Business Breakfast: Harrogate beauty brand records improved profits

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate-based hair and beauty brand has recorded strong profit results for the last financial year.

CloudNine, which is based at Hornbeam Park, reported a turnover of £35 million and pre-tax profits of £8.6m – a 20% rise on 2021 – for the year ending December 2022.

The firm, which employs more than 60 staff at its headquarters in Harrogate, has credited its results to a combination of continued growth in the UK, significant growth in Australia and New Zealand and the strengthening of its online and in-store presence.

Martin Rae, chief executive of CloudNine, said: 

“This is a very pleasing set of results which cements our position as one of the world’s leading hair and beauty brands.

“We are very proud of everything we have achieved, with the ultimate aim of providing the tools to help people feel like the best version of themselves, which is what we are most passionate about.

“We are also very passionate about the environment. We launched the industry’s first hair iron recycling scheme, which has saved over 2,800kg of hair styling tools from landfill so far.”

Business networking event to be held in Boroughbridge

A networking event is set to be held for businesses in Boroughbridge.

Held at the Crown Hotel on Thursday, June 15, the session will focus on supporting local firms.

It will also include guest speakers Alison Laws, business relationships manager at York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub, and Alice Ingram, business engagement manager at West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

The event will start at 5.30pm with refreshments and networking and will include a question and answer session.

For more information on the event, contact the Boroughbridge and District Chamber of Trade here.

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Teenagers sentenced for damaging Boroughbridge school roof

Two teenagers have been sentenced after causing £660 worth of damage to a Boroughbridge school.

The boys, aged 15 and another 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were referred to a youth offenders panel for 12 months after damaging tiles and window seals at Alborough and Boroughbridge County Primary School last year.

The teenagers were charged with intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be destroyed or damaged.

The incident happened on October 13 last year at the school on York Road.

The pair were also charged with trespassing in the maintenance building at the school on October 10, 2022, and stealing £94 worth of beer and wine. Another boy, aged 16, was also charged with the same offence.

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The three were sentenced to a youth offender panel after pleading guilty.

All three boys were sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday (May 19).

Care company opens regional office in Boroughbridge

A home care provider has opened a new regional office in Boroughbridge.

Vermuyden Care, which employs about 50 staff, has made the grade two listed Ornhams Hall its base for North Yorkshire.

The company, which provides domiciliary care, is recruiting local staff after moving into the area.

Gary Stapleton, co-founder and managing director of Vermuyden Care, said the company aimed to be the ‘M&S of care’ by employing local staff on high wages rather than relying on agency staff.

He said:

“Most care companies pay peanuts. Our starting salary is £15 an hour, which works out at £31,000 on a 40-hour week.”

The Boroughbridge office will handle home care services in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Ripon, Thirsk and Easingwold area.

We have just about finished moving into Ornhams Hall nr #Boroughbridge in #NorthYorkshire. The portrait of Cornelius Vermuyden has arrived, just the Grandfather clock left. We have now recruited a fantastically talented individual to become our Registered Manager. (Details Soon). pic.twitter.com/ZywrqNECu8

— Vermuyden Care (@VermuydenCare) May 16, 2023

Emma Barnes has been appointed care director by the company, which was founded four years ago and is named after Cornelius Vermuyden, the Dutch engineer who drained the Fens.

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Council refuses plans for children’s nursery near Boroughbridge

North Yorkshire Council has refused plans to build a new children’s nursery at a farm near Boroughbridge.

Plans were submitted in March by Ben and Emma Mosey, who run Yolk Farm and Minskip Farm Shop on Minskip Road.

The nursery would have offered 74 full-day places and be based around the curiosity and forest school approaches, which encourage independence through outdoor learning.

However, in its refusal notice the council said the plans fall outside of development limits and the applicants failed to show how the nursery would diversify their farming business.

According to the application, there is a high demand for early years places in the area because there are 229 nursery-aged children in Boroughbridge but only 85 spaces at other settings.

The intended manager of the nursery, Tracey Roberts of Tiddlywinks Private Day Nurseries, has more than 20 years’ experience in the early years sector and has achieved an outstanding Ofsted rating at Tiddlywinks’ York and Easingwold nurseries.

But the council said the plans failed to show that there is a need for the nursery in the area.

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director of planning Trevor Watson wrote:

“The proposal is for a new community facility however the application fails to demonstrate that there is a local need for the nursery in this location, that it is of a scale and nature appropriate to its location and intended purpose and that it is accessible to its intended community.”

