There appear to be no plans to reopen Las Iguanas in Harrogate, six months after the restaurant said it would close temporarily.
Las Iguanas, on John Street, remains closed with chairs stacked on tables. A notice in the window from staff still reads “we can’t wait to see you very soon”.
Big Table Group acquired Casual Dining Group in August and took on 150 of its restaurants trading as Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge.
But Las Iguanas in Harrogate was not included in the deal, which has left its future uncertain.
Read more:
- Questions surround future of Harrogate’s Jaeger store
- Harrogate family pet shop to close after more than 50 years
The Stray Ferret asked Big Table Group whether the restaurant will reopen but a spokesperson said it would not comment on individual sites.
James Spragg, chief executive of The Big Table, said of the takeover in August:
Coach and Horses: date set for licence decision“We inevitably emerge from this process as a leaner business, and one that is now equipped to navigate the challenges the industry faces, safeguarding thousands of jobs.”
The Coach and Horses could soon get a new landlord after Harrogate Borough Council set a date to decide on a new licence.
Samantha Nelson, the daughter of previous landlord John Nelson, applied to take over the pub at the start of last month.
Her application will be heard on October 29.
Harrogate Borough Council revoked the pub’s licence in July after council officers claimed Mr Nelson showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules.
The officers also said Mr Nelson was “aggressive and abusive” towards council officials and the police when they served him a prohibition notice on May 31.
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A total of 449 people signed a petition calling on the council to grant Samantha Nelson the licence to run the pub.
When the council’s licensing sub-committee revoked the licence, Mr Nelson’s lawyer Paddy Whur said his client “accepted he made a chronic error of judgement”.
The Stray Ferret has approached the Coach and Horses several times to inquire about its future. We had still not received a reply by the time of publication.
Teenager tackles Yorkshire Three Peaks as tribute to grannyA Harrogate teenager will attempt to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks in December as a tribute to her grandmother, who died of sepsis.
Leah Gresty undertook the challenge, which will raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust, in honour of Elizabeth Simmonite, who died on September 29.
Elizabeth was a former butcher and baker on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate.
Leah said:
“She always liked being with nature and going for walks, so it seemed quite fitting, and it’s something that she would have liked to do herself.”
Leah’s grandmother, Elizabeth, enjoying the outdoors
There are about 48,000 deaths from sepsis every year in the UK.
Early diagnosis is crucial for improving survival rates. Leah, who has so far raised more than £500, hopes her challenge will spread the message.
The tough Three Peaks challenge involves climbing Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in less than 12 hours – a particularly difficult feat in the darkness of winter.
You can donate here to Leah’s JustGiving fundraising page.
Read More:
- Woman’s plea after cyclist runs over her dog on Stray
- Harrogate Scrubbers steps in to help disability charity
How to spot Spesis:
Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when your immune system starts to damage your body’s own tissues and organs, causing organ failure and death if not treated quickly.
www.nhs.uk advises you to call 999 or visit A&E if an adult or older child experiences any of these symptoms:
- Acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense.
- Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue.
- A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it.
- Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast.
Andrew Jones urges PM to give support package to conference sector
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones today urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to commit to a support package for the conference and exhibition industry.
Speaking at Prime Minster’s Questions, Jones said Johnson had recognised the difficulties facing the industry last month when he revealed ministers were working urgently on a support package for sports clubs that rely on paying spectators.
Jones said the the exhibition industry was “really important in Harrogate and Knaresborough”, adding:
“Could he tell the House when that package will be coming forward, and will it include the conference and exhibition industry?”
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Johnson said the conference and exhibition industry was worth about £90 billion to this country and of “massive importance” but did not commit to any firm support.
He added:
“It was a very difficult decision to take to pause conferences and exhibitions. We want to get them open as fast as possible.
“Of course, they have had a lot of support, as I indicated earlier—the £190 billion package is there to help businesses of all kinds—but the best way forward is to get the kind of testing systems that will enable not just conferences and businesses of that kind but all types and even theatres to reopen and get back to normality. That is what we are aiming for.”
Hundreds sign petition to make the Stray bee-friendlyMore than 300 people have signed a petition calling on Harrogate Borough Council to make the Stray more bee-friendly.
Harrogate and District Green Party wrote to the council last month urging it to plant native wildflowers rather than its stick to its current plan to plant 60,000 crocuses on West Park Stray.
