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24
Sept 2020
Council considers plan to pedestrianise Montpellier Parade
Montpellier Parade in Harrogate could be closed to traffic and used instead for outdoor drinking and eating.
North Yorkshire County Council told the Stray Ferret it was considering a request by the Blues Bar to close the highway.
It is the latest twist in the saga in which Simon and Sharon Colgan, the owners of the Blues Bar, have been battling to maintain more outdoor space to compensate for a reduction in indoor capacity post-lockdown.
The bar's indoor capacity reduced drastically from 80 to 25 when it reopened in July due to social distancing.
Harrogate Borough Council temporarily allowed the bar to have tables on the Stray to help business.
Read more:
- More than 2,000 call for council to leave tables outside Harrogate bars
- Blues bar denied permission to keep tables on the Stray
But the borough council insisted the tables were removed on Monday to "prevent damage to the Stray and also reduce the risk of injury should it become wet and muddy".
Now North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for highways, is offering a lifeline.
Melisa Burnham, the county council's highways area manager, said:
Any closure at this stage would be temporary, but Ms Colgan said Montpellier Parade was hardly used by traffic and pedestrianising the street would benefit the town as a whole as well as the Blues Bar. She said:
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