Cosy Club is set to open the doors to its latest bar and restaurant in Harrogate today – so we went for a sneak peek.
The new venue is designed to bring “relaxed dining and drinking with a touch of timeless glamour” to Cambridge Street.
Cosy Club Harrogate has an arts and crafts feel with wallpaper originally designed in 1895.
Diners will find handmade table lamps throughout the restaurant and an eyecatching bar with bespoke, handmade stained-glass.
The all-day menus will include “fresh and modern classics” with “extensive brunch, gluten free and vegan options”.
The venue had a special opening evening last night.
Loungers Ltd runs the Cosy Club and Lounge brands. As of March 2022 the company operated 193 sites in England and Wales, including Claro Lounge in Ripon.
Amber Wood, managing director at Loungers Ltd, said ahead of the opening that Harrogate “has been a target of ours for some time”. She added:
“Our new restaurant offers a very strong location, linking the main retail and leisure pitches within the town. The externals of this historic building have been extensively renovated by our landlord, Broadland Properties.”
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Loungers Ltd was founded by a trio of friends from Bristol: Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop.
They opened their first first venue in Bristol in 2002 and then opened the first Cosy Club in Taunton eight years later. They set up the separate Cosy Club brand to cater for larger sites.
More photos from inside the Cosy Club
A 38-year-old man was arrested in Harrogate this past weekend on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon.
Officers were called to Cambridge Street at 2.20pm on Sunday (August 28) to reports of a man carrying a hammer and swearing at people on Oxford Street.
North Yorkshire Police arrested the man a short time later.
A police statement added:
“The man was arrested a short time later in Cambridge Street, on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon. He remains under investigation while enquiries continue.”
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Man denies assaulting Harrogate Sainsbury’s staff member
A 35-year-old man appeared in court this week charged with assaulting a staff member at Sainsbury’s in Harrogate.
Skyler Zienlinski, of Fern House, Spa Lane, pleaded not guilty to assault by beating at the store on Cambridge Street on August 1, 2022.
Mr Zienlinski, who appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday, also denied carrying a dismantled scissor blade in a public place without reasonable excuse.
He admitted stealing £40 worth of bottles of wine and Desperados from Sainsbury’s and causing criminal damage to property belonging to the store on the same day.
The court set a trial date of November 21 in Harrogate for the alleged assault and carrying an offensive weapon.
Mr Zienlinski was released on bail under the condition that he does not enter the Cambridge Street store.
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Man arrested after shop worker allegedly assaulted in Harrogate
A man has been arrested after reports that a member of staff at a shop in the town centre was assaulted last night.
Police were called to Cambridge Street at 9pm after being told a man had stolen alcohol from a shop and threatened and assaulted a member of staff.
A statement by North Yorkshire Police today said:
“Officers quickly located a suspect nearby and arrested him on suspicion of assault, theft, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon.
“The man, who is in his 30s, currently remains in custody and the investigation is ongoing.”
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New plans to convert Harrogate’s former post office
Plans have been submitted to convert Harrogate’s former post office on Cambridge Street into 11 apartments and retail space.
The Post Office controversially relocated to WH Smith in 2019 amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”. The building has stood empty since.
In November 2020, Harrogate-based developer One Acre Group submitted plans for 25 apartments and offices in the building but withdrew the application last year.
The former plans were welcomed by conservation group Harrogate Civic Society although it was concerned about a proposal to build an additional floor.
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The new scheme, which was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council this week, will keep part of the ground floor that faces Cambridge Street as a retail or commercial space.
The apartments would have either one or two bedrooms.
The building is still owned by the Post Office but this time the application has been submitted by Leeds-based property firm Priestley Group.
A planning statement attached to the application says:
“The proposed development will secure the active re-use of this longstanding vacant building with an entirely appropriate mix of uses within a town centre location that will enhance the general appearance of the building with resultant benefits for the wider streetscene and conservation area as a whole.”
Two teenagers arrested after six deliberate bin fires in Harrogate
Two teenagers have been arrested following six deliberate bin fires in Harrogate town centre last night.
Fire crews were called to multiple blazes involving commercial bins behind retail units, which tied up the service for two hours.
Both fire engines attended — something that won’t be possible if proposed cuts to overnight services go ahead.
Crews were called at 8.17pm last night to reports of a fire on Cambridge Street in the town centre.
Firefighters said the blaze was started deliberately by youths.
The fire was put out using hose reel jets and crews left the incident with North Yorkshire Police.
A statement from Harrogate fire station on its Facebook page said:
“Both Harrogate fire appliances were tied up for two hours last night in Harrogate.
“Crews dealt with six separate large commercial bin fires at the back of retail premises which potentially could have spread to buildings.
