Bars and cafes in Harrogate are increasingly opening their doors to people forced to work from home due to covid.

The shops typically rent out a table and plug socket, hook you up to the WiFi and keep the coffee or tea running for a set fee over a set period of time.

North Bar Harrogate and the Harrogate Tea Rooms are two of a growing number of venues enticing workers away from their home offices with the promise of endless coffee and other perks.

Read more:

• Colourful charity crafts store opens in Harrogate
• Hampsthwaite coffee shop to reopen after covid deep clean
• Harrogate survey: Nearly 80% want to keep alfresco dining

Since the offers began, people have turned up in numbers at both venues. Indeed coffee shop working has become so popular the venues are considering carrying on with it beyond coronavirus.

Deborah Przychodna, the manager at North Bar Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is the third day of Work From North and it has been great. The response from people has been amazing. I think a lot of people are tired of working from home, they want to see other people and they feel safe here.”

What are the offers?

There may be other bars and cafes with similar offers – If your favourite bar or cafe has a similar offer then lets us know by email – but here is what we found:

North Bar Harrogate (five hours): For £15 customers get a refillable tea or coffee, a focaccia sandwich or similar and a pint of beer to end the day. Available from 12pm to 5pm.

Harrogate Tea Rooms (three hours): For £10 customers get unlimited tea or coffee and brunch. Available from 10am to 3.30pm.

How practical is it?

As one of those people working from home and tiring of the same four walls, I thought I would try the concept.

So I packed up my laptop, chargers, camera and notepad and headed to North Bar Harrogate at 12pm.

With a coffee boost I interviewed the manager Deborah, took a couple of pictures and connected my laptop to the WiFi to write this article.

It may not work for those who prefer privacy but for many it can be a welcome change of scene.

Personally, I enjoyed the coffee and the bright space at North Bar. The staff were welcoming and helpful.

At £15, I wouldn’t rush back straight away but I definitely plan to head back sometime soon or try out the Harrogate Tea Rooms.

Sixteen historic sites in the Harrogate district have been included on Historic England’s at risk register, which was published today.

The register identifies sites most at risk of “being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development”.

Historic England, a non-departmental public body, uses the register to work with owners to understand repairs and find funding.

The register downgrades the condition of the Church of St Mary on Harlow Terrace, which is disused, from ‘poor’ to ‘very bad’.

The grade II* listed building dates back to 1916 but has structural problems and needs lots of work. Mineral felt in the roof is leaking and the stone is deteriorating.

The register says proposals to convert St Mary’s into new use are not progressing.

Read more:

• ‘Save our trees’ plea from Harrogate residents
• Plans to demolish Ripon Cathedral Choir School
• Extension plans for Ripon Cathedral on display

Other Harrogate district heritage sites ‘at risk’

The Heritage at Risk register highlights the plight of a further 15 historic buildings or places in the district:

• Temple of Victory in Flaxby – fair
• Orangery at Ripley Castle – poor
• Butterton Bridge in Warsill – poor
• Dob Park Lodge in Weston – poor
• Church of St James in Baldersby – fair
• Carved rocks on edge of Snowden Carr, Askwith – generally satisfactory
• Henge monument at Hutton Conyers – extensive significant problems
• Hutton Hall at Hutton Conyers – generally satisfactory
• Round barrow at Hutton Conyers – generally satisfactory
• Medieval fishponds in Markington and Wallerthwaite – generally unsatisfactory
• Howe Hill motte and Bailey Castle at North Deighton – generally unsatisfactory
• Allerton Park at Allerton Castle – generally satisfactory
• Plumpton Rocks at Plompton – generally satisfactory
• Swinton Castle at Swinton – generally satisfactory
• Site of Battle of Boroughbridge – generally satisfactory

The competition to find Britain’s best Christmas tree, which will then stand outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street home, is to be held in Harrogate this month.

It is the first time the town has been chosen to stage the event, which also includes a category to find a champion wreath to hang on the PM’s door at number 10.