Mr Watson was also not satisfied with the location of the proposed nursery, saying the new building would result in a “visually intrusive and incongruous development” that would harm the rural location. He added:

“There are no public benefits associated with the proposal that would outweigh the harm.”

Despite not winning backing from the council’s planning department, the economic devolpment team did give it their approval. A council officer wrote:

“It will enable the expansion of an existing business into the Boroughbridge area, generating employment and supporting farm diversification.”

The applicants are able to appeal the decision.

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Harrogate Bus Company fares to increase tomorrow

Bus fares in the Harrogate district are set to increase from tomorrow.

Transdev, which runs Harrogate Bus Company, has an announced an increase in prices on some of its tickets from Sunday, May 14.

It will effect services in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

However, tickets for single fares will remain at the £2 cap until the end of June – but will return to original prices with no increase as of July 1.

A statement from the bus firm said:

“Unfortunately due to the rate of inflation we are seeing the cost of running our buses increasing. 

“We’ve been able to freeze many of our fares – our single and return fares will not change, including the £2 maximum single fare. 

“We still think these fares offer excellent value for money, especially compared to the cost of driving and parking.”

The price increases will be as follows:

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Business Breakfast: Boroughbridge company celebrates long-service staff milestone

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Boroughbridge company is celebrating reaching a milestone as 200 employees have now worked for the firm for 10 years.

Reed Boardall, which is based off Bar Lane, was founded in 1992 and has gone onto become one of the biggest employers in the area with 745 staff.

The company operates in food logistics and reports a turnover of £66 million.

As well as over a quarter of staff having completed more than ten years of service, 31 have chosen to stay with the company for two decades or longer.

Andrew Baldwin, managing director of Reed Boardall’s cold storage division, said: 

“There’s no doubt that our high staff retention levels play a key role in the continued success of the business and our ability to consistently deliver on our promises to our customers. We don’t use any agency workers, instead all of our team are long term employees, many of whom have built up valuable understanding and knowledge about what we do and this gives continuity to the business, enabling us to be the reliable, responsive partner that our customers need.

“This constancy of approach is reinforced by the high numbers of family members all working here across the generations- we have numerous husbands and wives, a mother and daughter and several dads and sons as well as a husband, wife and father in law. What makes us unique is that we have the same staff, providing the same levels of service – it is all about the people and we’re proud that so many of our team choose to stay with us.”

Harrogate financial firm launches rebrand

A Harrogate financial services firm has launched a rebrand.

FinancialForce, which is based at Cardale Park, has renamed itself as Certinia.

The company was co-founded in 2009 by local businesswoman Deb Ashton.

The firm has gone onto employ more than 1,000 people at offices across five countries.

Speaking about the rebrand, Scott Brown, chief executive of Certinia, said:

“FinancialForce was the perfect name when the company was founded in 2009 describing its intent to deliver ERP on Force.com.

“Over the past decade, the company invested heavily to become the most trusted PSA solution in the market.

“Now, we have expanded our ERP leadership with the addition of FP&A, and recently launched new products in two additional markets with Customer Success Cloud and Services CPQ. Together, these are a comprehensive and tightly integrated platform for services businesses. It was time to ensure our name and brand align with all we do in the marketplace today.”

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Harrogate district pub unveils new-look beer garden

The Wild Swan at Minskip, near Boroughbridge, has unveiled a new-look beer garden.

The garden, situated in a secluded area at the back, can cater for up to 36 drinkers and diners, on top of the 60 covers in the main premises.

Alex Bond, who co-owns the Wild Swan with business partner Stephen Lennox, said:

“We have always had tables outside, but our new look beer garden provides a much richer and more attractive eating and drinking experience.

“It is the picture-perfect suntrap, set between the rear of the historic inn and a characterful disused mill. It will be ideal for the coming summer months.”

Wild Swan Minskip

(left to right) Stephen Lennox, chef Frazer Ross, new head chef Jason Bishop and Alex Bond. Photo by Monika Kus.

The inn, which is close to Junction 48 of the A1(M), has also appointed a new head chef, Jason Bishop, who replaces Paul Murphy.

Mr Lennox said:

“Jason is a wonderfully talented chef who has worked in some of the finest establishments across Yorkshire. He has been on our radar for the last 18 months and the opportunity to make this partnership happen heading into a busy summer is one we couldn’t pass up.”

Wood-fired pizzas will be returning to the inn on Wednesdays Fridays and Saturdays each week and a new summer menu will be introduced shortly.

