Harrogate family pet shop to close after more than 50 years

A Harrogate family pet shop will close after 52 years because the owners have seen footfall and sales drop.

Mick Stothard, who started working at A P & K Stothard Pet Store when he was 10 years old, will retire and the shop will shut its doors on October 3.

He believes that there is not enough support for independent businesses in the town and called for local councillors to step up to help.

A P & K Stothard in 2014 when it owned more unit.

Peter and Kath Stothard, Mick’s parents, started the pet store in 1968 with just £47. It had spanned over four units along the street before it reduced in size to one unit in recent years.

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Mr Stothard told the Stray Ferret that he will transfer most of his stock over to his son and daughter’s shop, Posh Paws on Leeds Road, which will continue to trade. He added:

“We are just not getting enough people through. The town centre is struggling, there are so many shops that are closing down.

“It is all I have ever known. It will be tough to say goodbye after so many years. It is much more difficult now.”

What the pet shop used to take in one week is now taken over four or five weeks. This latest closure follows Bookstall Newsagents, The Cooperative Bank and Gambaru Fitness all closing their doors in recent weeks.

However, it has not been all bad for businesses on Commerical Street. A new fishmonger opened today, with queues out of the door.

Central Harrogate bank to close by December

The Co-operative Bank in central Harrogate will close before the end of the year as a result of national cuts.

The Prospect Crescent bank is one of 18 branches to be closed by the Cooperative, with 350 jobs set to be lost as a result.

The bank said the decision was made based on footfall during 2019 and was unrelated to the coronavirus lockdown.

Co-operative Bank chief executive Andrew Bester said:

“Our people have shown great dedication and commitment to our customers over the past few months, so we are very sorry to announce this news today.

“Unfortunately, we’re not immune to the impact of recent events, with the historically low base rate affecting the income of all banks and a period of prolonged economic uncertainty ahead, which means it’s important we reduce costs and have the right-sized operating model in place for the future.

“At the same time, we are responding to the continuing shift of more and more customers choosing to bank online, with lower levels of transactions in branches, a trend which has been increasing for some time, across the banking sector and more broadly.

“The bank is in a resilient position given the significant progress we’ve made in recent years, and our focus is on maintaining this as we continue to support our customers through the crisis. We will do all we can to support colleagues through the process with fairness and respect.”

The branch closure will be completed by December 1 and customers who are affected will be contacted directly by the bank with information about alternative options.

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Trespass store in Harrogate holds ‘closing down sale’

Harrogate’s Trespass store has put up signs to warn customers that it is closing down.

The outdoor clothing shop on James Street plans to close its doors for good on October 21 – one of many to close following the coronavirus lockdown.

That date is subject to negotiations with the store’s landlord.

It had only reopened on June 15. Now the shop is holding a closing down sale in an attempt to clear its stock.

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The Stray Ferret has approached Trespass for a comment on the closure but received no response by the time of publication.

Several jobs at the store will go with the closure. The Trespass store in Leeds also plans to close on the same date in October.

The closure of Trespass follows a difficult pattern for James Street in recent months with the closure of Jack Wills and also Laura Ashley.

 

Ripon pub closes after suspected covid case

A pub in Ripon has had to close today after a customer reported testing positive for coronavirus.

The Navigation Inn, situated on the edge of the canal, has made the decision to close today. The pub has said all the staff will be tested and the pub will be deep cleaned throughout the day.

The pub has said this report has not come from an official source but they expect the information to come later today.

Notifying customers via Facebook, the pub owners said:

“We have been informed that someone has visited The Navigation Inn on Thursday, who has since tested positive with covid 19. My priority is to ensure everyone’s safety & at present we feel this is the best option. We send out apologises to anyone who was booked in with us today, and for anyone who had deliveries organised.”
Staff at the Navigation Inn, Ripon

The pub has made this decision to ensure the safety of its staff and other customers.

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It has said it will update customers when it receives more information from officials.
The pub has recently reported an increase in bookings through the eat out to help out scheme.
Closure sign on entrance to The Navigation Inn, Ripon

This sign was left on the entrance to the pub.

Gambaru family devastated by Harrogate gym closure

A mother, daughter, and son who all worked at Gambaru Fitness in Harrogate have been left devastated by its closure.

