A Knaresborough man has turned his passion into a career by opening an aquarium store in Harrogate.
Wave Aquariums will join the many independent retailers on Commercial Street when it welcomes its first customers tomorrow.
It specialises in saltwater coral reefs and marine life, such as venomous lionfish, clownfish, anemones and bamboo sharks.
Store manager Jonny Rhodes, who has kept fish tanks since he was 14, returned from 10 years in London as a website designer to pursue the venture.
He and dad Ken, who owns the business, and mum Irene have been transforming the unit that was previously a nail salon next to Harrogate Town’s club shop.
Besides tanks, accessories and equipment, it will also sell coral reefs and have a large e-commerce offering on its website.
Mr Rhodes, who studied marine biology at university at Cambridge, said:
“I’ve been debating whether to do it for years and finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it.”
He said there was a gap in the market for marine aquariums between Leeds and York.
Harrogate Aquatic, at Moorland Nurseries on Forest Moor Road in Knaresborough specialises in tropical fish and the two businesses would complement each other, he added.
Wave Aquariums is one of 80 official retailers of Red Sea Fish products in the UK and also stocks products by other aquatic companies, including Reef Factory, Ecotech Marine and D&D Aquarium Solution.
Clownfish in the store
Besides catering for specialists, Mr Rhodes said he hoped the shop would appeal to children and passers-by and was keen to offer advice to anyone interested in keeping fish or corals.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones will officially open the store on Saturday afternoon at 2pm.
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- Harrogate shops to feature in BBC programme hosted by Alan Carr
- Plan to convert former Cold Bath Road shop into bar and cafe
Albanian crime group ran huge cocaine racket in Harrogate, court hears
An Albanian organised crime group ran a cocaine and cannabis racket in Harrogate potentially worth millions, a court heard.
The mega-money conspiracy involved “kilo blocks” of cocaine and cannabis being transported between London and Harrogate where the drugs were sold on the street, a jury at Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday.
Prosecutor Katherine Robinson said the conspirators, mostly Albanian nationals, were also thought to be involved in a £1.5 million cannabis farm in Rochdale which was connected to the Harrogate operation.
Yesterday, Kole Lleshi, 54, of Hargrove Road, Harrogate, Gavin Woodley, 44, of Ashfield Road, Harrogate and Allaman Tatariku, 25, of Penhale Road, Portsmouth appeared for the first day of their trial after they each denied playing a part in the wider conspiracy.
The gang’s ringleader, former Harrogate restaurant worker Ermal Biba, 38, had already admitted his part in the lucrative drug plot, along with Kladji Lleshi, 23, of Kinloss Court, London, Dritan Lleshaj, 53, formerly of Spring Mount, Harrogate, and Adam Sarkowski, 41, formerly of Wedderburn Close, Harrogate.
Biba, of Trafalgar Court, Harrogate, admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis between June 2019 and May 2022.
Ms Robinson said Biba was the lynchpin between two distinct conspiracies in which, after his first foot soldiers were arrested, he recruited three others, namely Kladji Lleshi, Tatariku, Woodley and Sarkowski.
She said the first conspiracy involved Biba, Kole Lleshi and Dritan Lleshaj, who had also admitted, and been jailed for, possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis. Lleshaj was deported to his homeland.
‘Dealer lines’
Biba was released under investigation following his initial arrest in May 2020 for the first conspiracy but then recruited another group of conspirators and continued operating “dealer lines” in Harrogate run by an “organised-crime group”, added the prosecuting barrister.
Kole Lleshi was arrested and admitted his part in the drug operation by transporting a kilo of cocaine from London to Harrogate in September 2019. However, he denied being involved in the wider conspiracy.
Ms Robinson said police surveillance officers had been tracking Biba, Lleshaj and Kole Lleshi during the first conspiracy in 2019.
They recorded Biba and Lleshaj “meeting regularly” and were monitoring their whereabouts when, in September 2019, Biba arranged a “drug run” which involved Kole Lleshi driving to London and bringing back Class A drugs to Harrogate.
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Biba was in contact with an unknown man in London from whom Lleshi was ostensibly to collect the drugs, added Ms Robinson.
A few weeks later, Biba sent Kole Lleshi a text message saying: “We go tomorrow.”
The following day, Lleshi set off for London again in a Kia vehicle, ostensibly for a drug pick-up, and returned to Yorkshire where he was stopped by police on the A1 near Doncaster. During a search of his car, officers found a kilo block of high-purity cocaine in a plastic bag wrapped in a sock. The drugs had a “wholesale” value of £25,000.
The following day, Lleshaj was arrested after meeting Biba in a Harrogate restaurant. Lleshaj was found with £419 in cash and five wraps of cocaine.