Main pic shows (left to right): Stephen Lennox, chef Frazer Ross, new head chef Jason Bishop and Alex Bond. Pic by Monika Kus

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Harrogate district firm allowed to relocate building put up without planning permission

Councillors have approved the relocation of a pallet store at a business near Boroughbridge that was built without planning permission.

North Yorkshire Council‘s first Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee took place yesterday at the Civic Centre in Harrogate.

Councillors considered an application from Abacus, a manufacturer and distributor of bathroom products to companies including Villeroy and Boch and Wickes.

The firm employs 85 people and is based at Jubilee Court on the outskirts of Copgrove alongside 10 other businesses.

In 2019, Abacus won permission from Harrogate Borough Council to build an extension for a steel warehouse to support the growing business. However, the company ended up building a bigger structure than what was approved after it won two large commercial deals.

Due to the construction of the extension, a pallet store was relocated elsewhere on the site without planning permission.

Retrospective permission was sought for the extension and pallet store but was refused by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee in December.

Nigel Simms, the former Conservative councillor for Masham and Kirkby Malzeard,  described the building as standing out like a “pimple on a pig’s backside” due to a lack of tree cover.

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The council eventually retrospectively approved the larger extension last month but its decision did not take into account the pallet store.

Yesterday, Abacus proposed relocating the pallet store next to a warehouse and away from nearby fields. This satisfied councillors who voted unanimously in favour of the plans.

During the meeting, councillors also approved the building of more car parking spaces for Abacus.

The proposal included additional trees being planted that a council officer said in a report would “help screen and soften the most prominent views” of the business park following concerns from residents.

Alex Green, an agent speaking on behalf of Abacus, told councillors:

“The design will provide adequate screening. It’s obviously an improvement on the current arrangements.”

Cooplands closes Boroughbridge bakery

Cooplands has closed its bakery in Boroughbridge after little more than two years.

The company, which is the second largest bakery chain in the district, opened a shop on the town’s High Street in February 2021.

But a sign appeared in the window recently saying the shop had now closed permanently and the nearest branch was on Beulah Street in Harrogate.

Cooplands in Harrogate

The Harrogate shop

The Stray Ferret asked Cooplands why it had closed its Boroughbridge branch and how many staff were affected.

A spokesperson said:

“Following an in-depth review of the business, we have proposed to make some changes to both our retail and bakery operations, to help better position the business for the long-term and sustainable growth.

“This has been done to ensure that our store estate and broader business are fully aligned with our ‘modern bakery food-to-go retailer’ strategy.

“As a result, we have entered into a consultation process with a number of colleagues. We appreciate that this may be unsettling for colleagues and our priority is to support them fully throughout this process.”

The spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement.

Cooplands started as a single shop in Scarborough in 1885 and now has more than 160 shops in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.

It was bought in 2021 by the EG Group.

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New children’s nursery planned for farm near Boroughbridge

Plans have been submitted to build a new early years children’s nursery at Minskip, near Boroughbridge.

Ben and Emma Mosey, who run Yolk Farm and Minskip Farm Shop on Minskip Road, have applied to North Yorkshire Council for the scheme.

The nursery would be situated on the farm and offer 74 full-day places for children aged 0 to 5. It would be open for 51 weeks a year.

The nursery would create 18 jobs and be based around the curiosity and forest school approaches, which encourage independence through outdoor learning.

Documents state the owners have diversified the farm in recent years with a cafe, farm shop and dog walking area but they and want to add a nursery “to create an experience which is safe, fun and educational for children”.

The intended manager of the nursery, Tracey Roberts of Tiddlywinks Private Day Nurseries, has over 20 years in the early years sector and has achieved an outstanding Ofsted rating at Tiddlywinks’ York and Easingwold nurseries.

According to the application, there is a high demand for early years places in the area because there are 229 nursery-aged children in Boroughbridge but only 85 spaces.

UK childcare is among the most expensive in the world and the government announced last month it will expand free childcare for working parents in England by September 2025 to help more parents get back to work.

Planning documents state:

“The subject proposal continues the established trend of successful diversification at Minskip Farm which plays host to a popular café, farm shop and dog walking field.

“Indeed, the provision of an on-site nursery will support the sustainability of extant commercial operations on site, drawing additional footfall to increase trade.

“It is considered that the subject site represents the optimum setting for the establishment of a children’s day nursery, providing children with access to nature and farming activities within a safe, controlled environment, parents with access to the dog walking, café and shopping facilities associated with Yolk Farm, and being accessible from Boroughbridge by public footway, with a bus stop also nearby.”

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