Plan to convert upper floors of Harrogate’s Old Bell into holiday accommodation

The upper floors above a traditional pub in central Harrogate could be converted to holiday accommodation.

An application has been submitted to turn the second, third and fourth floors of 6 Royal Parade, above the Old Bell, into letting rooms.

The pub is owned by Market Town Taverns, part of Heron and Brearley (H&B) based on the Isle of Man.

The proposal, submitted by Darren Clibbens of H&B, would see the basement, ground and first floors of the building unchanged. The upper floors would be turned into holiday accommodation, though the plans do not reveal how this would be laid out or how many rooms would be created.

The application is for an area of 360m sq, and states that, if approved, the change of use would see the number of full-time equivalent jobs at the site increase from five to eight.

The upper levels of the building are currently vacant office space, according to the application, with one studio apartment on the top floor.

Harrogate Borough Council’s estates team, and parks and gardens team, have both responded to the application and have not raised any objections. However, they have asked for consideration to be given to the storage of resulting trade waste on the site, and highlighted the fact that the area in front of the building, including the pavement, forms part of the Stray.

To view or comment on the proposal, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02231/FUL.

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Spofforth after-school club praised by Ofsted

Ofsted has given Spofforth Childcare a glowing report following an inspection.

The education inspectors visited the club, which operates at Spofforth Church of England Primary School on School Lane, in June.

The setting provides before and after-school care for 47 children in term times and during the summer holidays.

Ofsted found that children who attended the setting “behave well and show respect for others” and staff “set clear expectations for children’s behaviour and are good role models”.

It added:

“They offer children plenty of praise and encouragement. This supports children’s confidence and self-esteem.”

“Children thoroughly enjoy their time in this before- and after-school club. They are happy and settled.”

Inspectors also found that the club had effective safeguarding measures in place and have a good understanding of how to identify possible signs of abuse.

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They also said the management team is keen to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, have their individual needs met.

Responding to the report, Sharon Hoskin, owner, said:

“When Ofsted visit you know every area of your practice will be scrutinised and the inspection was fairly rigorous, but it was fair. We’re delighted with the final outcome because we realise all our hard work and effort is worth it. This isn’t only a positive for staff morale, it’s for the parents and children too.”

After-school and holiday clubs can now only receive a ‘met’ or ‘not met’ rating from Ofsted.

Ms Hoskin added:

“We would prefer the old way of doing it because if you do one thing considered ‘not met’ then the whole thing is graded ‘not met’.

“Not just for us, but for other settings, we always strive to try and get an ‘outstanding’ but we can’t do that now. It doesn’t alter our practice, but it would be nice to be able to achieve that. Quite a few settings who have had ‘outstanding’ can’t get that now.”

Plans submitted to extend Grade II listed Knaresborough hotel

An application has been submitted to create more bedrooms at Knaresborough’s Dower House Hotel, including a rear extension

The plans, put forward by the Inn Collection Group (ICG), include changing the internal layout and creating a new portico entrance.

As previously reported by the Stray Ferret, the gym and spa have closed as ICG, which acquired the Grade II listed building in December, said they made the hotel less viable.

In the application, ICG said:

“Information contained on the company’s website demonstrates the sensitive design approach adopted for ICG facilities, staying true to the characteristic of each individual property.

“It is also worth highlighting that ICG is custodian to at least 12 listed buildings across its growing portfolio of inns, with many others at least in conservation areas, and sensitively restoring and celebrating these historic buildings is central to its customer experience and business philosophy.

“ICG is, therefore, familiar with the sensitivities surrounding heritage assets with the business model adapted to the characteristics and value of specific buildings.

“The works proposed at The Dower House Inn form part of a plan to upgrade and refurbish the existing site to provide essential maintenance to the building and its setting whilst improving its functionality for the benefit of its customers.

“This will ensure the business is viable and sustainable, in turn securing the preservation of the listed building for the future. The works proposed will reflect approaches taken across other sites, with the replacement of finishes and external and internal alterations sensitively incorporating existing features of the listed building and its setting.”

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The planned extension would see an extra 27sq m of floor space created on top of the existing 2,287sq m, as the new owners create more bedrooms in the area which formerly housed the gym and spa.

Internal walls would be moved and new windows created in order to create 16 additional bedrooms. The plan would also see an extra six car parking spaces created, bringing the total to 58.

The ICG application added:

“The proposal will upgrade the hotel, increasing visitors and encouraging overnight stays. This will facilitate a degree of growth and job creation, and thus will support the economic and social wellbeing of Knaresborough, an established main settlement.

“The principle of development is, therefore, considered acceptable as it presents an opportunity to enhance the site within the confines of its heritage context, thereby supporting the tourism industry, economic growth, and prosperity of town centres.”