He told police he was homeless, but they found the keys to his house in Spring Mount and searched it. They found “various quantities” of cocaine and about £2,000 cash.
High-purity cocaine
She said Woodley played the role of “facilitator” in the conspiracy by allowing the gang to supply drugs from his rented house in Ashfield Road, where they found 264g of high-purity cocaine and two large “vacuum packages” of cannabis worth up to £11,000.
Biba, Lleshaj, Tatariku and Kladji Leshi were said to be regular visitors to this property where police also found “debt lists”, cash, digital weighing scales and hydroponic equipment for growing cannabis.
Woodley was subsequently arrested at his then home in Fairfax Avenue, Harrogate, where police found a small amount of cocaine and cannabis and a torch-like stun gun.
Ms Robinson said Greater Manchester Police raided an industrial unit in Rochdale in March last year when they arrested two Albanian men after they found a large cannabis grow on an “industrial” scale.
Those two men admitted cultivating cannabis at the factory which had an estimated harvest of 144 kilos with an estimated “street value” of £1.5 million. Ms Robinson added:
“(Police) surveillance had been carried out and members of the organised crime group in Harrogate regularly visited this industrial estate in Rochdale.
“ANPR (cameras) showed Mr Biba’s vehicle travelling in that direction and Kladji Lleshi and Allaman Tatariku’s phones showed they travelled down the M62 from Harrogate to Rochdale.”
Woodley’s red Transit van also made journeys to Rochdale, said Ms Robinson.
Biba, Kladji Lleshi and Sarkowski all admitted their part in that cannabis conspiracy. Tatariku said he was involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis but that he was not involved in a conspiracy with other people.
Woodley said although he was the tenant at the Ashfield Road property, he “couldn’t remember” the name of the landlord and “knew nothing” about the drugs found there. He denied playing any part in drug supply but said he knew Biba, with whom he worked in Harrogate restaurants.
The trial continues.
Harrogate woman jailed for 10 weeksA woman from Harrogate has been jailed for 10 weeks for failing to comply with a community order.
Claire Read, 28, of Fairfax Avenue, admitted the offence when she appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday.
Read received a suspended sentence, which included a community order, on September 23 last year.
As part of this, she was required to attend an appointment on February 15 but failed to do so.
Court documents say Read was jailed for ‘wilful and persistent failure to comply with the requirements of a community order’.
The documents added her guilty plea was taken into account when the sentence was imposed.
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- Ripon man jailed for assaulting woman while on bail
- Knaresborough man jailed for ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’
Business Breakfast: Harrogate Specsavers director retires after 30 years
It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 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 opticians director is set to retire after 30 years in business.
Robert May, director of Harrogate Specsavers, has overseen the growth of the opticians on Beulah Street from three test rooms and six staff to 11 testing rooms and a team of 50 people.
Mr May will leave the store to optometrist directors Fraz Khan and Caroline Sullivan, as well as Andrew Bryer, retail director.
On his retirement, Mr May said:
“I often say to people, in what other job do you get the opportunity to make a difference to someone’s life every 20 minutes?
“There’s so much more to it than just getting customers new glasses. I’ve experienced the industry progress from pen and paper to full retinal photos and OCT scans, the level of holistic eye healthcare we can provide is really exciting.”
Mr Khan added:
“Robert has been a pleasure to work with over the last two years and he will be dearly missed by staff and customers alike.
“He’s gone above and beyond during his 30 years as an optometrist director and we hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement.”
New legal director at Harrogate law firm
Raworths Solicitors in Harrogate has appointed a new legal director.
Heather Roberts has been hired to the company’s growing commercial property team.
Heather Roberts and Matthew Hill. Picture: Rachel Creer.
Ms Roberts joins the firm with 20 years of experience of acting for investors, developers, landlords, tenants and banks.
She said:
“I have been aware of Raworths’ reputation as a legal firm which builds lasting relationships with its clients, and at the heart of that is the unique way the team can draw upon the skills and expertise of their colleagues across disciplines.
“This approach really appeals to me, and I’m excited to add to the incredible pool of talent here to help grow the commercial property business.
“The firm proactively supports and nurtures the ongoing development of its team at all levels, and I also hope to play a key role in cultivating the skills of our expanding team going forwards.”
Matthew Hill, head of commercial client services at Raworths, said:
“We welcome Heather, whose specialist commercial property expertise will be a huge asset to our growing team which has benefitted from a raft of new client wins over the past few months.
“There are major opportunities for us to grow our business in this sector, driven by a stronger than anticipated market post-pandemic and growth more broadly across the region where the demand for space continues to surge.
“Heather’s appointment is part of a strategic recruitment drive for our commercial team as we look to grow our client portfolio across the region and nationwide.”
