Harrogate charity raises £75,000 for critically ill newborns

A Harrogate charity has raised £75,000 to fund life-saving medical equipment for newborn infants.

Friends of Alfie Martin, which was established in 2002, held its £1Million Ball at the DoubleTree by Hilton Majestic Hotel in Harrogate this month as part of its bid to reach its £1 million fundraising goal.

The charity raises funds to purchase medical equipment for the Leeds Centre for Newborn Care, which looks after around 1,600 seriously ill babies every year.

Around 300 guests attended the event, which included a tombola, silent auction and bingo.

One winner even went home with a diamond necklace.

Fiona Martin, founder of Friends of Alfie Martin, said:

“What an incredible evening with an electric atmosphere for Alfie’s charity. The love and support for Alfie’s charity is overwhelming and so was the amount raised.

“We are so proud and grateful to our amazing supporters and with their support we can continue to make a huge difference to the care of critically sick babies across the Yorkshire region.”

Ms Martin, who lives and works near Harrogate, set up the charity with her husband after losing their son, Alfie.

He was born full-term but needed urgent transportation to Leeds General Infirmary to receive critical care.

After a gruelling wait due to a lack of transportation, Alfie was moved to the Regional Teaching Hospital, where he eventually died.

Friends of Alfie Martin is now the biggest single contributor to the Leeds Centre for Newborn Care.

Most recently, it has provided the unit with heart-monitoring equipment, specialist incubators and mechanical breathing support ventilators.

Committee member Michele Bradley said:

“The list of future requirements for the centre is daunting, but the dedicated committee of volunteers is determined to continue to ensure that other parents do not have to suffer the tragic loss of a child.”

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Yemi’s Food Stories: My festive favourites from local suppliers

Food often takes centre stage at Christmas, but there are so many elements to the Christmas meal, it can become overwhelming in the kitchen.

So, this week I thought I’d share some of my festive favourites from local suppliers which will be sure to wow all your guests.

Wine: Ake & Humphris

The turkey may be the main attraction of the table, but we all know the value of a good glass of wine on Christmas day.

Ake & Humphris, in Harrogate, has the perfect accompaniments for you: Kovacs Nimrod Monopole 777 Pinot Noir.

This comforting red has gentle notes of fragrant cherry, wild strawberry and raspberry, as well as exotic spices. The savoury characters add complexity to this intriguing pinot with moderate tannins and good body.

It feels like a warm fire on a crisp evening, and has become a staple in my house every Christmas.

The wine, which has aged for more than 4 years in oak barrels, has a velvety and round finish, making it very moreish!

Luckily for Stray Ferret readers, this beautiful wine is available on your doorstep at Ake & Humphris, on Leeds Road.

You can even get 10% off by quoting code GREATWINEFERRET or by ordering it from their website.

Ake & Humphris also offers a six-bottle hamper, specially curated to compliment the entire Christmas meal.

Enjoy!

Ake & Humphris Christmas wine selection.

Cheese: The Cheeseboard

When the post-dinner lethargy kicks in, many of us just reach for a packaged selection of cheese for our Christmas cheeseboard, but why not make it a talking-point of the meal?

The Cheeseboard, on Commercial Street in Harrogate, will make all your dairy dreams come true…

One of my personal favourites, the Stonebeck, is made locally in Nidderdale by Stonebeck Wensleydale Farmhouse.

The cheese is made from the milk of Northern Dairy Shorthorn cows, a rare breed native to the Yorkshire Dales, and is hand pressed and bound in calico before maturing.

The taste and texture are an expression of the farm: soft and creamy with long, complex and layered flavours.

It’s delicate and rich and is guaranteed to put a smile on your guests’ faces.

Blue cheese is probably the most polarising of the cheeses, but I can guarantee you’ll fall in love with Swaledale Blue.

This pasteurised cheese, which is made by the Swaledale Cheese Company in Richmondshire, has a soft, melting texture that dissolves to cream on the tongue and a taste that is mild with gentle, herbal sharpness.

It is certainly full of flavour, but the peppery hints take the classic Swaledale cheese to a whole new level.

I cannot recommend these cheeses enough and both can be bought at The Cheeseboard. Make sure to get them before they sell out!

Appleton’s Butchers: Pies

I know many of us devote ourselves to one particular butcher, but Appleton’s Butchers has become a local institution for a reason.

Pork pie is something I look forward to every Christmas and the premium quality meat on offer at Appleton’s has me dreaming of it from summertime.

The standout medium lattice pork pie, which is even loved by King Charles II and Phil Tufnell, is a testament to Appleton’s commitment to quality, with a perfect balance of pork and pastry.

