Bilton Archives - Page 5 of 24

New owners at long-standing Harrogate fish and chip shop

Two businessmen are hoping to breathe new life into a popular Harrogate fish and chip shop and keep it as a local favourite.

Taru Pahwa and Pradeep Angoor took over Dougie’s on King Edward’s Drive three weeks ago, and said they are already getting to know regular customers.

Taru said:

“It’s good. People are liking it. There are things for us to improve, but we have had a positive response so far, and sales are improving every day.”

Known to friends as Taz and Deep, the pair each own off-licences around Harrogate, including the Number One Shop on Electric Avenue and Harlow Hill Stores on Otley Road.

Dougie’s is their first venture together, but they are old friends and play sports together, which they hope is a recipe for good team spirit.

While Taz works behind the scenes, taking care of supplies, Deep will be in the shop day-to-day, serving customers and managing the small team.

They have already recruited kitchen staff, but are still looking for a couple of people to work front-of-house.

Taking ownership of Dougie’s has been a long aspiration for the pair, who live nearby and first looked at it when it was put up for sale by the founding family around six years ago, after running it for many years.

Taz said:

“We were new and still settling in with our businesses. It wasn’t the right time for us.”

The person who bought it in 2017 decided to sell up this year, and Taz and Deep took their chance this time.

While they have no immediate plans for change, they said they are happy to listen to what locals want. Deep said:

“The first thing we did was increase our opening hours. It was only three-and-a-half days, and now it’s six full days, including Sunday.

“I think people appreciate that. For me, I think it confuses people if you are open a couple of hours and then again later. To keep it simple, we decided to open all day.”

Deep and Taz ready to serve lunch

The hours may be longer, but the menu and prices will remain the same – despite increasing costs in the industry.

Deep said he had heard from his supplier this week that the price of potatoes will be rising by more than 20%, but that won’t be passed on to customers.

He added:

“The support from the community will be really helpful to keep us going, because of the bills and the rent itself – forget about the raw materials.

“We’re happy to take on board any recommendations and requests and work on it.”

Taz added:

“We’re introducing deliveries – in the next couple of weeks, it will be all up and running.

“It’s still early stages. Maybe in six months, a year, because there is no pizza or kebab shop, that’s something we are seriously considering. At the moment, people have to go into town for it.”

As for the name – long associated with decent fish and chips by people in Bilton and beyond – Taz and Deep are happy to honour its founder and keep Dougie’s going for years to come.

Harrogate resident claims council did not properly minute planning meeting

A resident who objects to 53 homes being built on Knox Lane in Bilton has complained to the council about its minute taking at meetings which she says falls “well below” the standards expected for public bodies.

At North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this week, Adele Lawrie-Wilson addressed councillors about the minutes produced following a meeting on May 31 regarding the controversial housing scheme by developers Jomast.

Planning committee meetings are usually streamed live on YouTube. But technical difficulties on the day meant the only way to watch proceedings was in the council chamber.

Ms Lawrie-Wilson said residents who were unable to attend could not get an accurate picture of what was discussed due to “missing information” and “inaccuracies” in the minutes, which were later published on the council’s website.

She said:

“Given the livestream wasn’t available and no alternative recording was made, I would have expected more detailed minutes taken.

“There was no recording of what Cllr Haslam spoke about or what several residents covered in their speeches. It also omitted any content of the fairly tense debate.”

Ms Lawrie-Wilson also said the minutes recorded the council’s planning officer Nick Turpin saying no houses were proposed in the Special Landscape Area, which is incorrect.

She added:

“I urge that the minutes are expanded to give a more accurate recording of the meeting that took place.”

Mr Turpin responded to the claims and said it is not in the council’s practice to produce verbatim minutes of meetings.

He said:

“They accurately reflected the decision taken and reflect good practice. The published minutes meet all legal requirements and follow the council’s agreed standards.”

However, Mr Turpin conceded that his comment about the SLA was inaccurate and would be changed.