To view or comment on the application, visit Harrogate Borough Council’s planning website and use reference 22/01750/LB.

Open art exhibition expands beyond Harrogate district

The biannual Mercer Open art exhibition is extending its remit after 20 years of being held in Harrogate.

Hosted by the Mercer Gallery on Swan Road, the event is now open to anyone with a Yorkshire connection this year, rather than the previous limit of the Harrogate district.

People who were born in Yorkshire, or who have lived, worked or studied in the region qualify to submit their work.

Karen Southworth, curator at the Mercer Gallery, said:

“The Mercer Open is not only a wonderful celebration of the fantastic artistic talent associated with Yorkshire, but also offers an amazing opportunity for visitors to the Harrogate district and art-lovers to discover the Mercer Art Gallery and to buy something really special.

“We’re delighted to extend entry invitations more widely this year and we look forward to an incredible showcase of artwork in the Mercer Open, bringing new audiences to the Mercer and enabling more people to enjoy the feel good experience of art appreciation.”

Mercer Gallery

The Mercer Gallery

The exhibition has also been extended in other ways this year. Buyers no longer have to wait until the end of the event to collect their purchases but can take them home immediately.

New work will be put on display throughout the four-month exhibition, enabling more artists to be included and seeing the event evolve over time.

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Meanwhile, the cost of submission this year is £15 for up to three pieces of work, and for the first time it can be done online via the CuratorSpace website.

Anyone who would find the submission fee a barrier can contact curator Courtney Spencer via the CuratorSpace website.

Courtney said:

“I’m really excited to build on the incredible work of the gallery team who have been delivering a biannual open exhibition for the past 20 years.

“It’s been brilliant to broaden the callout to include artists connected to Yorkshire, to move the submissions process online and to reduce the submission fee to enable more artists to submit works.”

Artists have just over a week to submit entries before the deadline of midnight on Sunday, July 31.

The exhibition will run from September 17 until January 8, 2023. The Mercer Gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

Second Harrogate district MP declares support in Conservative leadership battle

A second Harrogate district MP has declared his support for Rishi Sunak in the race to become the next Prime Minister.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, has publicly backed the former Chancellor of the Exchequer for the first time.

In a post on Twitter today, he said:

“Rishi has a proper plan to get us through the tough times ahead. He is committed to rebuilding the economy and delivering for our area.

“Only Rishi can unite our country and defeat Labour and he will have my full support in doing so.”

pic.twitter.com/FrgzJtxkSf

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) July 21, 2022

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has already given his support to Rishi Sunak.

Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams has yet to declare his allegiance. He has been a close ally of Boris Johnson, having publicly supported the outgoing PM on several occasions in recent months.

It has been reported that Mr Adams could be handed a peerage following Mr Johnson’s departure, which would then trigger a by-election in his constituency.

Mr Sunak will compete with Liz Truss to be elected leader of the Conservative party in September, after its members cast their votes.

The pair will take part in hustings events around the country over the next few weeks.

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Crime writing festival heads up busy night of launches in Harrogate

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will begin with its usual flourish this evening, as Harrogate sees a busy night of launches across the town.

Leading crime authors and hundreds of fans will descend on the Old Swan Hotel tonight for Europe’s largest crime writing event, which will see the winner of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year announced.

The festival continues until Sunday with a range of special guest events, panel discussions and dinners.

Meanwhile, the Coach and Horses will have its relaunch night tonight after being taken over by the owners of the neighbouring West Park Hotel, Provenance Inns.

Commercial manager Anthony Blundell previously told the Stray Ferret that the aim was to revamp the bar and kitchen as well as creating upstairs dining space. However, he said the traditional feel of the venue would be maintained, adding:

“We see it as the last traditional pub in Harrogate. We know from our guests how well it was respected.”

The pub will begin welcoming customers again from tomorrow.

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Another venue relaunching today is Fashion House on Swan Road, which opens its doors from 2pm following months of closure.

A soft launch will be held with a limited menu and cocktails, after a redesign inside and a new chef taking charge of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, in the town centre, yoga studio Ebru Evrim will welcome invited guests tonight before beginning to offer its programme of classes to its new James Street home.

The Turkish Baths on Parliament Street is holding an invitation-only launch party tonight following a refurbishment of the historic facilities.

And down the road near Spofforth, Stockeld Park is previewing its new play space. The Playhive, an indoor adventure space for children, will welcome its first visitors from Saturday, with booking available now.

Keep an eye on the Stray Ferret’s website and social media feeds for more on today’s events, including sneak peeks behind the scenes before the doors open.

Harrogate sales director in line for national social mobility award

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate sales director in line for national social mobility award

A senior sales director in Harrogate has been shortlisted for a national award.

Rob Manton, who works for Procter and Gamble at its Harrogate branch on Hornbeam Park, is nominated in the mentor of the year category of the UK Social Mobility Awards.

