Talk to a professional before buying a new radiator, warns Harrogate heating expert

This story is sponsored by Yorkshire Radiators.

Choosing a new radiator without professional advice could end up being an expensive mistake, a Harrogate business-owner has warned. 

Clyde Williams, who owns and runs Yorkshire Radiators with his wife Crystal, said that snags in the buying process are common, and expert input from the start is the best way to avoid problems. He said: 

“Sometimes the wrong design is delivered, or there’s a valve missing – this kind of thing happens all the time. Sometimes, plumbers forget to ask the customer about the height of the skirting board or the thickness of the wall – there are a thousand things that can go wrong – and mistakes can be costly.  

“Trying to do it all yourself can just end up a false economy, so it makes good financial sense to leave it all to us. We manage the whole procurement process, so if there’s a problem, we’ll deal with the headache; the customer can cross it off their list of things to worry about.” 

Yorkshire Radiators, which is based in purpose-built premises on the new Harrogate West Business Park, on Penny Pot Lane in Harrogate, supplies bespoke radiators direct to the customer. Its carbon-zero unit includes a warehouse, spray booth and showroom all under one roof, making it a one-stop for homeowners, plumbers and interior designers looking for the perfect heating system delivered with a short lead time.

The company offers three different styles of radiator – with round, flat and oval profiles – in a range of sizes, 10 horizontal and eight vertical, and a choice of 12 colours. 

Clyde said: 

“You don’t have to have a radiator in just black, white or grey anymore. We can supply them in bronze, gunmetal, antique copper, or even Barbie pink! And we can save you money. 

“We offer a showroom service and after-sales care, but we sell at internet prices – there isn’t a single online provider undercutting us.

“Also, most of our competitors take eight weeks to turn around an order, but we can do it within 10 working days. That’s a hugely important difference if you’re waiting in the cold!

“Think twice before you order a new radiator. Come and talk to us first.”

Find out more: 

To view all our radiator options, drop into our showroom at Unit 9, Harrogate West Business Park, HG3 2FN. It’s open every weekday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (3pm on Wednesdays) and by appointment on Saturdays. Alternatively, visit the Yorkshire Radiators website.   

Yorkshire Radiators has also set up an incentive scheme for local contractors, which is good news for them and their customers. Local plumbers and central heating engineers can find out more about this deal should call 07838 497803 or email by tapping here. 

 

Proposals to revive Starbeck’s ‘burnt-out shell’ due by Christmas

A public exhibition on plans to bring the former McColl’s building in Starbeck back into use is expected to be held before Christmas.

The empty High Street building has blighted High Street since it was ravaged by fire five years ago.

In an article on his Community News website, Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones said plans for ground floor retail and flats above were finally coming to fruition.

Mr Jones, who described the building as “a burnt-out shell” that local people and residents’ groups were keen to see redeveloped, commented after meeting the owner of the site.

The article said the site owner, who was not named, “outlined the various issues they have had with developing a proposal” but “were able to reassure Mr Jones that they would be bringing a scheme forward very soon”.

It added the owner and architect hoped to run a public exhibition in Starbeck before Christmas “so that Starbeck residents can examine the proposals and have their say”.

Mr Jones said:

“This is very positive as, like many others, I have been keen to see proposals brought forward so that we can see progress on removing a building which is, frankly, an eyesore.  It is important that in bringing this site back into use the setting next to St Andrew’s Church is respected.

“I was grateful to the owner for sharing his thoughts with me and I urge people to keep an eye out for the start of the public consultation.”

A five-year eyesore

The old Harper's building in Starbeck.

The building was painted last year.

The historic building in the centre of Starbeck was originally a Harper’s grocery store and still bears the name. It continued to function as a supermarket but was vacant when fire broke out in July 2018.

It was brightened up last year when regulars at the nearby Prince of Wales pub painted it in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukraine flag.

However, its size, history and prominence lead many to regard it as a key part of regenerating Starbeck.

Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished in April, approved plans submitted by Leeds-based developer Bates & Hemingborough in November 2021 to demolish the building.

The owner hoped to build retail and housing units on the site but a formal planning application for the development did not proceed after the council asked for safety documents, which were later submitted, addressing how the demolition would impact the adjacent St Andrew’s Church.

Planning agent Pete Gleave from Zerum Consulting told the Stray Ferret in February last year the developer would “was looking to progress the redevelopment of the site as quickly as possible and will be working up a planning application in the coming months” but the building remains derelict.

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New pasty shop to open in Harrogate next week

Cornish Bakery has announced it will open its first Harrogate shop next week.

The eat-in or take-out bakery will be based in the former Paperchase unit that closed at the end of May.

Cornish Bakery, which has more than 50 shops in the UK, sells pasties, breakfast pastries, cakes and coffees.

The Stray Ferret revealed in July the company was heading to upmarket James Street. Now the company has revealed the opening date.

The shop, which will serve customers from 8am to 6pm every day of the week, will provide competition to the nearby Greggs bakeries as well as the Cornish Pasty Bakery in the Victoria Shopping Centre.

The unit was originally the home of a chemist and later part of the Ogden jewellery store, which is now its neighbour.

Steve Grocutt

Cornish Bakery founder and owner Steve Grocutt said:

“We are delighted to be opening our Cornish Bakery in the beautiful spa town of Harrogate.

“We are on a constant journey to redefine what a bakery is does and what it can be, and we therefore build all our bakeries differently.”

He added:

“We have taken on this historic Harrogate property, uncovering some interesting features within it that will be showcased in the beautiful interior we have created.

“We also believe a bakery should be part of the community so our newly employed team will be actively seeking opportunities to work with local organisations in the Harrogate area.”

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Business Breakfast: Harrogate-based Japanese shop celebrates 25th anniversary

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

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-based authentic Japanese store has celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The Japanese Shop, which has a distribution centre on Hookstone Avenue, sells a range of Japanese goods including kimonos and dolls.

The business was first based in Westminster Arcade in 1998, but was forced to move online during the 2008 financial crash.

Since then, the firm has gone onto grow its online store and regularly hosts pop up shops at RHS Harlow Carr.

Jez Willard, who founded the company with his wife Hiromi, said:

“We were, and still are, so passionate about Japan and Japanese culture. 

“We feel a very strong sense of duty to offer our customers the combination of authentic Japanese gifts together with a genuinely first-class customer service experience, exemplified by our free gift-wrapping, which is actually common in Japan.”

Law society to host menopause event

Harrogate and District Law Society has partnered with a solicitors to set up an event focussing on the menopause in the workplace.

Called Menopause Matters, the event will be held at Bowcliffe Hall near Leeds on November 17 between 9.30am and 4pm.

It aims to “shed light on the implications, challenges, and nuances surrounding menopause” both in the workplace and in personal lives.

Proceeds from the event, which is in collaboration with Wetherby-based Hartlaw LLP, will go to towards Daisy Network, a charity dedicated to premature ovarian insufficiency, and the Harrogate and District Law Society.

Tickets cost £85 and can be purchased on the Eventbrite page.

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Police car involved in Killinghall collision

A police car was involved in a two-vehicle crash in Killinghall today in which both drivers were taken to hospital.

North Yorkshire Police said it was contacted at 3.45pm today about a collision between a white Hyundai car and a police car on Otley Road.

It is believed the incident occurred at the junction with Grainbeck Lane.

The police statement said:

“Emergency services attended the scene. No serious injuries have been reported, but both drivers of the vehicles have attended hospital with minor injuries.

“Road closures were put in place between Lund Lane and Otley Road, to allow officers to determine the circumstances around the collision and to enable the vehicles to be recovered. These have now been lifted and the road is now open.”

It added:

“While the police car involved will have audio and video recordings of the collision, officers are still keen to hear from any other witnesses who saw the collision and/or recorded dashcam footage.”