It also offers the highest quality locally-sourced beef, poultry and Yorkshire lamb.

It may seem a risk trying a new butcher, but this one will pay off when you taste Appleton’s Butcher’s meat!

You can find them in Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Wetherby, or order online here.

Appleton’s medium lattice pies.

Chutney

 Christmas isn’t complete without condiments – and chutney is no exception.

Fodder, in Harrogate, stocks a wide range of flavours that will accompany your cheeseboard brilliantly.

The Christmas Chutney is made from plums, apples, onions and sultanas, while the Boxing Day chutney offers flavours of caramelised onion and cranberries.

Find them in store, just off Wetherby Road.

This story contains sponsored content and links. 

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Have we seen the last of nightclubs in Harrogate?

It’s the Christmas party season, and many of us will remember when a festive do in Harrogate ended, often rather messily, in one of Harrogate’s nightclubs.

The town’s club scene was once so good that names such as Carringtons, Jimmys and Josephine’s live on in fond memories of sticky dancefloors, cheap drinks and great music.

Recollections may be hazy but the love remains for the likes of Legends, Flares, Ministry of Sound, Rehab, The Old Bourbon and the many other nightclubs that have come and gone in Harrogate over the years.

But no more. Next weekend will mark a year since the last club standing, The Viper Rooms, closed its doors. So is this the end of the nightclub in Harrogate and, with it, the end of a guaranteed great night out in the town?

The death of the nightclub

Harrogate is not alone in its declining nightclub scene. Data from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) shows 31 per cent of the UK’s nightclubs closed between June 2020 and June 2023. The report blamed an increase in operational costs, rents, utilities and maintenance, and called for initiatives to help nightclub owners finance their venues.

But even before a pandemic and a cost of living crisis, NTIA research shows that nightclubs were already in decline. Between 2014 and 2019 the number of clubs across the UK fell from 1,924 to 1,446, with Yorkshire seeing a 37 per cent loss.

Jay Smith, the owner of Montey’s bar, says this corresponds to an increase in later bar licences:

“In the halcyon days of nightclubs, bars were open until 11 and then the clubs took over. But as licensing reforms started to take hold and then customer demand followed, we ended up opening later. Now Montey’s is open until 4am on a weekend and we’re not alone. It’s being driven by the consumer and that’s all you can react to.”

Montey’s has just marked its 27th year in Harrogate and Mr Smith says drinking habits have changed during that time.

“People aren’t going out as much as they used to. There’s a whole generation of kids who turned 18 during the pandemic and have never been clubbing. And a large number of our customers don’t drink alcohol. When Montey’s started we had one alcohol-free beer and now we have a whole section on the menu. It’s not a money saving exercise for people either; they are just more health conscious.”

(L) The serviced apartments on the Kings Road site that was previously the original King’s Club, then the Old Bourbon. (R) Best Bar on Parliament Street

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Has demand gone? 

With opportunities for clubbing in Leeds and York and the ease and affordability of sharing an Uber back to Harrogate, is there even any demand for a nightclub in Harrogate?

Jay Smith says:

“To be honest, a town the size of Harrogate probably had a disproportionate number of nightclubs a decade or two ago. If we do get another one I suspect it will be a lot smaller. Nightclubs are really expensive businesses to operate.”

So is Harrogate still a great night out?

You’d think not, judging by the negative response on The Stray Ferret’s Facebook page to a story last week about Harrogate’s best venues. “Go to Leeds or York” was the general response to an appeal from a Bath-based events company for someone ‘with a love of partying’ to report on the town’s bars and clubs for a ‘full night out experience’. “Nightlife is dead in Harrogate” was a common refrain.

But Yannis Dervishi, owner of Best Bar on Parliament Street, doesn’t agree. He thinks perceptions changed when The Viper Rooms closed, and that people who think the closure left Harrogate devoid of nightlife, need to get back out on the town and see what’s on offer.

“Viper Rooms closing down took away decades and decades of that location’s history, which promoted the perception that nightlife in Harrogate is lacking, he says.

“However, this is just perception over perspective. Harrogate contains a variety of bars scattered through the town centre and each one is different and unique in their own way. The face of the town’s night-time scene may have changed but it’s not like there’s no music and no dancefloors.”

The rise of the all night bar

The success of bars in the face of nightclubs’ decline was underlined this week when the UK’s biggest nightclub operator, Rekom, announced it’s going to start focusing more on its bars. And last week The Viper Rooms owner Paul Kinsey’s Harewood Group said it had taken over the Pitcher and Piano bar in Harrogate and is aiming to create a ‘great night out’, introducing live music and DJ Christmas party nights.