The competition will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground on October 28.

It is run by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is now managed by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

The association, which is a trade group for people who grow specialist Christmas trees, has 320 members nationally.

Yorkshire TV stars Amanda Owen, shepherdess on Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright, from Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, will join the judging panel.

Because of covid, growers will send their tress to the ground but will be unable to attend in person.

Heather Parry, managing agent for the BCTGA, who is also the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre, said:

“We are very much looking forward to seeing the best in the business being crowned, right here on the Great Yorkshire Showground. The champion tree winner will head to 10 Downing Street to provide that iconic Christmas tree for this year.”

Peter Wright said:

“There’s nothing like the scent of a real Christmas tree to really launch you into the festive spirit and I am really looking forward to seeing some of the best in Britain at the Showground.”

Read more:

• From Santa’s grottos to winter wonderland walks, events across the Harrogate district are seeing record levels of demand for the festive season. 
• Our survey revealed a third of Harrogate residents will do their Christmas shopping in the town. 

Many growers in the competition have changed their business to suit covid measures by, for instance, introducing online sales and allowing customers to pick their own tree with social distancing measures.

Christmas tree orders are reported to have already exceeded early orders from 2019.

A private members’ club in Harrogate closed this week due to a positive case of coronavirus and will reopen on Wednesday next week.

Oatlands Mount Social Club, which was established in 1918, informed members on Facebook.

Its post said:

“Unfortunately we have had a positive covid test result for a prominent member of the club. Although we have been advised not to close our doors by Public Health England, we have decided to close the club to protect our members and employees.

“Public Health England feel that all covid safety procedures have been put in place by the club so they are not going to track and trace members at this moment in time.”

Read more:

• Hampsthwaite coffee Shop will close for a week to throughly clean following a covid scare.
• Porco Rosso Italian restaurant in Harrogate has closed after three years in the town. 

A luxury Harrogate wedding venue is transforming into a ski lodge restaurant to keep staff in work this winter.

Current covid restrictions limit weddings to a maximum of 15 guests.

This has had a huge impact on venues like Wharfedale Grange, near Harewood, which is able to seat 270 wedding guests and can cater for 165 people in its restaurant.

It hopes that by adapting the use of its barn it will be able to retain staff, especially with the furlough scheme ending this month.

Claire Thomas, managing director of Wharfedale Grange, said:

“We’ve got 18 full-time staff and 12 part-time staff so we’re effectively keeping 30 people in work by converting to a restaurant and not making them redundant.”

Described as ‘La Folie Douce meets Yorkshire’, the restaurant — called Apres Bar & Grill — will incorporate elements of ski lodge resorts.

It is due to open from November 1 to the end of March.

Read more: 

• Covid restrictions won’t stop ‘beautiful’ weddings, says Harrogate celebrant
• Harrogate couple cancel wedding for third time

The Italian bar and restaurant Porco Rosso on The Ginnel in Harrogate has permanently closed.

The restaurant was owned by the people behind another Italian restaurant, Stuzzi, on King’s Road, and opened in summer 2017.

It reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in July but a post on the Porco Rosso Facebook page earlier announced its demise.

The post said:

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the government is prepared to consider district rather than county-wide covid tiers in North Yorkshire in response to variable transmission rates.

This would mean some parts of the county could be placed in a higher category — and be subject to greater restrictions — than others.

The Harrogate district currently has the highest infection rate of the seven district council areas in North Yorkshire.

York, which is a unitary authority, does however have a higher rate than Harrogate.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Thirsk and Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake asked Mr Hancock:

“The rate of transmission varies significantly within the eight different districts of North Yorkshire.

“When we are looking at putting different areas into different tiers, can we look at that by district rather than at county level?”

Mr Hancock replied:

“Yes, absolutely, and I will go further than that: we look at this at sub-district level, if that is appropriate.”

He said this had already happened in High Peak, Derbyshire, where some areas are in level 2 and others are in level 1.