The Knox Lane plans will go before the council’s planning committee again at a later date.

New world cuisine supermarket to open in Harrogate

A new world cuisine supermarket is set to open its doors in Harrogate.

The owners of the All Nations Supermarket hope to open the store in August.

The shop, which is based on Skipton Road in Bilton, used to be a Jewson branch before being leased to its new owners earlier this year.

All Nations Supermarket will offer a wide selection of food and produce from Asian, African, Middle Eastern and European cultures. Halal food will also be stocked.

Amjad Ali, director of the supermarket, said that he wanted to set up in Harrogate due to a high demand for ethnic foods in the town.

While Harrogate has some Polish shops there are currently very few Asian, African or Middle Eastern shops available for residents.

Mr Ali said:

“There are no other shops like this in Harrogate so we want to welcome all people to the supermarket and offer as much as we can”

He told the Stray Ferret that renovations are ongoing and there is still a lot of work to be done but hopes to open as soon as possible. He plans to announce a set opening date a week in advance on social media.

The supermarket has already seen interest from Harrogate locals, with a post on a community Facebook group, announcing the shop’s imminent opening being positively received.

One commenter said:

“This will be a huge success I think, we need something like this. I don’t think there’s anywhere locally with a proper range of Asian food.”

Mr Ali said he was hopeful for the future of All Nations Supermarket and added:

“I absolutely feel welcomed in Harrogate and have already received lots of positive comments about the shop”

Harrogate thieves dump classic motorbike when they can’t start it

Thieves abandoned a classic motorbike they’d stolen in Harrogate when they were unable to get it to start.

According to North Yorkshire Police, the black Honda motorcycle was taken overnight from a home on King Edward’s Drive in Bilton.

It was found the following day by the owner dumped at the back of nearby Cecil Street “due to the thieves being unable to start the bike”, police said in a statement.

The statement added:

“However, the bike sustained damage that, due to its age and rarity, will be costly to repair.”

Officers are appealing for witnesses and information about the incident, which happened overnight between Sunday, July 2 and Monday, July 3.

Anyone with information can email ben.robinson-brockhill@northyorkshirepolice.co.uk or dial 101, select option 2, and ask for Ben Robinson-Brockhill.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12230123114.

Photo of the Week: Thistle above the crop

This week’s photograph was taken by John Brown, capturing a thistle above the crop not long before sunset at Nidd Gorge.

John Brown

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

Council’s new dog poo policy causes a stink in Knox

A change in the council’s bin regime is seeing dog-waste pile up by the roadside, according to local residents.

Over the last week, North Yorkshire Council has removed the familiar red dog-waste bins from Knox, which is on the north-west edge of Harrogate. In their place, they have put green wheelie bins, but not all in the same positions as the bins they replace.

Knox resident Maxie Schiffmann-Rowinski said:

“They’ve put a wheelie bin right outside our house, and now it’s filling up with dog poo and it really stinks in this warm weather.

“All of us living down here are pretty angry about this. This lane is very popular with dog-walkers, and some who don’t know about the green bin are just leaving their dog-poo bags on the ground where the dog-waste bin used to be.

“I’ve complained to the council via their online form, but had no reply.”

Asked about the move, Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, told the Stray Ferret the bins had been removed following a service review, and that the council was being guided by good practice outlined by the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership in its Right Bin, Right Place study.

He said:

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.

“This and other new bins will be emptied less frequently due to the increase in capacity, but they will be emptied as often as required, taking seasonal variances into account.

“The replacement bin at the end of Knox Lane was planned to be further down the lane, in close proximity to existing street furniture. We will check it’s correctly positioned.”

Composite image of, on the left, a new bin placed at the end of Knox Lane in Harrogate by North Yorkshire Council, and, on the right, bags of dog faeces doscrded by dog-walkers in the place where the old dog-waste bin used to be.

The council has installed a large new bin at the end of Knox Lane… but some dog-walkers have yet to get the message.