The awards recognise UK organisations working to improve social mobility in their workforces, as well as elsewhere. They are organised by societal change charity Making the Leap and have been running for six years.

Mr Manton said:

“It’s a real honour to be selected as a finalist for mentor of the year. It’s a role that I take huge pleasure in playing, helping support a more diverse and inclusive recruitment programme to enable more people from different backgrounds to have the same opportunities to reach their potential.

“Through the partnerships we have built at P&G I have had the pleasure of meeting some exceedingly talented young people who have so much to offer to businesses, some of whom we have welcomed to P&G as apprentices.

“I would like to wish all the finalists good luck; it’s wonderful to see the commitment to drive change across so many companies – it’s this momentum we need to level the playfield for everyone.”

He is nominated alongside Ian Morley, P&G’s vice-president for sales in northern Europe, who has been shortlisted in the champion of the year category.

The winners will be decided by an independent judging panel chaired by the Lord Lieutenant of London, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE. The results will be announced at a gala event in October.

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Contractor begins work at Ripon Spa Hotel

Photo of the Spa Hotel

Work has begun on the refurbishment of Ripon Spa Hotel.

It was bought by The Inn Collection Group last June for an undisclosed sum.

Now, contractor STP Construction, from Gateshead, has started work to transform the 40-bedroom hotel. Its ballroom and terrace bar will also be renovated, along with the self-contained Turf Tavern Bar Bistro.

Speaking last year after The Inn Collection Group bought the hotel, managing director Sean Donkin said:

“Its picturesque location in such a popular part of the UK makes it the perfect fit for The Inn Collection Group and our offering.

“We’re excited to be furthering our expansion plans with such a great site, and are proud to be continuing to thrive during these challenging times for the hospitality sector.”

The Inn Collection Group, based in Newcastle, has more than 30 venues in its portfolio, mostly across the north-east and north-west of England.

This week, it appointed STP Construction for another of its properties, the 53-bedroom former Park Hotel in Tynemouth, North Tyneside.

‘Ambitious’ Ripon school praised by Ofsted for transformation

A Ripon primary school has received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted five years after it was branded failing.

Outwood Primary Academy Greystone joined the Outwood Grange Academies Trust after it was rated ‘inadequate’ in 2017.

Now, in its first inspection since joining the trust, the school has been praised for the way it has turned around its standards.

Inspectors said:

“School and trust leaders have a clear vision and ambition for the school. Their relentless focus on ‘raising standards and transforming lives’ has secured rapid improvement.

“This transformation is a result of their swift action and hard work to improve the quality of education for all.”

The school’s early years provision was rated ‘outstanding’, with inspectors highlighting the “well-resourced” indoor and outdoor classrooms and “ambitious” curriculum designed to offer the best start to their education.

Inspectors also praised the way to school created “confident and fluent” readers through an effective phonics programme, as well as supporting those pupils who needed more help.

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The report said teachers were thorough in delivering the curriculum and checking children’s knowledge. However, it said some subject leaders were newer to their roles and there were still some gaps in pupils’ knowledge which had not been recognised.

Inspectors also said the assessment process in some subjects could be more rigorous to ensure teachers were getting an accurate picture of pupils’ knowledge compared to what they expected.

The school was also advised to ensure any concerns raised by pupils were acted upon and systems for dealing with them were followed, to give children the confidence to report their worries.

The inspectors added:

“Leaders have systems in place to ensure that all pupils regularly attend school. Their mission is that every pupil develops as a well-rounded and responsible citizen.

“All pupils work towards the ‘Outwood Primary Diploma’. Pupils complete activities such as how to be a good British and international citizen. These activities are helping to prepare pupils for their adult lives ahead.

“Staff feel that leaders genuinely care about their well-being and workload. They feel supported. Staff appreciate the training and coaching they receive from school and trust leaders.”

Outwood Primary Academy Greystone principal Emma Abbott said:

“We are delighted that the hard work of the school community has been recognised by Ofsted and we are now officially a ‘good’ school with an ‘outstanding’ early years foundation stage.

“Since joining the Outwood family, the academy has gone from strength to strength, raising standards and transforming lives. We are proud that the report acknowledges that ‘Pupils love to learn at Greystone’ and that they are ‘happy and feel safe’.”

M&S employee in Harrogate unfairly dismissed after face mask confrontation

A Marks and Spencer employee in Harrogate was unfairly dismissed following an altercation with a customer over a face mask, a tribunal has found.

Deborah Daisy, who worked part-time at M&S Food on Leeds Road in Harrogate, went off work with anxiety in late January 2021.

She told her employer it was down to the covid pandemic in general, but was also caused by an incident in which she asked a customer to put on a face mask in the shop. The customer was then aggressive towards her, she said.