Rebecca Maunder, chair of the Harrogate and District Green Party, has now set up a petition after the council wrote back to say it did not intend to change its plans.
A week later the online petition, which is on the 38 Degrees website, has reached 327 signatures.
Read more:
- Plant wildflowers on the Stray, says Green Party
- Call for volunteers to plant 60,000 crocuses on Harrogate Stray
Ms Maunder hopes that, with enough support, the petition will sway the council’s decision and lead to a more bee-friendly Stray,
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said it had nothing to add to its previous statement on the matter, which said:
“We are also looking at biodiversity as part of our wider horticultural plan for the future. We understand the need to encourage biodiversity and already manage a number of native wildflower meadows across the district. The thousands of plants and flowers in our numerous parks and gardens also support this.”
The council called for volunteers last month to dig 60,000 holes in the hope that the crocuses will bloom better than ever next spring.
Harrogate Bus Company to plant more treesHarrogate Bus Company is to plant more trees in Harrogate as part of its commitment to cutting carbon emissions.
The company introduced fume-free buses in 2018 after it won £2.25 million of government funding.
Last year it pledged to plant one tree for every 10,000 miles covered by its fleet of eight electric buses.
To celebrate Clean Air Day tomorrow, the company has announced its buses have together covered over 400,000 miles.
It has already planted an oak tree on West Park and has now revealed another 39 trees will be planted in three areas served by the buses – Nidd Gorge, close to Bilton, Jennyfield and in the pine woods near Pannal Ash.
Alex Hornby, chief executive of Harrogate Bus Company, said:
“Every year, air pollution causes up to 36,000 deaths in the UK so our Harrogate Electrics buses play a vitally important role in clearing the air and protecting our local environment.
“Alongside our electric buses, trees help by absorbing even more carbon dioxide emissions.”
Clean Air Day is normally held in June but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more:
- Local lib dems have proposed a citizen’s assembly to tackle climate change.
- More buses are in place as pupils return to school in an attempt to limit contact between pupils and the public.
The local campaign group, Zero Carbon Harrogate, welcomed the news. Chair Jemima Parker said:
“We are dedicated to making Harrogate a zero-carbon community by 2030 to secure a sustainable future, and The Harrogate Bus Company’s electric buses are making a vitally important contribution towards realising that ambition.
“As we begin rebuilding our local economy beyond the pandemic, we can’t just go back to congested streets and traffic jams.”
Woman’s plea after cyclist runs over her dog on Stray
A woman has called for tighter cycling controls on the Stray after her dog was hit.
Sara Clark said her chihuahua Milo was lucky to be alive after being struck by a cyclist on part of the south Stray where cycling is prohibited.
Ms Clark, who was walking Milo on Friday evening, said:
“He went under his wheel and I heard his scream and he ran towards the road. The vet said he was surprised he wasn’t killed.”
Ms Clark said Milo was badly bruised and required a painkiller injection.
Cyclists are supposed to dismount on this stretch of the Stray but Ms Clark said they often ignored the rules. She added:
“There was a sign 10 metres from us saying cyclists aren’t allowed. I know of three dogs, including Milo, and two elderly people that have been hit.”
“The cyclist just said, ‘What could I have done he should’ve been on a lead?’ My dog should be able to be off a lead, we should feel safe, but now I feel like I can’t let him off a lead. They have ruined it now.”
All of these cyclists were pictured on the south Stray by Sara Clark within the same hour on Monday.
Ms Clark said Harrogate Borough Council should do more to tackle the problem:
“Accidents like this are happening but they are washing their hands of it rather than dealing with it. It is their responsibility to enforce it, even just by doing something to say they are taking it seriously, like using cameras or fines.”
A council spokesman said:
“Our staff will always challenge cyclists who ignore the rules if they witness it happening. Unfortunately, as the Stray covers 200 acres and is accessible 24/7 it is incredibly difficult to witness anyone breaching these rules. Thankfully, the vast majority of cyclists in Harrogate dismount when they should. ”
Ms Clark disputed the claim that the vast majority of cyclists dismounted.
Read more:
- WATCH as dog rescue owner discusses her concerns following the lockdown puppy boom.
- Harrogate cat went missing for four months and was found 20 miles from home.
