Disused Bilton car park to be used for council homes

Revised plans for five council homes on a disused car park in Harrogate have been approved at a second attempt.

Harrogate Borough Council’s housing team was sent back to the drawing board to rethink its plans for the site at Dene Park, Bilton, in May.

But the scheme has now gained approval after a planning committee meeting yesterday.

Councillors said previous concerns over the layout and designs had been addressed, although there were still questions over the loss of the car park.

Councillor Sue Lumby, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Coppice Valley, said:

“I have received a letter from a number of residents who are very concerned about parking. If cars are forced to park on pavements, it is going to make access for buses and refuse vehicles difficult.”

Gillian Wood, the council’s housing growth manager, responded by saying the car park was “grossly under-occupied” and that 12 new parking spaces would be built for the use of all residents over nearby grass verges.

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She said:

“This will reduce parking on the street.

“We have been monitoring the car park for quite a long time now and we are finding there are generally three cars on there.

“People have a preference to park outside their property, so if we can provide 12 off-street spaces that is 12 cars off the street, which should help.”

1,800 households on council waiting list

There are around 1,800 households on the council’s housing waiting list and the housing team said the car park would help provide “much-needed” accommodation for these residents.

Councillor Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat leader, also said the plans should be welcomed for this reason.

She said:

“There are people parking at the site, but it is very small in numbers. To me, what is more important is the almost 2,000 people on our housing waiting list.

“I’m really pleased the council is moving forward with this.”

Councillors unanimously voted to approve the plans at Tuesday’s meeting.

Harrogate police officer charged with sexual assault

A 30-year-old police officer based at Harrogate has been charged with sexual assault.

Christopher Hudson will appear at York Magistrates Court tomorrow.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement that Hudson was based in Harrogate at the time of the allegation and was currently suspended.

No further details are available.

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Eat, drink and be merry: the best Christmas food & drink from local independents

Christmas is the season to eat, drink and be merry. But it’s easy to get caught up in planning your Christmas dinner and forget about the rest of the food and drink you need.

Here’s our round-up of some of the very best local businesses with the food and drink you’ll need over the whole Christmas period.

Beer from Rooster’s Brewing Co.

Rooster’s Brewing Co. make a range of beers that cover a variety of styles, from pale ales and IPA’s to best bitters, stouts and sour beers, all brewed on Harrogate’s Hornbeam Park.

What’s more, Roosters offers a free local delivery service within Harrogate and Knaresborough*, as well as a ‘Cluck & Collect’ service from the brewery and onsite Taproom!

Find your new favourite beer here.

*Minimum spend applies, please see website for specific areas covered.

Cheese from The Cheeseboard

Is Christmas even Christmas if you don’t eat lots of delicious cheese? Save the hassle of collating an assortment of individual cheeses with a ready packed hamper from The Cheeseboard. 

To keep things local, try the ‘Luxury Yorkshire Hamper’. It contains traditional Wensleydale, mature Yorkshire cheddar, Flat Capper brie, blue Wensleydale, Yorkshire halloumi, Stottie goat’s milk camembert, strawberry jam, lemon and ginger marmalade and Wensleydale chutney from Rosebud Preserves, Blueberry preserves lime curd, and of course, traditional fruit cake.

You can order your Luxury Yorkshire cheese hamper here. 

Gin from Whittaker’s Winter Solstice Gin

This delicious Whittaker’s gin is a smooth winter spice and fruity 42% London dry gin, an ideal fireside tipple for cold winter nights. Featuring juniper and coriander gently overlaid with signature botanicals of dried bitter orange and currants, it’s perfect as a gift… or a treat for yourself.

It’s best served over ice, with either ginger beer, ginger ale or simply with a plain regular tonic – but don’t be shy with your measure of gin. Add a slice of orange, or for a warming alternative add a star anise and use a cinnamon stick as a stirrer.

Get a bottle of Whittaker’s Winter Solstice Gin here. 

