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    19

    Jun 2023

    Last Updated: 19/06/2023
    Environment
    Environment

    Harrogate bar to permanently keep covered outdoor area

    by Thomas Barrett Local Democracy Reporter

    | 19 Jun, 2023
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    screenshot-2023-06-19-10-15-01

    District Bar in Harrogate is to keep its covered outdoor seating area constructed during covid.

    The bar opened on Cold Bath Road in September 2019, just a few months before the town’s hospitality industry was turned on its head by covid.

    Like many other bars and restaurants during the pandemic, District Bar was granted approval by the council to erect a semi-permanent metal structure on its patio to allow customers to sit outside.

    Not only did the covered area allow customers to sit away from each other during covid restrictions, it also became a dry and warm space during the winter months and helped to block out noise from the bar onto the street.

    Last week North Yorkshire Council approved a planning application to see the structure remain on the site for good.

    The council has stipulated the area must close by 9pm when customers have to move inside.

    “Following a well received launch we were then, like the rest of the world, thrust into the unknown with covid and the challenges it brought.
    "Like many other small local businesses, we struggled to exist and get through it. But we consider ourselves part of the local fabric and community, and to that end received tremendous support from local public.
    “In 2020, since we couldn’t operate inside due to covid restrictions, we applied and received permission for a ‘semi-permanent’ structure to be erected on our patio connected to the bar.
    “What we have found since its erection, is we disrupt our local community even less than we did before since noise is no longer an issue (prior we had people outside talking till 9pm) and as well as that an area where people still sceptical of covid and contagion can distance them selves from our main inside bar area.
    "It has created a warm and cosy area for people to still keep safe distances.”