Emily Yeates, along with her brother Ben, followed in the footsteps of her mum Janelle who has worked at the gym for over 20 years before it became Gambaru and was widely known as the ‘mum of the gym’.

It was particularly painful for the Yeates family when they found out that the gym company had gone into liquidation four weeks ago.

The Harrogate gym did not reopen on July 25 when the government gave gyms the green light. At the time, the gym owners Jonathan Walker and John Walker said the announcement came with “challenging guidelines”.

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Both Janelle and Ben are now looking for full-time work. Emily, who did sports massages and beauty treatments at Gambaru for 10 years, has managed to get a part-time job to support her young baby.

Emily Yeates told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s been a big part of our lives. It was really hard to find out that Gambaru had gone into liquidation. This is particuarly difficult for me because I am having to start all over again with my treatments at a time when I have a baby to support.”

The Stray Ferret attempted to contact Gambaru Fitness yesterday but received no reply.

In the gym’s most recent Facebook post on July 23, it said:

“Due to ongoing negotiations, and business restructuring, at this present time we do not have an official opening date.”

Despite the gym’s closure Diveshack UK, which had a shop at Gambaru, is still open for business and will continue to trade remotely while discussions with the landlords continue.

Knaresborough’s only bank to remain open for time being

The last remaining bank in Knaresborough, Halifax, was expected to close on 13 May but will now stay open if it attracts enough customers.

The initial decision to close the Halifax was made due to a 10% reduction in customer counter transactions from 2019.  It sparked real concern in the town and a campaign was launched to stop the closure.

However following the pandemic the bank remained open to support local customers. Halifax has told The Stray Ferret that they plan to keep the branch open during the pandemic but will continue to review its position in the future.

A spokesperson for Halifax said:

“We do not intend to permanently close any branches in the midst of this challenging period. Our priority at this time is keeping as many branches as possible open, so that customers can continue to access cash, and ensuring that those who are vulnerable or in financial difficulty can speak to colleagues.

We continue to review our presence to ensure that our branches are located in the right places and any future closure decisions will be driven by customer behaviour.”

The future of this bank will be “driven by customer behaviour”.

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This decision will come as a relief to local residents as the closure of the Halifax bank would have left the town with no banks and only three cash machines within the town.

The Knaresborough Chamber of Trade were pleased to hear of this development. Its president Steve Teggin said:

“The towns people will be elated with the news as we’ve saved a bank and now we still have one in the town. It’s a triumph for us but we’ve also saved a cash machine too. Halifax have now got to give us some confidence that they will stay and I think that will encourage people in Knaresborough to open up accounts with them. But for residents and traders too this is great news.”

 

Harrogate Theatre raises £40,000 in emergency appeal

Harrogate Theatre has announced that it has raised £40,000 in its emergency appeal.

The theatre, which has always been widely supported,  has faced a funding crisis as it was forced to lower its curtains in March, due to coronavirus.

Alex Monk, a spokesperson from the Theatre told the Stray Ferret:

We rely on a very small amount of public funding, most of our earnings are from ticket sales, so our income has been stripped away, It’s been a worrying time… To raise £40,000 ( and still rising) is just phenomenal… a lot of that has been from audience members that have donated their ticket money from a cancelled show to our emergency fund.

We need £4,000 a week to keep the theatre going…Things are all moving and changing very quickly.. Our current closure notice is up until July at the earliest.

We are exploring models for social distancing in the theatre for when it is safe and possible to open our doors. This does reduce the capacity to around a third which would have severe financial implications.

 

Members of the community are pulling together to help raise money to try and keep the theatre-going.

Dance Matt,  a children’s entertainment business in Harrogate is doing a virtual 12-hour dance-a-thon children’s mini disco starting at 8 am tomorrow. All money raised will go to the theatre’s emergency appeal. Matt Pullan, who runs the company, has raised £410 so far, with a £500 target.

It’s a very special place to me, I used to go to the panto every New Years Eve with my gran. I’m sure the theatre has touched us all at some point, so I wanted to do something to raise money to contribute… It will be a long 12 hours, but it will absolutely be worth it.

Alex Monk thanked Matt Pullan for his gesture:

This is just one of many of the kind offers we have received. It shows the real strength and place that Harrogate theatre holds.