Harrogate Borough Council spent almost £3,000 of taxpayers’ money on booze for a staff party, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The party was held to mark the abolition of the council at the end of March — even though nearly all staff transferred to the new North Yorkshire Council the following day on the same terms.
The Stray Ferret reported last month the party cost £14,910. But a full breakdown of the costs, including the amount spent on alcohol, was not known.
The FoI has now revealed the costs included £1,438 on beer, cider and lager, £630 on wine and £587 on spirits. Just £376 was spent on soft drinks.
The council also spent £4,745 on food, £450 on a DJ, £765 on event staff and £302 on decorations. A further £5,556 went on technical equipment for the event, which was held at the council-owned Harrogate Convention Centre on February 23.
The party was held at Harrogate Convention Centre.
The Stray Ferret was alerted to the party by an unnamed source who said they were “appalled, disgusted and downright annoyed that this amount was spent without the prior knowledge and consent of the people paying for it”.
Conor Holohan, media campaign manager of the pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added:
“Taxpayers will be shocked to find they were funding parties for council staff.
“While residents were struggling with the cost of living crisis, town hall officials were charging them for dinner and drinks.”
Final day parties
Seven district councils and North Yorkshire County Council were abolished on March 31 to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.
Harrogate Borough Council’s final day staff party cost the most.
Scarborough was the next highest, spending £9,004, followed by Hambleton at £3,783. Ryedale awarded staff a £148 bonus and spent £3,001 on a party. North Yorkshire County Council did not spend anything.
Staff from the district councils, except the chief executives and a handful of others, transferred to North Yorkshire Council on April 1. It said in a statement:
“The new council for North Yorkshire did not play any part in sanctioning or organising any parties.
“For any further comment you will need to ask the district and borough council decision-makers who were in place at those councils at the time.”
Former Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper has declined to comment on council business since the authority was abolished.
Read more:
- Harrogate Borough Council spent £15,000 on staff leaving party
- Brew Bar owner opens new Harrogate coffee shop
New Harrogate craft beer bar set to open next month
A new town centre craft beer run by the owners of Husk Beer Emporium could be open by the end of October.
Friends Danny Duckworth and Tom Gill have had a shop on King’s Road for the last couple of years.
It’s become a haven for craft beer lovers, selling a wide range of beers with idiosyncratic branding and flavours.
They will soon be creating their first bar in a former restaurant on Station Square and will keep the Husk name.
The friends received the keys from the landlord this week and are now busy refurbishing the premises ahead of opening, which Mr Gill said is likely to be late October or early November.
The bar will be in a unit previously home to Souvlaki restaurant on Station Square
The ground floor bar will have 10 craft beer lines as well as a selection of bottles and cans. It will also serve tea and coffee as well as cakes and cheeseboards.
The shop will move from King’s Road to downstairs below the bar.
Read more:
- Cheers! Knaresborough and Harrogate to host beer festivals
- North Yorkshire Police to send officers to Queen’s funeral
Mr Gill said it was “exciting but also nerve-wracking” to be opening.
Rising energy bills are on the mind of every business owner at the moment and he hopes the new Chancellor will cap bills for businesses in next week’s emergency budget.
He said:
“Some bars in Leeds have seen 200% to 400% increases on their energy bills. That’s pretty scary.”
Over the last decade, Harrogate has welcomed many new craft beer bars including North Bar, the Disappearing Chin and the Harrogate Tap.
Handily, the bars all follow a trail for drinkers, which Husk will be part of.
They also hope to apply for a pavement licence so drinkers can sit outside. Mr Gill said he believed his business will benefit from the proposed Station Gateway scheme that is set to transform the area and pedestrianise James Street.
He added:
“I can quite easily see the negatives [of the Station Gateway] but for us it will help increase footfall and help to create a ‘cafe culture’ around Station Square.”
To find out more about Husk Beer Emporium visit its website.
Harrogate district MP: ‘Time for Boris to get on with the job’Nigel Adams is the only Harrogate district MP to comment so far on the publication of the long-awaited Sue Gray report.
The senior civil servant found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.
The report included details of vomiting and parties lasting until 4am whilst the UK was under covid restrictions.
Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes several Harrogate district villages, is a member of the cabinet and a key ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He tweeted this afternoon:
“The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report and has apologised again.
“He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges including the cost of living and Ukraine crisis and delivering for the country and for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.”
Other cabinet ministers including Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Nadine Dorries all tweeted similar messages of support for the Prime Minister at the same time.
The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report & has apologised again.
He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges inc cost of living & Ukraine crisis & delivering for the country & for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.
— Nigel Adams (@nadams) May 25, 2022
What have Andrew Jones and Julian Smith said?
The Stray Ferret asked the two other Tory MPs in the district, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones and Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith for their response to the report but we did not get a reply.
In January during a Commons debate, Mr Jones said the Sue Gray report should be published in full.
In the same month, an email to a constituent revealed Mr Jones thoughts on ‘partygate’ scandal. The MP said: “I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.”
Mr Jones said if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.
“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”
Julian Smith is yet to comment publicly on the report.
Read more:
- Harrogate council chief scolds councillor for calling influencer a ‘waste of money’
- Home Office asylum centre near Harrogate district an ‘abuse of power’, says MP
New Harrogate bar for craft beer lovers could be coming soon
The owners of Husk Beer Emporium in Harrogate hope to open a bar this summer that showcases the best craft beers from the UK and abroad.
Danny Duckworth and Tom Gill, both 33, opened the shop on King’s Road just before the first covid lockdown. It sells a wide array of craft beers with idiosyncratic branding and flavours.
They said the next step is opening their own bar and they recently submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to do this.
The bar would be in a unit that was previously home to Greek restaurant Souvlaki on Station Square, opposite the Queen Victoria monument.
If all goes to plan, they said the venture could open by May. It will offer live music, meet the brewery nights, food, outdoor seating and an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of unique beers.
The bar would open in this empty unit on Station Square
‘Weird and wonderful’ beers
The friends met as students at St Aidan’s Church of England High School and are excited by the prospect of moving into a more prominent location in the town.
Mr Duckworth believes craft beer can offer a more immersive experience for drinkers than traditional real ale, due to its taste combinations and flavours.
He said variety was the key to what they offer.
“We pride ourselves on weird and wonderful beers”
As well as selling more traditionally brewed craft beers, Husk also has a well-stocked range of alcohol-free and gluten-free options.
Mr Duckworth said:
“People come here on a Friday and buy eight bottles of beer and they will all taste different.”
Inside Husk Beer Emporium
Read more:
- Top of the hops: Knaresborough brewery’s road to Harrogate Beer Week
- Harrogate charity beer festival to return in March
Craft beer trail
Craft beer muscled its way onto the drinking scene several years ago and the trend has proved that it has staying power.
Harrogate was once not known for alternative, DIY-style bars, but Mr Duckworth said Major Tom’s Social opened the door for places like the Disappearing Chin, North Bar and themselves.
Mr Gill said he hopes Husk bar can be part of a Harrogate craft beer trail, boosted by the Station Gateway scheme that would see the outside area at the end of James Street pedestrianised to allow for al-fresco summer drinking.
He said:
“More and more people are seeking places like this out.”
Mr Duckworth added:
“The craft beer scene in Harrogate is buzzing for us to open, we hope they can support us.”