The report from an employment tribunal in Leeds said:

“Adjustments were discussed to facilitate a return to work. Specifically, they discuss the claimant not working on the door of the store as a store host which involved controlling the numbers of people entering the store and reminding them to wear a mask.

“[Marks and Spencer] was asked whether or not she could think of any other adjustments and replied that she could not.”

However, Ms Daisy then told her employer she would feel comfortable to return to work once she was fully vaccinated.

She was referred to occupational health and, during meetings with them, referred to a previous armed robbery and an incident when she confronted a shoplifter as making her feel unprotected in her workplace.

Following a meeting in early March, an occupational health officer said:

“This employee is not fit for work in any capacity at present and timescales for recovery are unclear, therefore it is unlikely that a return will be feasible in the reasonably foreseeable future.

“Should the business have exhausted all reasonable support and all reasonable adjustments have proven unsuccessful, I would recommend formal consideration for ill health retirement with submission of the relevant pension scheme documentation.”

Mrs Daisy had several further phone appointments with her employer over the following months, at each reiterating that she did not feel safe to return to work. Company representatives asked if any adjustments could be made to help her, but she said no.

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In a meeting in June 2021, Ms Daisy was told that she could not be given an update about what action had been taken against the abusive customer “due to GDPR”. She asked about the previous incidents which had made her feel unsafe and was told they had been discussed at previous meetings.

Off work for 24 weeks

At the end of the meeting, Ms Daisy was dismissed on the grounds that she had been off work for 24 weeks and was not able to return.

She submitted an appeal the following month, but another M&S employee concluded her dismissal had not been unfair. However, the tribunal held in Leeds in May found it had been.

The report published at the end of June said:

“Although the respondent [M&S] has produced a standard operating procedure for dealing with external crime, there was no evidence of specific training in this, or in handling abusive customers, in the claimant’s case. There is no evidence before of recording threats to staff or any specific processes for reporting abuse to staff.”

In the report, Employment Judge Knowles said M&S had said Ms Daisy had not submitted an official complaint about any of the incidents. However, the report said Ms Daisy had not been trained in making these and it was unclear why, when she reported them to her manager, they were not treated as official complaints.

The report added:

“Although the number of meetings is indicative of [Mrs Daisy] being adequately consulted from the interview notes it can be seen that they did not discuss the investigations due to vague reasoning concerning GDPR.

“Throughout the process, the claimant [Mrs Daisy] raises incidents, workplace violence, and the respondent [M&S] clearly failed to establish the facts and investigate those incidents which led to the absence and perpetuate the absence.

“This was not even close to a reasonable investigation. The respondent failed to consider reasonable adjustments, stopping shoplifters, locking the doors after hours, investigating her complaints, and there could have been a return to work.”

Judge Knowles found M&S could have engaged more with its employee over its investigation into the incidents and ways of overcoming her safety fears, saying the company could have been expected to wait longer before dismissing her if that process failed to enable her to return to work.

He said:

“It is not for me to comment upon how the respondent might have taken steps to address [Mrs Daisy]’s safety concerns.

“I am surprised that those matters were not explored with [Mrs Daisy] given that [M&S] is a well-resourced retailer in the UK and given that the plight of shopworkers and the abuse they suffer at work is generally well known.”

The compensation to be given to Ms Daisy will be decided at a future date, but will be reduced by 25% on the grounds that she could have been dismissed in future anyway.

Therapist praises “beautiful energy” of new Knaresborough home

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Therapist praises “beautiful energy” of new Knaresborough home

A therapist from Harrogate has relocated to Knaresborough to join its “thriving” business scene.

Karen Smith of The Balance Smith has taken new treatment space at the Town House in Jockey Lane.

From there, she is offering advanced clinical massage, clinical reflexology and scar release, helping clients to reduce pain, improve function and relieve stress.

She said:

“There is a beautiful energy here in Knaresborough and a thriving independent business community.

“I want to create a space to empower those wanting to take action and invest in themselves on their journey out of chronic pain and stress.”

As well as the treatment space, the new venue has a courtyard garden for post-treatment relaxation.

Ms Smith also plans to offer a series of self-care workshops in future, helping people to take more control of their health and well-being.

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Belated celebration for gallery’s Harrogate opening

An art gallery has marked its opening with a celebration at its Harrogate premises — two years after it made the move.

Bils & Rye took on the premises on John Street at the rear of Hotel du vin in 2020, following eight years near the North York Moors.

Its opening was muted because of the pandemic and, after two years trading, owner Nick Bentley threw a party on Saturday afternoon.

It was an opportunity for customers old and new to discuss the work of artists from the Harrogate district and around the UK on show in the gallery. Among those represented were Erin Ward, Joanne Tinker, Jo York, Gary Canning and Robert J Wyatt.