Read more:

• Permanent covid testing site to open in Harrogate next week

• Community spirit thrives despite covid crisis

Mr Hancock added, however, that it was not purely down to transmission rates:

“Some districts within North Yorkshire have individual outbreaks in individual institutions that we are managing, and we should not mistake that for general community transmission and therefore put those areas into a higher level than is necessary.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new tier system on Monday, which placed all of North Yorkshire in tier 1, which is the lowest category.

People in Harrogate plan to do a third of their Christmas shopping in the town centre, as more people flock online.

The Stray Ferret worked with Your Poll by Judge Service to survey nearly 1,500 people in Harrogate.  The survey is statistically robust.

All surveys with more than 1,000 respondents are statistically valid. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out.

Where do you plan to do your Christmas shopping this year?

The survey found residents plan to do 30% of their Christmas shopping in Harrogate, 48% online and 16% elsewhere.

It will be important reading for the town’s businesses which hope, after a rough year, to have a bumper Christmas.

“Disappointed to lose the Christmas Market this year – I do a lot of my Christmas shopping there. Flower beds are gorgeous and love the lights in the trees.” – anon.

“The Christmas market is too early, not in long enough and is far too cramped. More seasonal markets would be good.” – anon.

Where do you plan to do your Christmas shopping?

The results from the survey also indicate, even though the majority head into town during the day, that residents only spend an hour to two hours there.

“Harrogate council needs to develop plans to respond to increasing online shopping by re-shaping the town centre over a period of time.” – anon.

“Harrogate is a great place to live, but work needs to be done to ensure it remains so. I hope that the town centre can endure.” – anon.

In the evening people are much more likely to spend two to three hours or even three to four hours in town.

Are you not entertained?

An improvement in the range of shopping and entertainment could bring more people into the town centre and for more time.

“A farmer style market regularly should be encouraged. A more diverse mix of shops should be encouraged.” – anon.

“A bowling alley would be ideal and would bring not just locals but people from outside the area into Harrogate” – anon.

More than 80% said there is “not enough” entertainment for young children and almost 90% said there is “not enough” entertainment for teenagers.

It contrasts quite strongly with the responses which said there are “too many” empty shops (97%) and charity shops (57%) in town.

Find the full survey results here.

People buying and selling property in the Harrogate district have expressed frustration over delays for land searches to be completed.

A buoyant local property market has increased the workload on Harrogate Borough Council.

The Stray Ferret understands searches in Harrogate are taking several weeks longer than in neighbouring authorities Leeds and York.

Local authority searches, which check there are no hidden surprises for buyers, are an essential part of the home-buying process.

HBC’s local land charges team charges £103.95 for a search, which reveals information on issues relating to the property such as previous planning applications, roads, utilities and the environment.

According to HBC’s website, the average search time in August 2020 was just over three weeks. However, the Stray Ferret has spoken to someone selling a house, an estate agent, and a solicitor who all say the process is now taking much longer.

‘Banging your head against a brick wall’

Robert Ash and his wife are currently selling a property in the village of Grantley, near Ripon. Their buyer’s solicitor asked HBC to undertake a search of the property at the end of August and he has now been told the result will be ready on November 8 — 10 weeks later.

Mr Ash suggested it could be taking longer because “everyone is trying to sell a house in Harrogate” at the moment.

He said he’d tried to ask the council why it was taking so much longer than expected but said “it’s like banging your head against a brick wall”. He added:

“It does seem ridiculous because everyone is anxious to get on with these things.”

Read more:

• Harrogate house sales fall by 50%, but ‘manic’ market now rebounding

• Developer cuts larger homes at Boroughbridge due to ‘market conditions’

Estate agent Jak Cavanagh from Knight Frank in Harrogate said the delays were too long.

Knight Frank has offices across the country and Mr Cavanagh said Harrogate was known nationally for taking a long time to process searches.

He said searches were now taking 10-12 weeks, around twice as long as they were pre-covid.