Mr Dervishi, who has been in the industry for over 20 years and also runs Mykonos and Santorini restaurants, says the demographic has widened at Best Bar since The Viper Rooms closed. The bar, which is open until 6am at weekends and includes a ‘nightclub’ style room with a dancefloor and DJs, attracts between 300 and 500 people on Fridays and 450 to 750 on Saturday.

“We’ve got customers of all ages, from 20 year olds to the over 70s. We didn’t plan for that kind of mix when we first launched, but when Viper Rooms closed we adapted our offering and it just fell into place.”

Mr Smith also thinks it’s unfair to say the town has no nightlife: “We’ve got some really great places to go on a night. Independent bars are on the rise nationally, and in Harrogate we’ve got some really great players.”

He says the loss of nightclubs is a shame, but times have changed:

“My first job in hospitality was as a DJ at Night Out in Knaresborough. It was amazing. I would get there at 10.30pm and by 11 the place would fill up. For those of us who lived through that generation, you’d finish your night in a club. But what nightclubs have become in the last decade is very different to what they were when I was younger.”

Although he thinks the general trend in the decline of nightclubs will continue, Mr Smith is not sure we’ve seen the last of them in Harrogate.

“I still think there is a demand for a nightclub,” he adds.

Do you think Harrogate should have a nightclub? Do you have fond memories or pictures of nights out in a Harrogate nightclub?
We’d love you to share them with us. Get in touch and send us your thoughts at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Man seriously injured after Harrogate collision

A man in his 60s has been left seriously injured after a collision in Harrogate.

The incident happened at 5.30pm on Thursday (November 30) at the junction of Roberts Crescent and Knapping Hill.

It involved a pedestrian and a white Vauxhall van. A man in his 60s was taken to hospital by ambulance where he is in a serious but stable condition.

The van driver, also from Harrogate, is assisting police with the investigation.

Officers have appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage of the collision.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“Police are appealing for any witnesses to collision or motorists with relevant dashcam footage to come forward as soon as possible.

“Please email Chris.Storey@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2, and ask for Chris Storey. quoting reference number 12230227805.”

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Harrogate Town eye glamorous FA Cup third round spot

Harrogate Town will hope to book a place in the third round of the FA Cup tomorrow when they play four-time winners Bolton Wanderers.

Town will travel to the Toughsheet Community Stadium to take on the League One leaders for a chance to play against Premier League and Championship sides in the next stage.

Wanderers go into the game in form with 38 points from 18 league games.

Harrogate defeated non-league Marine 5-1 in the first round to avoid a potential cup upset. Now they are hoping to provide an upset of their own.

Simon Weaver, Town manager, described the match as a challenge for the players.

He said:

“It’s a great ground to go and play in a FA Cup tie. They are doing fantastically well at the top of League One.

“It’s a big challenge for us, but we plan on enjoying the day.”

Harrogate will be hoping to reach the third round for the second ever time after reaching the stage in 2021/22.

More than 400 supporters will make the 69-mile trip for the second round match.

A chance to play against Premier League sides such as Manchester City and Liverpool in the third round will be up for grabs.

Harrogate Town will kick off against Bolton at 3pm tomorrow.

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GALLERY: Harrogate Christmas Fayre gets underway

Harrogate Christmas Fayre opened today to ensure the town is in full festive swing.

The fayre, which is organised by Greater Manchester events company Market Place and tourism organisation Destination Harrogate, includes town centre stalls selling foods, gifts, and homeware.

There are also fairground rides near the war memorial and children’s entertainment, as well as the Candy Cane Express road train and an open-top bus tour.

The fayre also includes the Harrogate Ice Rink in Crescent Gardens, where there is also a bar and alpine tipi, as well as a carousel, bungee jump and children’s stalls.

The fayre is open daily until December 17, and the ice rink runs until January 7.

Here are some photos from the opening day.

Pic: Stephen Garnett.

Harrogate pantomime’s Naail Ishaq & Tim Stedman

 

The Summerbridge and Dacre Silver Band playing on the open-top bus. Pic: Stephen Garnett

The Enchantica’s Christmas Choir

The Harrogate Ice Rink

Pic: Stephen Garnett.

The Candy Cane Express road train

Crescent Gardens.

 

The open-top tour bus.

The alpine tipi in Crescent Gardens.

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Plans submitted to convert Harrogate Debenhams into 34 flats

Fresh plans have been lodged to convert the former Debenhams building in Harrogate into 34 apartments.

Wetherby-based Stirling Prescient No. 1 Limited has tabled the proposal to North Yorkshire Council for the site on Parliament Street.

The building has been home to different retailers for more than a century. Before Debenhams, it housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores.

