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Aug 2023
Councillor says Harrogate McColl’s closure has led to resurgence for independents
The closure of the McColl’s convenience store on Harlow Hill in Harrogate has led to a resurgence for independent retailers in the area, according to the local councillor.
McColl’s on Otley Road closed last year after national chain Morrisons bought the company and said it would be shutting over 100 loss-making stores.
The shop was a Co-op for many years before being sold to McColl’s in 2016 as part of £117m deal for 298 stores.
However, McColl’s struggled with competition from independent shops nearby, as well as the Co-ops further down Otley Road and in Pannal.
McColl’s was close to the greengrocer Regal Fruiterers and Harlow Stores, and the area also features Nord Coffee House and the Sandwich Deli.
But this month North Yorkshire Council spelled the end of the building as a shop when it approved its conversion into a three bedroom flat.
Independent councillor Michael Schofield, who is also the landlord of the The Shepherd’s Dog pub on Harlow Hill, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the shop’s closure has had a positive effect on independent retailers in the area.
Cllr Schofield said:
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