“It would be great if they were a bit quicker. It’s delaying things a bit too much.

“From a seller’s point of view, it can be frustrating, but Harrogate is known all over the country for this, I’m afraid.”

Leeds and York quicker

The estate agent’s experience was echoed by local property solicitor Mike Sheldon, from the law firm Wilson Bramwell.

Mr Sheldon said searches were taking far longer in Harrogate compared to other local authorities, such as York and Leeds.

He said:

“The council are taking longer, there’s no question about that, but it’s just the volume of conveyancing that’s going on. It’s slowing things down. Each council is different but Leeds and York seem to be a lot quicker.”

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, HBC said the current processing timescales for searches was approximately 28 working days.

It said July, August and September were the busiest three months for local land charges team in “a number of years”.

The council added that increased pressures related to covid meant it was unable to provide the team with additional resources. It also said two experienced staff from the team had recently retired.

The council added it had made overtime available for staff to clear some of the backlog.

A council spokesperson said:

“We appreciate how stressful buying a house can be and we are doing everything we can to reduce the processing times for local land charge searches.

“There have been a number of issues that have meant we are dealing with an unprecedented level of demand so we are asking people to be mindful of the current timescales and advise them to carry out searches as early as possible in their housing buying process.”

A Harrogate shoplifter who was caught in possession of a meat cleaver has been jailed for 11 months.

Colin Bradley, 33, of Hargrove Road, had been carrying the lethal weapon at Asda in Harrogate where he stole two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whisky, York Crown Court heard today.

The fresh-produce manager stopped Bradley as he was leaving the store with the whisky bottles. Bradley was at first co-operative, said prosecutor Martin Bosomworth.

But when the male employee noticed more items in his jacket and pockets and asked him if he had stolen anything else, Bradley became aggressive and a “stand-off” ensued.

Mr Bosomworth told the court:

“(Bradley) put his hand in his pockets (where the blade was) and said, ‘Do you want it then?’”

“The (named manager) formed the impression that the defendant had some kind of knife.”

Fearing for his safety, the manager got out of Bradley’s way and let him leave the store.

Shortly after, police stopped Bradley and asked him if he was carrying a weapon. He pulled out a meat cleaver and handed it over.

Numerous thefts

Bradley, who was drunk and possibly high on drugs, was arrested and brought in for questioning. He refused to answer police questions about the incident on March 3.

He was released on bail pending further enquiries.

During this time, local shops and supermarkets provided CCTV evidence showing the convicted thief had targeted other stores since the beginning of February.

In one incident on February 10 he stole four packs of Stella Artois, food items and ready meals from the Co-op store on Knaresborough Road. He returned to the same shop later in the day to steal a multi-pack of tuna and a pack of Foster’s lager.

After being released on bail, he stole four cases of Jack Daniel’s and two packs of lager from the Co-op store on King Edward Drive on May 5.

Just over two weeks later, he targeted Sainsbury’s supermarket in Knaresborough where he stole cases of San Miguel beer. He returned to the store in June when he stole chicken breasts and pasta sauce.

Knuckle duster

Bradley was sentenced today after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in public and seven counts of theft.

The court heard he had 10 previous convictions for offences including possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2014. His other convictions included carrying a knuckle duster, serious violence and drug offences.

Defence barrister Ashleigh Metcalfe said that Bradley had been binge-drinking and homeless during his four-month thieving spree.

Since the meat-cleaver incident, he had been trying to curb his drinking and drug-taking, which had been exacerbated by family bereavements.

But judge Simon Hickey said carrying a meat cleaver in public was such a serious offence that it had to be immediate custody.

The judge added that Bradley’s previous conviction for possessing a blade or offensive weapon meant he was liable to a minimum jail term as a “second-striker”.

Jailing Bradley for 11 months, Mr Hickey added:

“Anybody who carries a meat cleaver (must expect) an immediate custodial sentence, even though one was never taken out (of the defendant’s pocket).”

Bradley will serve half of the sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.