Paul Haslam, the North Yorkshire councillor serving Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was party to the decision-making process that led to the policy change, but that it had not been implemented as he had imagined it would be. He said:

“This looks like a well-intentioned project that’s gone wrong. I agreed with the principle behind the plans: to make it easier by using more machinery, which in some cases would result in changes of locations and frequency of emptying.

“But it’s quite obvious that the way it’s turned out is not ideal – there are not enough bins and some of them are in the wrong place.”

North Yorkshire Council’s Mr Battersby said that the bin replacements in Bilton and Knox would be followed by others in Harrogate.

He said:

“Surrounding parishes have already had the work completed, and Bilton is the first of the urban areas to start and receive the new bins.”

But Cllr Haslam said the policy needed to be reviewed and that’s what the council would do. He said:

“I’ll be meeting with street-cleansing officers on Monday and we’ll be going over the whole of the Bilton and Knox area and seeing how it can be improved.

“The council is not going to roll any more bins out until we’ve got Bilton and Knox right.”

Read more:

Missing Harrogate boy found safe and well

Police have confirmed that a missing Harrogate boy has been found.

The 12-year-old went missing from his home in Harrogate on Wednesday (June 21).

North Yorkshire Police has since confirmed that the boy has been found safe and well.

Fire ravages home in Harrogate

A house has been badly damaged by fire in Harrogate this afternoon.

Firefighters were called to Hill Top Crescent in Bilton at 3.26pm and are still in attendance. The road was cordoned off.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said three fire engines from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon attended.

It did not say whether anyone was injured.

The report added:

“Fire in a garage spread to an attached bungalow.

“Crews have used breathing apparatus, hose reels, main jets and a quantity of firefighting foam.

“The cause of the fire is to be investigated.”

The damaged roof

The road was cordoned off.

Body found in search for missing Sophie Lambert

Police searching for missing Harrogate woman Sophie Lambert have found a body.

It was found in the River Nidd near Nidd Gorge this morning.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“It is too early to confirm the identity, but Sophie’s family have been informed and are receiving specialist support. We ask that their privacy is respected.

“We thank everyone who has supported the missing person appeal over the last few days.

“A further update will be issued in due course.”

Sophie, 22, was last seen leaving home in Starbeck on the evening of Friday, June 16.

Her family alerted police later that evening and extensive searches were carried out.

Search for missing Sophie Lambert finds her mobile phone

A mobile phone, bank card and a top belonging to missing Sophie Lambert have been found, police said today.

The possessions were discovered by a member of the public on Saturday morning near the river at Nidd Gorge, which is the focus of the search for the 22-year-old from Starbeck.

North Yorkshire Police revealed the news at a media call today, at which they said a 30-strong search party consisting of police, mountain and underwater rescues had been combing the 500-metres area around where the items were found in Bilton.

Sophie Lambert

They added helicopters and dogs had also been employed in the operation.

Inspector Graham Waller, the critical incident inspector based at Harrogate, said there had been “no positive sightings” of Sophie in the 72 hours since she disappeared.

Insp Graham Waller pictured at the police search scene today.

He added the search would widen and continue “as long as necessary” during daylight hours if Sophie is not found. He said:

“We are very concerned for Sophie’s welfare.

“It’s totally out of character for her to be away from home for this long.

“At the moment we don’t have any suggestion she has come to harm but we are keeping an open mind.”

Asked what people could do to help, and whether they should take part in search parties, Insp Waller urged people to “remain vigilant” and contact the police if they had any information but said he would “discourage” members of the public taking part in search parties because of the “difficult terrain” in Nidd Gorge.

In today’s update, police said Sophie was last seen at home by her family at 6.50pm on Friday night and then captured shortly afterwards on CCTV camera at 7.06pm.

She was wearing dark trousers, a black top with a white adidas logo and dark shoes with a white sole. She had her hair tied back and was carrying a bottle with a pink lid.