Anyone with information can email Dan.Stoppard@northyorkshire.police.uk or dial 101 and ask to speak to traffic sergeant 880 Dan Stoppard quoting reference NYP-24102023-0320.

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Harrogate man unveils world’s first vertical bathroom

An inventor from Harrogate is set to unveil the world’s first vertical bathroom.

Paul Hernon’s design includes a rotating toilet, basin, shower and storage space combined in one upright unit.

Known as the Vertebrae, it will be displayed at the Homebuilding and Renovation Show at Harrogate Convention Centre from November 3 to 5.

Mr Hernon already has one of his space-saving bathrooms in his Starbeck home.

Now he hopes the pioneering invention, which according to his website costs £9,480 plus VAT, will lead to a paradigm shift in bathroom design.

The units rotate to save space.

The gadget enthusiast hit on the idea while studying as an industrial designer and has since refined the idea. He said:

“By associating space within a bathroom with particular activities, I rearranged them in a vertical configuration, which was both space saving and ergonomic.”

After numerous funding application failures, the Royal Academy of Engineering awarded him a grant, to reach his goal of manufacturing the Vertebrae.

In 2020 he installed a pre-manufacture version of his all-in-one bathroom in a dedicated extension in his Starbeck home. It has been fully working for the last three years and is now ready for market.

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‘Rethink’ needed after another Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee cancelled

North Yorkshire Council’s system of delegating key planning decisions to officers needs a “rethink”, according to the chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee.

Cllr Pat Marsh’s comments come as the council has cancelled next week’s planning committee for the area due to a lack of agenda items.

Planning committees comprise of a group of cross-party councillors who are supposed to meet each month to make decisions on key planning applications.

But it is the third time a meeting has been cancelled since North Yorkshire Council was created in April to replace Harrogate Borough Council as the lead planning authority.

Councillors are able to call in contentious applications for committees to consider if there are sound planning reasons.

However, elected councillors across the county have been left frustrated due to far fewer applications being decided by the committees, which cover each parliamentary constituency area in North Yorkshire.

Cllr Marsh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she has expressed her concern to officers in Northallerton regarding the issue.

She said: 

“As councillors we do need to be seen to be taking planning decisions especially in the areas we represent we have the local knowledge and understanding.

“Planning is all about openness and transparency and we do need to make sure that is how the public see it. Hopefully the officers will have taken my concerns onboard and that a rethink is happening.

“I am not critical of our planning officers they do a great job it is just about the scheme of delegation that does need a rethink and soon.”

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According to a report by the Local Democracy Reporting Sserive in September, a council planning officer told a meeting there had been no attempt to try to block proposals going before councillors and officers were “trying to understand where those lines should be drawn”.

He added the authority would examine changing the balance over which planning applications should go before councillors.

The officer said: 

“The intention here isn’t to disenfranchise members. Members are a key part of this process.”

Green grants spark concern North Yorkshire will miss out to York

Council leaders have defended funding allocations for net zero projects in York amid claims they received a disproportionate amount of money to North Yorkshire.

A joint meeting of the Conservative-run North Yorkshire and Labour-run City of York councils to discuss the expected creation of a mayoral combined authority in January heard while the councils had agreed on how to split the first significant tranche of government devolution funding, uncertainty still surrounds the transfer of powers from Westminster.

Ahead of the meeting opposition councillors in North Yorkshire claimed the proposed division of the funds for net zero schemes would see York receive 47% of £6.2m being spent on capital schemes, despite having a population of about a third the size of North Yorkshire.

A total of 23 schemes will receive a share of the funding unlocked by the region’s proposed devolution deal, subject to devolution progressing for York and North Yorkshire.

They include street and building LED lighting schemes in York as well as innovation in energy generation, including The Electric Cow Project at Askham Bryan College in the city.

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The farming scheme will fund slurry-fuelled conversion equipment for dairy farms across the region to generate electricity from cow manure.

Other projects approved aim to tackle a decline of biodiversity, such as the project at the Denton Park Estate, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, where funds will support moorland restoration.