Fish from Mackenzie’s Smokehouse

Smoked right here in the Harrogate district at Mackenzie’s Smokehouse in Blubberhouses, the Trawler hamper is perfect for anyone wanting a luxury fish-feasting experience.

Inside you’ll find traditional oak smoked salmon, oak roast hot smoked salmon, kippers, mackerel fillets, smoked salmon pate and mackerel pate.

Order the Trawler hamper here.

Wine from Yorkshire Vintners

The Yorkshire Vintners Ultimate Wine Lover’s Christmas Hamper really does have it all when it comes to exploring wines.

It’s a journey through the various styles and prominent origins of wines, starting with a renowned English sparkling Nyetimber, followed by a classic chablis and standout Australian red blend. Moving on, there’s a sauternes, then 10-year-old tawny port, finishing with a wonderfully smooth cream liqueur from an emerging distiller here in Yorkshire.

Also included is a Nyetimber bottle stopper, Grahams Port decanter and corkscrew.

Order the Yorkshire Vintners Ultimate Wine Lover’s Christmas Hamper here. Order before 15 December to guarantee for Christmas.

Just so you know, all of the local businesses featured here were selected on their own merit, but some have paid to be featured in this article. 

Walk-in boosters available again today in Harrogate

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground is to accept walk-ins again today.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group announced there would be walk-ins yesterday afternoon as a one-off but the organisation said today the service would also be available today.

It added it was treating the rest of the week on a day-by-day basis.

Those eligible for a booster can just turn-up between 8.30am and 4pm at the showground.

To qualify, people need to be aged 40 and above. At least six months must have passed since their second dose and they must have no coronavirus symptoms.

The showground was due to close on December 22 but it now looks set to continue until March, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Non walk-in appointments can be booked on the NHS booking site here.

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Harrogate man jailed for sex assault on toddler

A Harrogate child abuser and online groomer has been sentenced to six years and 11 months in jail.

Wenxiong Jiang, 26, was also made subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Register of Sex Offenders indefinitely.

Jiang was convicted at York Crown Court on Friday of the following offences that he committed between February 2017 and December 2020:

Detective Constable Rebecca Townsend, of Harrogate CID, led the intensive investigation into Jiang’s offending following his arrest on December 15, 2020.

Posed as 15-year-old boy

The inquiry uncovered that he had added a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat and engaged her in conversations while he was posing as a 15-year-old boy.

Jiang pressured and then eventually threatened the girl to send him naked pictures of herself engaging in penetrative sexual activity.

When he was arrested, officers recovered 250,000 images from his devices including a video of himself sexually assaulting a two-year-old boy.

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The Digital Forensic Unit examined all the material to help identify offences and possible victims.

DC Townsend said:

“Wenxiong Jiang is clearly a very disturbed and perverted individual who poses a danger to children.

“He has rightfully been brought to justice and is now facing the full consequences of his depravity with a significant prison sentence.

“As a registered sex offender, he is subject to robust public protection measures for the rest of his life. He will also have to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 20 years which is designed to severely limit his ability to reoffend in the future.”

Reporting suspected crimes involving indecent images of children and sexual abuse

You can contact:

Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email bridgehouse.sarc@nhs.net or go to www.bridgehousesarc.org/

Homes England accused of ‘bullying’ tactics over 200 homes at Pannal Ash

The government’s housing agency has been accused of using “bullying” tactics over controversial plans for up to 200 homes at a former police training base in Harrogate.

Homes England was granted approval for the Pannal Ash site at a meeting on Tuesday when it emerged the body had written to senior officials at Harrogate Borough Council claiming the authority acted “unlawfully” when it delayed a decision on the plans in June.

The delay was taken after questions were raised over the West Harrogate Parameters Plan – a long-delayed document on infrastructure needs for the up to 4,000 new homes set to be built in the west of the district.

Members of the council’s planning committee had hoped for a further delay on Tuesday to allow time for the parameters plan to be completed, however, they claimed they were “bullied” into approving the homes due a “threat” of legal action.

David Stephenson, senior planning manager at Homes England, said while launching a costly appeal against the council was an “absolute last resort” for the body, it was a route it was willing to take.