A previous application from Stirling Prescient had proposed the demolition of the building to make way for 50 flats. However, this was withdrawn in May 2022.

The fresh plan would retain the site and see the upper floors converted into 34 flats. The ground floor and basement levels would be used as “flexible commercial space” or a “drinking establishment”.

Debenhams on Parliament Street, Harrogate

Debenhams on Parliament Street, Harrogate pictured in April 2020.

It also proposes erecting a rooftop extension, plus the removal and replacement of canopies, shop fronts and slate roof, and removal and re-cladding of the facade of the 1960s element of the building.

A secure cycle store and seven car parking spaces are also included in the plan.

In documents submitted to the council, the developer said the new proposal would help to restore the site.

It said:

“The proposed development is located within the heart of the town centre with excellent pedestrian and public transport links and will provide a high quality and vibrant new residential development.

“The proposed building will create a new focal point along Parliament Street, restoring and sympathetically converting the current buildings on the site.”

‘Substantially revised’ proposal

The move comes as previous proposals to demolish the site were met with opposition.

In March 2022, Emma Gibbens, conservation officer at Harrogate Borough Council, said the demolition of the building would harm the local area.

She said:

“The loss of the traditional building form and architectural detail would be harmful to the street scene and character and special interest of the conservation area, the building forming part of the designated heritage asset in a manner that contributes positively to its character.”

The objection followed similar concerns from campaign group Save Britain’s Heritage, which said the developer had failed to provide “clear or adequate justification” for demolishing the building.

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However, Historic England said it supported regeneration of the site but added that there should be a “sensitive conversion” of the two older department store buildings.

Documents submitted to the council as part of the fresh proposal acknowledged that plans to demolish the store were not well received.

However, it added that the scheme had been “substantially revised and positively respond to the feedback received”.

It said:

“The proposals will secure the long-term future of the site which will deliver wide ranging and lasting benefits to the town centre. Flexible commercial space at ground level and new residential development will strengthen the town’s long-term vitality and viability.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

Council quashes hopes of west Harrogate bypass

North Yorkshire Council has no plans to build a western bypass in Harrogate, with one councillor saying the move would “reopen old wounds”.

Business group Independent Harrogate published a document this month called A Vision for Harrogate that set out an alternative course of action for the controversial £11.2m Station Gateway scheme.

The document, written by retired architect Barry Adams, also puts forward suggestions to tackle congestion, such as establishing a park and ride scheme and building a western bypass.

A bypass proposal has been debated for decades, with Independent Harrogate arguing it could be key to link west and north Harrogate and reduce congestion.

Cllr John Mann, the Conservative councillor for Oatlands and Pannal, asked Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways, if North Yorkshire Council would commit to building the bypass as a long-term project.

Cllr Mann said:

“I do know that congestion in Pannal and Oatlands would be much relieved if a relief road would be constructed.

“I think there’s merit in the idea, as we’ve only built 700 out of 4,000 scheduled homes for western Harrogate.

“Congestion is already quite severe and dangerous to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.”

However, Cllr Duncan poured cold water on the idea and said the council’s predecessor, North Yorkshire County Council, held a widely publicised consultation about congestion in 2019, which rejected more roads being built in favour of sustainable travel, like improved cycling or walking routes.

The council abandoned unpopular plans to build a relief road by the Nidd Gorge following the consultation.

Cllr Duncan said:

“The results resoundingly favoured sustainable transport and demanded management solutions to congestion rather than the provision of new roads. The council then determined to respect that outcome and the council does not now plan to reopen old wounds.”

The council is working on a document called the Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme that will set out improvements to walking, cycling and bus infrastructure.

A report is expected in spring 2024.

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Yorkshire Water’s £1m pay-out to charities branded ‘pathetic’

News of Yorkshire Water’s record £1 million payout to environmental charities to atone for polluting Hookstone Beck in Harrogate has met with mixed reactions, with one local politician branding it “pathetic”. 

As we reported yesterday, the utility company polluted Hookstone Beck in 2016 with an unauthorised sewage discharge, killing fish and breaching its environmental permit. 

Following an investigation, it offered the Environment Agency an Enforcement Undertaking to pay £500,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and £500,000 to Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. The Agency accepted the undertaking, making it the largest civil sanction it has ever accepted. 

Yorkshire Water has also completed a £1.85 million sewer network upgrade in the area as part of the enforcement terms. 

But Tom Gordon, parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats, slammed the agreement. He said: 

“This is a pathetic pay-out for a firm which raked in over £500 million in profit last year. Conservative Ministers need to get tough on this polluting firm and fine them far more, as well as ban their insulting bonuses.