Lucky sick pigeon on James Street finds someone who cares“There’s no excuse for a cyclist being on a footpath where it’s banned. I am of course sorry about the dog being knocked over and the upset to the owner. I don’t agree with cyclists ignoring the rules. I also don’t agree with drivers ignoring the rules, which they do more often and with far more serious consequences.”
A Harrogate woman found a sick pigeon on James Street and instead of walking by decided to rescue it and nuture it back to health.
Hayley Norman, who works for local charity Carers’ Resource, was moved when she saw a rather sad looking young bird on James Street.
At first she decided to leave the bird with the assumption that its parents would come back to care for it.
Three days and plenty of rain later Hayley decided to go back and see if the pigeon was still there. It was and looking in a worse state.
Armed with a shoe box Hayley managed to scoop up the young pigeon, who she has named James after the street where she found it, and took it home.
Read more:
With days of hand feeding and keeping James warm, Hayley managed to find him a professional in Pickering to help eventually release it. She told the Stray Ferret:
“I rang a vet for some advice. They said that I could bring it in and they would put it to sleep. That’s not what I wanted to do so I decided to take on its care myself. When I rescued it I am sure some people thought I looked crazy. Normally I would just walk past but I couldn’t this time.”
Would Hayley do it again? Absolutely. It might not be for everyone but there are plenty of groups online dedicated to pigeon rescue.
The RSPB’s advice tells people that it is rarely possible to catch injured birds and warns that careless handling may cause further injury.
Over 1,000 homes in Harrogate district are emptyA total of 1,035 homes in the Harrogate district have been empty for six months or more.
The Stray Ferret obtained the figure from Harrogate Borough Council using the Freedom of Information Act.
The list shows the postcode of each home and when, according to council tax records, it became empty.
The data reveals 444 of the homes became empty in the last 12 months.
A total of 222 are in Band A, the lowest council tax bracket. Sixteen are in Band G, which is the highest.
Harrogate Liberal Democrat county councillor Geoff Webber said it was “obscene” to have over 1,000 properties empty when there has been homelessness in the district.
He also said HBC’s social housing waiting list currently stood at 1,523.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I am very disappointed that Harrogate Borough Council, who are responsible for housing, has about 1,500 families on their housing waiting list when there are over 1,000 private properties are standing empty.
“Some of these properties, of course, will be unoccupied for a good reason, but it does seem obscene that pre-Covid we had people sleeping on the streets and currently have families in hostels and bed and breakfast accommodation when so many private properties are standing empty.”
The number of empty homes in the district is rising. According to government figures, there were 828 in November 2019.
Harrogate Borough Council has powers to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use.
The council charges owners of properties that have been empty for two years or more a premium on their council tax. For example, for a property that has been empty between two and five years the council charges a 100% premium. This increases to 200% when a home has been empty for over five years.
The council can also take enforcement action against landlords, including compulsory purchase orders, enforced sales, and empty dwelling management orders.
A HBC council spokesman said:
“We work with property owners within the district to encourage and assist them to bring empty properties back into use as much-needed homes.
“Where this fails and homes remains empty we do not hesitate to take enforcement action including compulsory purchases.”
Read more:
According to national campaign group Action on Empty Homes, there are over 216,000 empty homes across the UK.
The group lobbies the government to give councils greater powers to put empty homes back into use.
When we showed the figures for the Harrogate district to Chris Bailey, campaign manager at Action On Empty Homes, he said homes were being “wasted”.
34 new coronavirus cases in Harrogate district“This is despite the desirability of Harrogate and despite the increasing problems of housing need and homelessness amidst a wider national housing crisis, which coronavirus and its economic fallout can only worsen.”
The number of coronavirus cases in the Harrogate district since the started of the pandemic passed 1,200 today.
Pubic Health England figures from today show a daily increase of 34 cases in the district.
It takes the total number to 1,230.
Daily figures from across North Yorkshire show an increase of 137. NHS data shows the weekly case rate county-wide stands at 97 per 100,000 population.
Read more:
- Care home visits in district may be allowed after October
- Harrogate care home adopts door tech to save lives
However, no deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital since September 29.
Hospital bosses have prepared for a second wave of coronavirus this winter by setting aside up to 100 beds for infected patients.
County council bosses have also restricted visits to care homes throughout October in an effort to protect residents.
However, officials have now set up a working group to come up with solutions to allow visitors into care homes to see loved ones.