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28
Feb
Is Harrogate’s Parliament Street losing its way?
There is a buzz to Harrogate’s Parliament Street after nightfall when people spill out of bars. But, come daylight, the picture is somewhat different.
Boarded-up windows, a revolving door of retail tenants and vacant units has been all-too-common recently.
Revolución De Cuba, a Latin American-themed bar which operated on Parliament Street for around a decade, shut its doors with immediate effect last month.
Daniel Footwear this month began advertising a closing down sale as its Harrogate store prepares to shut.
The unit currently occupied by Mayfair struggled to hold down long-term tenants after Jamie’s Italian closed in 2018, while the former Debenhams store has been empty since 2021, although work to rejuvenate building is now underway.
So, is one of Harrogate’s most iconic streets losing its way, or could work to begin a major redevelopment mark the start of a new era for Parliament Street?
“The general consensus amongst our customers - locals and visitors - is that they avoid going to town because it is too depressing and empty”, Neil Johnson says.
Mr Johnson owns Inger and Rae, an art gallery that called Westminster Arcade – just off Parliament Street – home for six years until last July, when he relocated the business to King’s Road to bring it under the same roof as his jewellery and gift shop, Shine.
Mr Johson says the move away from Parliament Street has been transformative for the business, claiming footfall is considerably higher towards King’s Road.
While his customers still view James Street as a prime shopping location, many of them, Mr Johnson says, described the Parliament Street area as a “disgrace”.
He adds:
There are loads of empty shops/bars, poorly maintained buildings and a real sense of life in a northern town.
Our trade has increased – and continues to do so – but we had to move away from the Parliament Street area, which urgently needs improving.
There are a number of units available to let on Parliament Street.
'It's not good enough'
Julie Fitzmaurice has been a permanent fixture on Parliament Street since the 1980s.
Its owner, Gini Palm, told the Stray Ferret she feels the street has been “very neglected” and claims she often has to clean and weed parts of it herself.
Ms Palm said:
It’s not good enough. Customers don’t come to Harrogate to be greeted by Parliament Street in these appalling conditions. It’s the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales with constant traffic – it should look immaculate.
Ms Palm believes Julie Fitzmaurice “only survives” on Parliament Street as it specialises in women’s occasion-wear, which customers are willing to travel for.
We are quite unique, so clients travel to see us, but as other businesses close or move they are not being replaced down the street. The risk for investment is too high in such a neglected area.
We need other high-end businesses around us - not more cafés and coffee bars. The only way this will happen is for the council to get involved and put a plan forward to encourage property investors and retailers into the area. It’s been a long time coming and is much needed to encourage tourism and trade back into the area.
Someone who shares Ms Palm’s view is Paul Kinsey, the man behind the former Viper Rooms in Harrogate.
The council, which owns the grade-two Royal Baths complex where the nightclub was located, repossessed the Viper Rooms site in 2022 but it has remained empty since.
Paul Kinsey.
Mr Kinsey told the Stray Ferret he feels the council, developers, landlords and tenants must adopt a “coordinated approach” to guarantee venues continue operating.
He urged the council to have the “determination and business acumen” to ensure the former Viper Rooms and Tourist Information Centre - another vacant part of the Royal Baths – units are taken over.
The Stray Ferret put Ms Palm and Mr Kinsey's claims to North Yorkshire Council. We asked the authority what action it is taking to find tenants for its vacant units and how it can work with landlords, retailers and developers to attract businesses to the Parliament Street area.
The council said:
North Yorkshire Council’s Economic Growth Strategy is clear about the need for localised, place‑based regeneration plans for our key centres. The Combined Authority is funding Town Investment Plans for major settlements to support this.
There is ongoing work with businesses and partners to support day‑to‑day trading conditions and strengthen Harrogate’s offer. The council continues to work closely with the Chamber of Trade, Harrogate BID and other stakeholders to promote the town.
Business rates are a national, government‑led system, and local councils have no discretion over the rates set. However, the council is working hard to ensure that every business receives all reliefs and reductions they are entitled to minimise these liabilities.
The former Viper Rooms unit is still vacant - more than three years after it closed.
