A new bar looks set to open in a former Harrogate shop next month
17 Miles, which will be based on Cold Bath Road, is set to open its doors in the former Scandinavian clothes shop Bias.
Harrogate man Matthew Gray, who owns the new bar, told the Stray Ferret that he decided to set up the pub as a passion project.
Mr Gray, who was granted planning permission for the conversion back in April, said he wanted to open in the Cold Bath Road area which he described as “up and coming”.
He said:
“I think the vibe around the area is increasing.
“In terms of the venue, it immediately catches the eye of passers by with its windows.”
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17 Miles, which was given the name for the door number and Mr Gray’s son, Miles, will be based at 17 Cold Bath Road.
It is set to offer punters a range beers from independent breweries to non-alcoholic options.
Inside the new 17 Miles bar on Cold Bath Road.
Mr Gray also has plans to introduce cheese and meat boards in the future, but added that he was focused on getting the bar off the ground first.
The bar is set to open from 4pm to 11pm Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 11pm on Saturday and 12pm until 9pm on Sunday.
Dogs will also be welcome.
Mr Gray said he hopes to open 17 Miles in September once he has received final approval from North Yorkshire Council.
Harrogate children’s shop seeks new locationA children’s shop in Harrogate is looking to move to a town centre location to attract more shoppers.
Tiger Fifty 7, on Cold Bath Road, opened in 2019 to “create a shopping experience like no other for both parents and children”.
The shop sells a wide range of toys and games, children’s clothing, as well as accessories and clothing for parents.
However, the business has made the decision to move due to increased bills and the challenges that retail is facing, according to its social media.
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Neither an official closing date of the current shop or a new store location have yet been confirmed.
Co-owner Georgie Simpson said the business was “in limboland” until the current site is taken over by someone else.
Ms Simpson told The Stray Ferret:
“We can’t commit to anything new until this shop is taken over, however we’d prefer to be closer to the centre of town as there is not a lot footfall here.
“We’re definitely happy about the decision, despite it being a lot of stress.”
The unit is listed with Montpellier Property Consultants and is £18,000 per year to rent.
Long-standing Harrogate sandwich business for sale
A long-standing sandwich takeaway in Harrogate is up for sale.
Wedges & Co has been a mainstay on Cold Bath Road for many years.
But the owners are looking to sell the business and have a “well-deserved retirement”, according to listing agent Alan J Picken
Wedges, which sells hot drinks, breakfasts and cakes as well as hot and cold sandwiches, is on the market as a leasehold business for £149,950 plus stock at valuation.
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Alan J Picken, which is an Ilkley firm that specialises in selling businesses, says the company’s 2022 takings were £268,397 and net profit was “in excess of £100,000”.
The listing says:
“The business currently operates on most convenient opening hours five days a week, however there is scope to extend opening hours particularly Saturday to Sunday to increase sales and maximise profits.
“There is also scope to maximise sales via increasing the outside catering book and large sandwich orders for events/lunches.”
Wedges declined to comment about the sale when contacted by the Stray Ferret.
Bar owner beats council in court to create ‘cool place’ on Cold Bath RoadA Harrogate bar owner will be raising a glass or two after successfully appealing alcohol licence restrictions that he says would have made trading from his Cold Bath Road premises “impossible”.
Dave Swallow received a licence for his bar, AAA, in November, but it came with conditions.
Harrogate Borough Council said he had to build a barrier to separate his forecourt seating area from the pavement; he had to build a lobby as a sound-proofing measure; and he could only serve alcohol till 9pm.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I couldn’t comply with those conditions as well as the building regulations and the fire regulations all at the same time. It was just physically impossible.”
So he took North Yorkshire Council, which assumed all Harrogate Borough Council’s functions on April 1, to court – and won. He no longer has to build the barrier or the lobby, and may now serve alcohol from 12 noon till 11pm, as is the norm for bars and pubs in England.
He said:
“I’m elated. The waiting is over, the amalgamation of work and stress has lifted and I’ve cleared that hurdle.
“Now I’ve got a long list of things to do to make sure I comply with the remaining licence conditions, but that’s fine – all bars have to do that. The main thing is, we’re serving now!”