Critics of the proposed net zero programme have claimed York residents will benefit from millions of pounds of extra funding at the expense of communities across the vast rural county.

However, York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership boss James Farrar told the meeting the schemes which were being funded represented “a good spread” across the area, including ones in York and every constituency in North Yorkshire.

Countering the criticism, leaders of both councils heralded the investment as a milestone for the region, with North Yorkshire Council leader Cllr Carl Les saying it was “a very exciting time”.

City of York Council’s leader Cllr Claire Douglas said addressing climate change was becoming increasingly important and the proposals represented the first cross-region thinking, rather than for York or for North Yorkshire as entities.

She said: 

“It’s really fantastic to see there’s such a wide coverage of the region.

“I think it’s also fantastic to see that this is the first significant investment that the combined authority is able to commit to.”

Noise alert as RAF Leeming warns of ‘significant additional aircraft movement’

RAF Leeming has warned of additional aircraft activity which may cause disturbance in the Harrogate district.

In a social media post, the North Yorkshire airforce base, which is 12 miles from Masham and 22 miles from Harrogate, said it will conduct several exercises in the run up to Christmas.

The activity is likely to be heard in nearby Ripon, Kirkby Malzeard and Masham as well as the wider Harrogate district.

The station added “every effort” would be made to keep disturbances to a minimum.

The base said in its post:

“The station is about to enter a period of significant additional aircraft movement, with several exercises operating from here in the run-up to Christmas.

“From the beginning of November, RAF Leeming will host multiple aircraft types for sorties which will include low flying and some periods of 24 hour operation.

“We understand our responsibility as good neighbours to inform the local community of movements which are additional to our normal flying activity and every effort will be made to keep the disturbance to a minimum.”

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Open-top bus added to Harrogate’s Christmas attractions

An open-top bus will take visitors around Harrogate as part of the Christmas experience.

The sight-seeing bus is to be part of the town’s Christmas Fayre in December which has been extended this year to help draw in more visitors.

The bus will be provided by Transdev and is part of the York City Sightseeing tour fleet.

It will operate during the weekends in addition to the Candy Cane Express road train which has been introduced since the Christmas market moved into the centre of town.

The 15-minute trip will take shoppers around Harrogate -leaving every 20 minutes from Montpellier Hill, Crescent Gardens, Cheltenham Parade, the Bus Station and West Park.  Tickets will cost £1 for adults-  up to three children aged under 16 can travel for free with each paying adult.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for the visitor economy, councillor Derek Bastiman, said:

“The programme of festive events in Harrogate always attracts a lot of interest and sees people from across the region and beyond travel to the town to enjoy what is on offer which is a big driver for the local economy.

“The addition of the new open-top sightseeing bus will give visitors the chance to experience Harrogate in a new way, and it will hopefully help people explore even more of what is on offer.”

In April, it was announced that the Christmas Fayre would run for 17 days – a week longer than the previous two years to increase footfall in December.

The Harrogate Ice Rink, which made its debut in 2022, is also set to return from December 1 but there’ll be no big wheel this year.

Transdev commercial manager Matt Burley said:

“We’re delighted to be chosen as Harrogate’s leading bus operator to deliver this exciting open top bus tour of Harrogate as part of this year’s bigger and even better Harrogate Christmas Fayre.

“We’re teaming up with our colleagues at CitySightseeing York to take visitors and locals on an entertaining tour, hosted by one of our award-winning live guides – so what better way to discover the hidden gems of Harrogate than by wrapping up warm and joining us on the three weekends before Christmas.”

Matthew Chapman, the manager for Harrogate BID, which is supporting the Harrogate Christmas Fayre, said:

“Here at Harrogate BID we are yet again delighted to be supporting the Christmas offer in Harrogate to deliver another magnificent festive season for the town.

“From more than 100,000 festive lights to the unique additional animations, we can’t wait to welcome the thousands of visitors and residents alike to our great town. This time of the year is so important to local and national businesses, and we are proud to play a part in supporting this.”

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