He told yesterday’s meeting:

“We are trying to work with officers and have been doing so for a number of months to avoid an appeal – something Homes England does not want to do.

“But if this is deferred then unfortunately we will have very little options going forward.”

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The former police site on Yew Tree Lane (pictured below) was used as a base to train more than 1,200 officers a year before it closed in 2011.

The latest plans from Homes England include the conversion of several former police buildings into 16 homes and the construction of 184 new properties, while proposals for a sports pitch have been scrapped.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said a decision on whether the scheme should go ahead should not be taken until work on the parameters plan is completed as expected in February.

‘Grossly damaging accusation’

“We are talking two months here to make sure what is done on this site is right.

“I’m very saddened Homes England thinks it is right to bully us into this decision, because that is what is on the cards today – ‘approve it or we will appeal’.”

Councillor Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Harlow, also accused the body of having a “bullying attitude” and said its claim that the council acted “unlawfully” was a “grossly damaging accusation”.

The west side of Harrogate currently finds itself with around a quarter of the entire housing allocations in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

This equates to around 3,500 to 4,000 new houses and residents are worried how the area’s schools, roads and health services are going to cope with this population increase.

Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said he believed a precedent had been set for further housing in the area as the police site was allocated for 163 homes in the Local Plan, but has now gained approval for up to 200.
He said:

“We are strongly opposed to this near 25% uplift in housing numbers.

“We are also worried about the precedent this sets, the impacts that will arise and we ask – what is the point of the Local Plan?”

Foxy Antiques wins Harrogate Christmas Shop Window Competition

Foxy Antiques & Interior has been named as the overall winner of the Harrogate Christmas Shop Window Competition

The shop, at the bottom of Commercial Street, beat 31 other entries.

Bettys, on Parliament Street, won the large shops category, The Yorkshire Soap Company, on James Street, won the medium shops category, and Foxy Antiques & Interiors was the winner in the small shops category

Judging took place on Thursday last week. The Rotary Club of Harrogate organised and carried out the judging, which involved 13 Rotarians, some with wives, two Soroptimists, and representatives from the Harrogate Business Improvement District, which supported the competition.

Graham Saunders, who organized the judging on behalf of the Rotary Club, said:

“The judges could see the effort that had gone into the window displays. Harrogate is lucky to have so many independent shops who enjoy taking part in the competition”.

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Sara Ferguson, chair of Harrogate BID, added:

“I’ve never seen Harrogate looking so festive, and a big part of this is down to the efforts of our town centre businesses.

“We hope that members of the public will want to view the winning and highly commended windows when they are next in town. To assist with this, we have created a Christmas Shop Window trail on our LoyalFree app.”

The presentation of certificates to the winning shops was carried out last night, Tuesday December 7, as part of a BID event in the Yorkshire Hotel.

Councillor Trevor Chapman, mayor of Harrogate. John Fordyce, president of the Rotary Club of Harrogate and Sara Ferguson, chair of the BID, handed out the certificates and congratulated the winning and highly commended shops.

Results

Retail Shops in Harrogate Town Centre

Overall Winner: Foxy Antiques & Interiors, 27 Commercial Street

Large Shop Winner: Bettys Café Tea Rooms, 1 Parliament Street

Highly Commended: Weetons Food Hall, 23/24 West Park

West Park Hotel, 19 West Park

Mama Doreen’s Emporium, 9 – 11 Station Square

Medium Shop Winner: The Yorkshire Soap Company, 1 James Street

Highly Commended: Helen James Flowers, 63 Station Parade

Montpellier Jewellers, 12 Monpellier Mews

Prey Four Ltd, 33 Swan Road

Small Shop Winner: Foxy Antiques & Interiors, 27 Commercial Street

Highly Commended: Sophie Likes, 36 Beulah Street

Susie Watson Designs, 2 Montpellier Gardens

Bijouled, 50 Parliament Street

 

Popular Harlow Hill fruit and veg shop to reopen in February

Wharfedale Fruiterers on Otley Road in Harrogate will reopen with a new name and new owners in February.