AAA, pronounced triple-A, is a bar that also sells vinyl records and merchandise from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel. He said he wanted to create “a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks”.
He added:
“We’re getting in more vinyl by the week, and we’ll soon be serving breakfast, lunch and sociable, picky stuff in the evenings, such as charcuterie and cheeseboards.
“We’re taking on more staff and we’ll be having an opening party on July 14. After months of waiting, this court victory means we can finally move ahead with our plans.”
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Harrogate bar to permanently keep covered outdoor area
District Bar in Harrogate is to keep its covered outdoor seating area constructed during covid.
The bar opened on Cold Bath Road in September 2019, just a few months before the town’s hospitality industry was turned on its head by covid.
Like many other bars and restaurants during the pandemic, District Bar was granted approval by the council to erect a semi-permanent metal structure on its patio to allow customers to sit outside.
Not only did the covered area allow customers to sit away from each other during covid restrictions, it also became a dry and warm space during the winter months and helped to block out noise from the bar onto the street.
Last week North Yorkshire Council approved a planning application to see the structure remain on the site for good.
The council has stipulated the area must close by 9pm when customers have to move inside.
How it previously looked
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Planning documents submitted by the owner of District Bar said:
A-ha’s sound man opens record shop and bar in Harrogate“Following a well received launch we were then, like the rest of the world, thrust into the unknown with covid and the challenges it brought.
“Like many other small local businesses, we struggled to exist and get through it. But we consider ourselves part of the local fabric and community, and to that end received tremendous support from local public.
“In 2020, since we couldn’t operate inside due to covid restrictions, we applied and received permission for a ‘semi-permanent’ structure to be erected on our patio connected to the bar.
“What we have found since its erection, is we disrupt our local community even less than we did before since noise is no longer an issue (prior we had people outside talking till 9pm) and as well as that an area where people still sceptical of covid and contagion can distance them selves from our main inside bar area.
“It has created a warm and cosy area for people to still keep safe distances.”
A sound engineer who has worked for some of the biggest names in pop has opened a vinyl coffee house and bar in Harrogate.
Dave Swallow’s CV includes stints with Amy Winehouse, Erasure and James, and he still routinely joins Norwegian mega-band A-ha on tour. But he’s launched a new venture that brings his love of music to the town he now calls home.
AAA (pronounced triple-A) on Cold Bath Road is currently operating as a coffee house, open from 9 to 5pm, but a temporary licence over the spring bank holiday weekend will see it function as the bar it is meant to be, open till 11pm.
AAA on Cold Bath Road also has outdoor seating.
From early July, when it receives its full alcohol licence, AAA will be a coffee house and bar that also sells vinyl records and clothes from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel.
Dave, who is originally from Southend-on-Sea but has lived in Harrogate for 16 years, said:
“Last July, I was touring with A-ha, playing Rio de Janeiro and the Hollywood Bowl, and then just two days later I was back here, being handed the keys to this place.
“Ultimately, I just want to create a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks.”
Dave Swallow wants to create a cool place, with good music and drinks.
AAA currently serves hot drinks, cakes and traybakes, but as a bar it will offer wines, spirits, a range of bottled beers, and two brews on tap – a pilsner and an IPA, both made by music-inspired brewer Signature Brew.
In addition, anyone who still has any old vinyl records but no means to play them can take their discs along to AAA and Dave will play them. He said:
“Music is a language without words. It’s emotional. You can take a band from Liverpool and drop them in South America, and their sound travels. It crosses boundaries and brings people together. That’s what I’m doing here.”
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Driver banned after failing to stop at serious crash in Harrogate
A man has been banned from driving after failing to stop and report a serious crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road.
Harris Hendry-Hussain, of Swinton Court, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to three offences in relation to the crash in the early hours of March 6 last year.
The 21-year-old crashed his Volkswagen Golf into two cars, a Seat Ibiza and a Peugeot, causing “substantial damage” to both vehicles.
The crash blocked Cold Bath Road at 3.10am and left one passenger of the Volkswagen requiring hospital treatment for neck and back injuries.
In a statement at the time, North Yorkshire Police said it was “sheer luck” no one died.
Hendry-Hussain appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court for sentencing yesterday after admitting driving without insurance, failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report the accident.
