her life but also embarked on a mission to empower others.

Composite image of before and after photos of Harrogate Miss Yorkshire contestant Chloe McEwen.

Before and after photos of Miss Yorkshire contestant Chloe McEwen.

Former Rossett School pupil Chloe now wants to provide support and motivation to those in need. As a Level 3 fitness trainer with clients in a small private gym and classes at a Harrogate health club, she understands the challenges of self-motivation, but believes that simply maintaining discipline, even in small steps, is the key to turning things around. She said:

“The rewards of persevering are immeasurable.”

The problems Chloe had to overcome to achieve her transformation are all too common – 56% of the UK population are now registered with some form of mental health issue, and young people are disproportionately affected.

The Miss Yorkshire contest will take place at on Sunday at the Earl of Doncaster Hotel.

Top mechanics open Porsche repair shop in Boroughbridge

Two mechanics with finely-tuned skills have opened a specialist Porsche repair shop in Boroughbridge.

Flat 6 Automotive – named after the six-cylinder engines typically found in Porsches – will focus on fixing, restoring and rebuilding the engines of the German sports cars, but will also take on all kinds of everyday repairs on cars of all kinds.

Director Richard Nicholson was a workshop manager at an independent Porsche garage for seven years, and business partner Will Mann completed an engineering degree with the McLaren F1 team. They both worked at a local prestige car specialist for several years and have now decided to branch out together.

Mr Nicholson said:

“I’d always wanted to work for myself. I had my day job but I was also doing engine rebuilds on the side. I was working till 11 at night, and I was so busy that I thought I should just take the plunge. It was really a hobby that turned into something much bigger.”

The pair have expanded into a 2,000 square foot unit with three ramps – a fourth is due to be installed by the end of the year – and are building a new waiting area. They have also invested in modern equipment, including £5,000 in state-of-the-art diagnostic kit.

Mr Nicholson added:

“We’ve already got customers across Yorkshire and as far afield as Slough and Glasgow and we also prepare cars for sale for a couple of specialist dealerships, so we’ve been very busy since we opened.

“If this goes well, I’d love to grow the company and open new branches. The sky’s the limit.”

Health chief pledges to help patients at Harrogate NHS dentist

NHS dentistry provision was discussed at a meeting yesterday between Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, and Stephen Eames, the chief executive of the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

The issue was highlighted recently by the announcement that Chatsworth House dental practice on King’s Road in Harrogate was closing to NHS patients from December 1.

The meeting was a follow-up from a briefing this month which the ICB – a collaboration of health and care organisations tasked with improving the health and wellbeing of people in the region – arranged for all Humber and North Yorkshire MPs.

Mr Jones said:

“We have a short-term issue – one that I raised at Prime Minister’s Questions – about what happens when a practice suddenly closes to NHS patients as has happened here. We also have a medium-term issue about increasing NHS dentistry capacity. Mr Eames and I discussed both these issues.”

Chatsworth House Dental Clinic

The ICB told Mr Jones it is planning to redistribute the funding given to Chatsworth House to other local practices so that they can take on more patients. Patients affected will be contacted directly by the ICB to explain where their new practice will be.

According to a government briefing published in April 2023, total funding for NHS dental services in England fell by 8% in real terms between 2010 and 2022.

The crisis in NHS dental provision was highlighted by a YouGov poll in March. The survey found that more than a quarter of the UK population (27%) have not seen a dentist within the last two years, and one in five people (22%) are currently not even registered with a dentist.

Of those, 37% said it was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist, and 23% said it was because they couldn’t afford to pay for treatment. One in 10 admitted to attempting their own dental work.

To help address the problem, the ICB is looking to increase NHS dental capacity locally through the rapid launch ‘Centres of Dental Development’, which are intended to support, develop and retain the dental workforce across the Humber and North Yorkshire.

Mr Jones said:

“It is good that the ICB are looking at the long-term sustainability of our dental service. This is a positive and constructive approach and I have asked that Harrogate, which is the largest town in North Yorkshire, will be host to one of these new centres.

“Such a facility would place front and centre significant dental provision for our area. It could educate a new generation of local dentists. To have such a centre in Harrogate would be a huge boon to our area.

“I look forward to receiving more details from the ICB and feel hopeful that my request for a Centre of Dental Development in Harrogate will be successful.”

Harrogate school ‘could be judged outstanding’, says Ofsted report

A Harrogate primary school is to be re-inspected by Ofsted after an interim assessment suggested it could be judged ‘outstanding’.

Oatlands Junior School was rated ‘good’ when Ofsted visited in 2018, and following inspectors’ latest visit in July, the school retained that status.

But in its report, Ofsted said there was “enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) [i.e. more comprehensive] inspection now”.

Oatlands is now expected to undergo a graded inspection within the next two years to assess whether it is still ‘good’ or has attained ‘outstanding’ status.

The report, released today, particularly praises the school’s inclusivity, reporting that leaders and staff “help every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to be the very best that they can be.”

It goes on to praise the school’s “broad and interesting” curriculum, pupils’ behaviour, sense of equality, and respect for difference and diversity.

Photo of four pupils from Oatlands Junior School in Harrogate, jumping in the air.

The headteacher of Oatlands Junior School, Mrs Estelle Scarth, said:

“The report certainly captures everything about Oatlands Junior School that we are immensely proud of and quite rightly describes all the outstanding evidence that was found throughout a very thorough inspection.

“Our success is firmly based on the dedication and talents of everyone that works in our school, the strong, positive relationships that we have with our parents and carers, and of course, all the amazing children in our care.”

Oatlands Junior School, along with Western Primary and Harrogate Grammar School, was one of the founding schools of the Red Kite Learning Trust in 2015. This has since grown into a multi-academy trust of 14 schools across North and West Yorkshire.

Amanda Thornton Jones, Director of Primary Education for Red Kite Learning Trust, said:

“Ofsted recognised the strong collaborative approach within our Trust and how talent and expertise of staff are developed across all our schools. Oatlands Junior School has a highly trained, dedicated and expert team led by an exceptional headteacher.

“Mrs Scarth’s high aspirations and vision are shared by all within the school community. Oatlands Junior is a highly successful school, providing a rich curriculum which releases potential and creates amazing opportunities for all pupils.”

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