The owners of the Shepherd’s Dog pub, Mike and Donna Schofield, opened the greengrocers during the first covid lockdown in a former barbershop close to the pub.

It also sold dairy, bread and meats and quickly became popular with Harlow Hill residents.

However, Mr Schofield closed the shop this year to concentrate on the pub and his wife’s illness.

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From February, the shop will be owned by a couple who currently run a fruit and veg stall on Ilkley market. It will be renamed Wharfedale Fruit and Veg but Mr Schofield promised not much about it will change.

He said:

“The great thing is they’ll purchase everything from the same market as me. They’ll keep Longley Farm dairy and eggs. It will be the same quality but they’ll put their stamp on it.

“They are well established and they know what they’re doing.”

Hearing begins into death of Harrogate schoolboy Benjamin Nelson-Roux, 16

A pre-inquest review hearing was held yesterday into the death of a 16-year-old schoolboy from Harrogate.

Benjamin Nelson-Roux, a student at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died in Harrogate on April 8 last year.

The North Yorkshire Coroner’s Office, which is holding the investigation, heard that Benjamin was found dead by his mother while staying at a Harrogate hostel.

Benjamin’s parents, Kate and Barry, attended yesterday’s hearing. It was revealed they had instructed their solicitor, Ciara Bartlam, of Ison Harrison, to state that mental health was a contributing factor to their son’s death alongside drug misuse.

In a letter published after their son’s death, the parents had written about how their “funny, clever, caring” son had endured a “heart breaking struggle with mental health problems which he tried to fix with substance misuse”.

The inquest will examine the multi-agency response to providing Benjamin with the right support.

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Solicitors and representative from the various agencies involved, which include North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire Police, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust  will now forward written submissions to the coroner before the inquest officially opens.

Jon Heath, the lead coroner, adjourned the hearing until another pre-inquest review hearing in January.

At the next hearing, the coroner will decide if further witnesses need to be called before the inquest opens.

M&S gives sneak peek of expanded Harrogate Oatlands store

Marks & Spencer has given a sneak peek of how its Oatlands Foodhall on Leeds Road in Harrogate will look if plans to extend it are approved,

The company wants to increase the size of the food hall by more than 70% and extend into the Sofa.com retail unit next to the existing store.

The plans would also see the closure of the cafe, which prompted some disappointed regulars to consider setting up a petition to retain it. 

M&S said the expansion was designed to deliver a “bigger, better and fresher experience” for shoppers and would involve a significant investment in the town.

Harrogate stores’ transformation one of the first in the country

The Leeds Road store will be one of the first in the country to be refreshed with this new-look M&S design. The features would include new fresh product displays and an in-store bakery.

The bakery would be open all day.

Work would take place in stages to allow customers to continue shopping at the store throughout redevelopment.

There would also be an expanded frozen food section, a wine shop and new decoration throughout the store.

A wine shop would be included in the store.

M&S has committed to cutting 1,000 tones of plastic from its business by March next year and halving food waste by 2030. With this in mind, the store would have a ‘fill your own’ section to reduce packaging.

Shoppers would bring their own reusable containers to fill with dried items, such as pasta, rice, cereals, nuts and other snacks.

The fill your own section would reduce plastic packaging and food waste.

There will be more checkouts, a mobile scan and shop option and new digital screens in store to make it quicker to process click and collect online orders.

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The Harrogate history of M&S

M&S first opened in Harrogate in December 1906 in the old Market Hall under its earlier name of Penny Bazaar.

The original Harrogate Penny Bazaar was replaced in May 1934 by a new Marks & Spencer store at 36 Cambridge Street.

It moved again in 1999 to its current location on Cambridge Street.

M&S regional manager Rona Hulbert said:

“We’re delighted to be celebrating our 115th anniversary in Harrogate this month. M&S has a long and proud history of serving local customers, dating all the way back to the days of the Penny Bazaars. I’m really excited that we’re looking forward to the future and continuing to invest in Harrogate.”