“It is a scandal that Yorkshire Water’s exec bonuses are more than double the amount offered for killing animals and destroying rivers in Harrogate.

“This reeks of a pathetic bribe, which Ministers have fallen for – hook, line and sinker.”

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Mr Gordon’s adversary, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, who is a colleague of the Ministers referred to by Mr Gordon, was more phlegmatic. He said:

“This is a significant sum in respect of an incident over seven years ago. These incidents should not happen and I am aware through my regular contact with Yorkshire Water on water-quality issues that substantial investment has been made since this event.

“The fact that such a large penalty has been paid by Yorkshire Water shows the seriousness with which the government takes pollution. I am pleased to see that the money is being spent locally – importantly on improvements to the River Nidd catchment and at Staveley Nature Reserve to support wildlife habitats.”

Photo of volunteers from Nidd Action Group sampling water quality in Oak Beck.

Volunteers from Nidd Action Group sampled water quality in rivers and becks across the district over the summer.

Meanwhile, Nidd Action Group (NAG), which was set up in Knaresborough in 2022 to stop sewage pollution and make local rivers safer, said it was disappointed the deal had taken seven years to strike, but hoped it would serve to change water companies’ behaviour. 

David Clayden, chairperson of Nidd Action Group, said: 

“NAG deplores the huge amount of sewage (treated and untreated) that continues to enter the river Nidd, often via becks that meander through parts of Harrogate and Knaresborough (2,000 spills and 12,000 hours in 2022, according to the latest data available). 

“NAG’s recent two citizen science surveys, in August and October, have confirmed continuing high levels of E. coli bacteria and phosphates in parts of the Nidd Catchment, including many becks.  

“One of our sampling points was on Hookstone Beck, and our surveys this year showed high concentrations of both forms of pollution, causing risk to human life and to the ecology in and around the becks, even after extensive work has been carried out.” 

“NAG is disappointed that resolution of these incidents has taken so long, but hopes that this ‘charitable donation’ acts as a meaningful deterrent to the neglect of our rivers and results in significant improvement of our becks for the healthy enjoyment of these formerly attractive local assets.  

“NAG looks forward to working with The Environment Agency and with Yorkshire Water to review the current evidence gathered by local citizen scientists and to ensure much needed improvements in the Nidd Catchment.”

Campaigners protest outside Harrogate Spring Water consultation event

A group of protesters demonstrated outside Harrogate Spring Water’s public consultation event this evening in opposition to the company’s latest expansion plans

Members of the Save Rotary Wood Again group stood outside the Crown Hotel, in Harrogate, to campaign against the company’s revised plans to expand its bottling plant off Harlow Moor Road, which involve felling 450 trees planted by schoolchildren to combat climate change.

It comes after the company, which is part of Danone, announced it is in a contractual agreement with a landowner to buy two acres of land and plant 1,200 saplings – which it said would equate to around a 3:1 replacement of those removed during expansion – to offset the impact if the reversed matters planning application is accepted.

It claims this would deliver a 10% increase in current biodiversity levels in the area, as well as boost the level of economic output generated by the company to around £6.2 million per year.

However, one member of the group, Sarah Gibbs, who wore a tree costume at the protest, feels the new community woodland is “just a tick box exercise”.

She added:

“They’ve done it to tick boxes and get public access. We just want our woods safe.”

When asked about what alternative plans the group feels may be suitable, Ms Gibbs said:

“We just don’t want to develop into the woodland.

“They could take it into the car park and get a coach to work to be considered ‘green’.”

Another campaigner, Matt Jacobs, added:

“We’re at a point in life whereby we must reconsider single use plastic – it shouldn’t event be legal to sell it.”

An artist impression of the revised plans.

However, despite the group opposing the plan, Harrogate Spring Water already has outline planning permission, and it is now preparing the reserved matters planning application to agree and finalise the details.

At the event, managing director Richard Hall told the Stray Ferret:

“Following last year’s public consultation, we listened and we knew people were concerned about the loss woodland.

“I hope people will see this evening we’ve listened and worked on their feedback, and that this an opportunity for the community.”

Mr Hall said the company understands people’s concerns and said the campaigners “have the right to protest”.

He added that Harrogate Spring Water had “worked hard” to balance investment into the community, jobs, and the environment.

The company said the expansion will create more than 50 jobs and at least 20 construction jobs during the development phase.

In addition, it says it is working alongside local forestry experts to identify other locations in Harrogate where an additional 1,500 trees will be planted to further improve the replacement rate.

The Stray Ferret has reported on Harrogate Spring Water’s plans extensively. You can read more on the topic here.

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