The prosecution told the court that when police arrived at the crash on the morning of March 6, Hendry-Hussain was not at the scene.
Once he was found by officers and interviewed, he initially told police that he “did not know who was driving” the Volkswagen.
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The court heard that, after a forensic investigation of the car, officers interviewed the 21-year-old for a second time. He declined to comment.
He was later charged with three offences. Hendry-Hussain initially denied the charges, but later changed his plea at a hearing on April 24.
His defence told the court that Hendry-Hussain had “accepted the offences” put to him and that he had “done something really stupid”.
The court also heard that the defendant was already serving a community order for a separate offence, which was imposed by the courts after the crash.
Magistrates banned Hendry-Hussain from driving for 12 months.
He was given a 12-month community order requiring him to undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £150 in court costs.
Harrogate salon to close after 15 yearsHarrogate hair and beauty salon Dangerfield and Keane is to close after 15 years.
Owner Gerri Dangerfield announced the news on social media today, saying he “needed to address my work-life balance and spend more time with my husband, Andrew”.
The salon has been a fixture on Cold Bath Road most of this century. Mr Dangerfield, who has been a hairdresser for 49 years, previously managed Saks Hair and Beauty on Parliament Street in Harrogate.
He told the Stray Ferret he was “going out on a high” and intended to stay in the hairdressing profession, adding:
“Everything changes and it’s the right time to move on. We’ve had a great time and this is a positive decision. I’ve been flooded with emails today.”
The salon will continue to operate as normal until October 14.
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Mr Dangerfield added style director Marcus Hanson planned to open his own salon in Harrogate, and was in talks with each stylist at Dangerfield and Keane about roles, adding:
“I will almost certainly have a chair with Marcus wherever that may be.”
Explaining his decision to close the business on social media, Mr Dangerfield said:
“As you can imagine the demands of running a business the size of Dangerfield and Keane has not been easy and I now feel the time is right to take advantage of the five-year break clause in our business lease.
“I have served notice to our landlord that Dangerfield and Keane will not continue as a business once we close the current premises on Cold Bath Road on Saturday October 14.
“Although I am 62, I still have a list of things I want to achieve in my life before I retire fully from hairdressing. Retiring from running a large salon is simply the first step.
“I can only express my gratitude to all our loyal clients who have supported us over so many years. I hope I have served you well and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
He added beauty therapist Katy Smith had opened her own treatment room on Westmorland St trading under the name KS Beauty Harrogate.
Man pleads guilty to failing to stop after serious crash in Harrogate
A man has pleaded guilty to failing to stop and report a serious crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road last year.
Harris Hendry-Hussain, of Swinton Court, Harrogate, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning charged with three offences.
The 21-year-old, who spoke only to confirm his name and address, was charged with driving without insurance, failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report the accident.
The prosecution told the court Hendry-Hussain was driving a Volkswagen Golf on the morning of the incident on March 6, 2022.
At 3.10am, police were called when Hendry-Hussain’s car crashed into two parked cars on Cold Bath Road.
The prosecution said a male, who was a passenger in the Volkswagen, was left at the scene and required hospital treatment for neck and back injuries.
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It added the 21-year-old was later identified on CCTV fleeing the scene of the crash.
In a statement at the time, North Yorkshire Police said it was only by “sheer luck” that no one died as a result of the collision.
Hendry-Hussain pleaded guilty to all three charges put to him in court this morning.
Harrogate Magistrates Court adjourned the case for sentencing on May 11.
Plan approved to convert former Cold Bath Road shop into bar and cafeA plan to convert a former Cold Bath Road shop in Harrogate into a bar has been approved.
The proposal, which has been tabled by 17 Miles Ltd, will see the former store at 17 Cold Bath Road converted.
The building, next door to Lunns Blinds and Curtains, was previously occupied by Scandinavian clothes shop Bias, which has since moved to Montpellier Parade.
Now, North Yorkshire Council has approved a plan to convert it into a bar and cafe.
Documents submitted to the authority propose opening times from 4pm to 11pm Wednesday and Thursday, and 12pm to 11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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However, further details, including the name, have yet to be revealed.
Cold Bath Road already has a selection of pubs and bars, including the Fat Badger, District Bar and The Last Post.