'It's about everyone taking responsibility'
Phill Holdsworth, president of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, told the Stray Ferret:
North Yorkshire Council should, along with the landlords, insist that standards are maintained regarding the look and condition of buildings - Debenhams being a prime example. [Some of] the first floors of buildings on the Debenhams side of Parliament Street look dreadful and bring down the intended look and feel that attracts visitors. It's spoiling the town’s desire to be a number-one tourist destination and it doesn't encourage businesses to come and fill the empty premises.
It's about everyone taking responsibility for the care of the town.
(L) Phill Holdsworth and Martin Mann
Martin Mann, the chamber's chief executive, also said the business group “raised the issue of poor property maintenance, causing the visual decline of the town” with the council last year.
However, he described the process of councils “forcing” landlords to improve their properties as a “difficult task”.
Mr Mann said the chamber supports the idea of a “coordinated approach” to revive the area, and suggested a council-owned body, such as Active North Yorkshire, could work with private investors to create, for example, an “urban spa” on Parliament Street that works alongside The Turkish Baths.
Antisocial behaviour
Parliament Street is arguably the hub of Harrogate’s nighttime economy, with a large number of bars saturated in one area.
But the Stray Ferret spoke to a Parliament Street resident, who wished to remain anonymous, about his increasing concerns over antisocial behaviour along the road.
He said:
The road has become pretty awful – and not just at the weekend. I’m pretty easy-going… you get the guys and girls who go out at the weekend – and no one is wishing them not to have a good time – but a lot of it is outside, so they’re screaming and shouting, and sometimes very aggressive.
Sometimes you can hear the violence, but as a concerned individual, I can’t really go down there because the next thing I know I’ll be embroiled in it.
The man believes antisocial behaviour has increased in the area over the years – and has even fallen victim to it at times.
I’ve got up at 4am/5am for work and I’ve been accosted coming out… to a degree of a man wanting to take my bag off me. The young chap was pretty worse for wear and I put him straight quite quickly, but the point is I wouldn’t want my partner going out [to that] … no matter the intent, it’s just not very nice.
The man said it’s not uncommon for people to be sick and urinate in his doorway, or leave empty bottles and litter along the street.
He told the Stray Ferret he has spoken to operators about managing the antisocial behaviour but claimed “there has never been any real progress”.
The man attributes much of it to long licensing hours. MOJO, for example, is open until 4am, Sunday to Thursday, and 5am on Saturdays.
He also feels the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council licensing team should have given existing and future residents of Parliament Street more consideration before approving such late operating hours.
But Parliament Street has long been viewed as the centre of Harrogate’s nightlife – this is nothing new – so what does the man say to those who might question why he chose to live there in the first place?
I accept that, and I accepted that when I moved there. It’s got a lot of benefits… but I do think the council should take some responsibility.
We put the man’s concerns to MOJO, whose managing director Martin Greenhow told us he could not comment on the individual case, but added:
I can confirm that we work closely with North Yorkshire Police and have a great relationship with them. Indeed, we recently collaborated with them on a social media campaign they were running.
Our security staff are trained to attempt to ensure that guests leave safely and as quietly as possible and strive to achieve this at all times.
The Stray Ferret also put the man's claims to North Yorkshire Council, which simply said MOJO's licensing hours were increased at a sub-committee hearing by the former Harrogate Borough Council in March 2023.
The former Debenhams building and the now-vacant Revolución De Cuba site.
So, what is the answer to Parliament Street's apparent woes?
The good news is work on the Debenhams rejuvenation, which will see the former department store converted into 34 flats and a commercial space, got underway last month.
There are also several businesses that have stood the test of time on Parliament Street: Bettys, Bayfields Opticians and retailer Maturi, alongside national chains such as JD Wetherspoon, Wagamama and Nando’s.
But stories of businesses closing and shops shutting their doors have dominated both Stray Ferret headlines – and national headlines – in recent weeks. They paint a bigger – and bleaker – picture of the difficulties of running a business in the current economic climate.
The Debenhams development heralds new era for the iconic building, but whether it will be a turning point for the entire street remains to be seen.
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