Ripon’s food and drink hotspot may see a new hospitality business arriving in the New Year following the submission of a planning application to North Yorkshire Council.

The application for a change of use would, if approved, see the former offices of Newtons Solicitors at 4 Duck Hill turned into a restaurant and hot food takeaway.

The potential operator is un-named in the application which, if successful, would see the restaurant and takeaway using the ground and upper floor of the building.

The Silva Bells restaurant opened in March

It has been a busy year for property deals in this part of the city, with the Bikemongers off-road cycling retailer relocating last week to 2 Kirkgate, from its former base on Duck Hill and transactions that saw two new hospitality business open.

The Silva Bells opened in March in premises formerly occupied by the Bambudda Asian fusion restaurant at 23-25 Kirkgate and further up the street, The Portly Pig bottleshop and taproom, owned by Adam Coulson, opened in September in a historic building that was previously home to the Oasis florists and, before that, the Ripon Gazette newspaper office.

Main picture: The premises at 4 Duck Hill have been vacant since Newtons Solicitors relocated to Market Place South

Read more:

• New restaurant adds to Ripon’s hospitality offer
• Bottleshop and taproom opens in historic Ripon premises

There’s only a small distance between their old and new Ripon stores, but for Sam Huby and Theo Hiley it’s a very big move.

The joint owners of Bikemonger, which stocks Surly and Salsa off-road fat bikes and gravel bikes, set up business in 2019 in a retail unit tucked away on Duck Hill.

Yesterday morning they completed the relocation to premises four times the size at 2 Kirkgate.

They invited the Stray Ferret to see how they have transformed the former carpet store into a showroom for specialised bicycles, bikepacking goods and associated equipment and spares.

Mr Huby said:

“We sell both online and direct to customers who call in to see us and by quadrupling our retail space to almost 2,000 square feet, we now have the room to properly display the bikes and accessories, which will hopefully lead to growth in sales.”

Some of the bikepacking goods on display

Through its online presence, the independent niche bicycle business has attracted customers from far and wide,

Mr Huby said:

“The fat bikes have extra large tyres that can handle any type of terrain and we’ve sold one to a man who visited us from Norway and uses it for cycling in snow and ice, while another customer bought one for riding across the frozen waters of  Lake Biakal in Siberia.

“Next month a man who lives locally, is calling to see us to collect a bike for cycling across the sand dunes in Saudi Arabia.”

Closer to home, Bikemonger will be looking after local customers from Ripon and surrounding areas who are buying bicycles as Christmas presents, or bringing in bikes for repair.

Mr Hiley said:

“The new shop is in a better location for us in one of the main footfall areas of the city and that will give us increased visibility and help us to attract passing trade.

“With our increased space we will also be able to cater for a wider base of customers and sell more off-road bikes that are suitable for children.”

Main picture: Theo Hiley (left) and Sam Huby, at their newly-opened store in Market Place South