“Police were notified and multiple arrests took place. These unnecessary fires tie up our resources taking us away from us other incidents.”
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, is currently considering plans to reduce the number of appliances at Harrogate Fire Station to one at night.
This morning, North Yorkshire Police confirmed two boys, aged 17 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of arson. They have since been released under investigation.
A statement from the force added:
“Police are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12220090536.”
Harrogate firefighters have dealt with a spate of bin fires in Harrogate town centre this week.
On Wednesday, they responded to reports of a bin fire on Bower Street under the railway track at 8.11pm. The cause is unknown.
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Crews responded to deliberate blazes on both Cambridge Street and Oxford Street on Monday evening.
The fire on Oxford Street was started in a bin close to commercial buildings.
A spokesman for Harrogate fire station said they believed the fires were deliberately started by the same people and have informed the police.
Pret a Manger set to open in Harrogate tomorrowA new branch of Pret a Manger is set to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow morning.
The sandwich and coffee shop on James Street will welcome customers from 7.30am, signs in the window reveal.
Rumours of the chain’s arrival began to circulate at the beginning of the year, as reported by the Stray Ferret.
It was not until April the company confirmed it would be opening in the unit formerly occupied by Messums Gallery.
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Meanwhile, Skipton Building Society has confirmed its new Cambridge Street branch will open tomorrow as well.
The company has moved from Princes Street to part of the building previously occupied by Topshop and Topman, which has been split into smaller units.
Part of it is now a Sainsbury’s Local, and the remaining section of the building on the ground floor is still unoccupied, but an application has been made by Cosy Club for a licence to open a bar there.
Three bins in Harrogate set alight deliberately last nightHarrogate firefighters believe three separate bin fires in Harrogate last night were started deliberately.
Firefighters were initially called to a fire in a bin on Cambridge Street at 6.25pm, which had been doused on arrival by a member of the public using a coffee cup.
Fire crews then used a hose to cool the bin down.
They were then alerted to another bin fire on Beech Grove an hour later.
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The fire was put out using a hose reel.
Another deliberate fire was reported in a wheelie bin on Oxford Street at 8pm.The bin was close to commercial properties and fire crews used a hose reel to put out the blaze.
A spokesman for Harrogate fire station said they believed the fires were deliberately started by the same people and have informed the police.
Harrogate BID cleans gum and grime ‘hot spots’Harrogate BID (Business Improvement District) has sent a crew to steam clean and jet wash ‘hot spots’ across the town centre.
Ahead of the Easter holidays, the BID has paid a team from UK Nationwide Cleaning to spend ten nights removing grime and chewing gum.
Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:
“Walking around the town centre, it is clear to see where our cleaning team have been, giving pavements a much needed deep clean.
“Our cleaning crew is working across numerous areas, making sure the town centre looks in pristine condition for the traditional start of the 2022 tourism season.
“In the first ever survey asking Levy Payers what they wanted us to do, cleaning was the priority, and with our cleaning contractors, together with our Street Ranger, this is what we are delivering.
“This is the first of a number of visits this year for our cleaning crew, and they will be back on at least two more occasions cleaning different parts of the BID area.”
Harrogate was the first town in the district to form a BID in 2019. Almost 500 businesses pay 1.5% of their rateable value each year.
It’s estimated that the Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from levy payers annually.
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TikTok video on mental health in Harrogate goes viral
A TikTok video of a man raising awareness of mental health in Harrogate town centre has gone viral.
The clip, by Ben Ogden on Cambridge Street, shows him standing with a sign saying: “If you’ve struggled with mental health, let’s talk”.
Mr Ogden is well known on TikTok for his videos talking to people on the street about mental health and has posted clips in Leeds and Skipton.
In Harrogate, he speaks with a woman, who is off camera, about her struggles with mental health.
Mr Ogden says in the video:
“We’re just trying to raise awareness for mental health and to let people know it’s alright to talk about it and it should be a normal conversation.”
@itsbenogden It’s okay to talk 💬 #mentalhealthmatters #friends
The video has racked up 429,000 views on TikTok and has more than 21,000 likes and 200 comments.
Mr Ogden, who has nearly 50,000 followers on the social media platform, also published a video outside Sainsbury’s on Cambridge Street with a sign that reads: “If you’re missing your mum this Mother’s Day, let’s talk”.
The clip clocked up 465,000 views.
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The video becomes the latest TikTok in the Harrogate district to go viral this year.
In January, a Russian TikToker racked up a million views with a video of Knaresborough that she described as “a place in England so beautiful I can’t believe it’s real”.
In the same month, a bizarre video by DJ Zach Sabri, better known online as SUAT, showed the TikToker being told by National Trust staff that he cannot film at Brimham Rocks.