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Harrogate Cricket Club launches £75,000 nets appeal
Harrogate Cricket Club has launched a £75,000 fundraising appeal to buy four cricket nets.
The nets would enable the club, which has four senior teams, 150 junior players and walking cricket for over-55s, to practise using some of the best facilities in the district.
It currently has only two overused nets in poor condition at its St George’s Road ground.
The crowdfunder campaign therefore initially aims to raise £30,000 and would make the new facilities open to the wider community.
The club has found donors willing to match fund that amount so the £30,000 target would generate £60,000. A further £15,000 may be required as the cost of the new nets could be as high as £75,000.
The existing nets were damaged in a recent storm.
The crowdfunding page said:
“We want to be able to provide some of the best cricket facilities in the north of England. But we’re currently falling well short of where we want to be.
“We only have two nets for hundreds of players and they are really old and tired. We have constant issues with net congestion, i.e. too many players and not enough nets and this significantly impacts our players’ ability to practise and develop.”
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The nets will, according to the club, “allow each cricketer to develop at their own pace, with enough ‘net time’ to discover their strengths and work on their confidence”.
The first team plays in the Yorkshire Premier League and is coached by former Yorkshire player Matt Pillans.
Female cricket has boomed in recent years and the club’s girls section now has three teams across three age groups.
A club graphic showing how the new nets would look.
The appeal adds:
“There is a real lack of quality net facilities in North Yorkshire. We believe we can build an outstanding facility that will serve our players, their families, and the broader cricketing community for years to come.”
You can support the campaign here.
Coronation Competition: A crown fit for the King
To celebrate Charles III’s coronation, the Stray Ferret and Ogden of Harrogate are holding a competition for children to design two crowns fit for the royal occasion.
The lucky winners will have their dazzling crowns displayed in Ogden of Harrogate’s shop window – showcased alongside Ogden’s very own Imperial State Crown.
We’re inviting school pupils of all ages to get creative. Two winners will be selected: one of primary school age and one of secondary school age.
We will be posting photos of entries regularly across on our social media channels during the competition – so, the more the merrier.
The Ogden Crown:
Traditional luxury jeweller, Ogden of Harrogate, was founded in 1893 by James Ogden.
The company established its royal connections nearly a century ago, after Prince George, son of George V and Queen Mary, became a frequent customer of the St James’s store in London.
In celebration of George VI’s Coronation in 1937, Ogden of Harrogate’s team hand-crafted two replicas of the Imperial State Crown.
One of Ogden of Harrogate’s replica crowns.
The jewels on the crown mirror those in the Royal crown, including the Cullinan 2 diamond – a cut from the largest diamond ever discovered.
The Ogden crowns boast exact replicas of the diamonds, ruby’s, pearls, emeralds, and sapphires found in the Imperial State Crown.
Robert Ogden, director of Ogden of Harrogate, said:
“It is a treat to have the crown out.
“It is only on display during Royal occasions”.
How to Enter:
To enter: please submit a photo of your crown drawing, painting or creation to our website here.
The competition will run from March 27 until April 21.
The crowns will be on display in the Harrogate store from 28 April until 13 May.
Will you be crowned a winner…?
Concern over tree felling as part of Kex Gill rerouteConcern has been raised over tree felling as part of the £69 million Kex Gill realignment.
The project, which is North Yorkshire County Council’s most expensive and ambitious, will reroute a landslip-blighted road between Harrogate and Skipton.
As part of the scheme, the authority has started to clear woodland off the A59.
However, residents have raised concern that the move is “disproportionate” to the highways project.
Sheenagh Powell, who lives nearby, said the move was “distressing”.
She said:
“Hundreds of trees have already been felled which appears totally disproportionate to the scheme.
“The environmental impact is huge.”
However, county council officials have defended the move and said site clearance had been undertaken now to avoid the bird nesting season.
A spokesperson added:
“The stretch of the A59 at Kex Gill runs through important habitats including a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
“Plans are in place to mitigate the impact on wildlife in the area such as barn owls, bats, nightjars, wild game, toads and badgers.”
Read more:
- Kex Gill: A project seven years in the making
- Minister ‘open’ to inflation funding discussions for A59 Kex Gill
- Government gives final go-ahead for £69m Kex Gill reroute to start
The A59 at Kex Gill, near Blubberhouses, is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton. Since 2000, the route has been closed 12 times following landslips.
Ministers at the Department for Transport gave the final go-ahead for the route last month.
The move will see the road rerouted to the west of Blubberhouses and is expected to be completed in May 2025.
The scheme has faced numerous delays and, following tender returns, the estimated cost of the scheme increased by £7.2 million to £68.8 million, which the council attributed to inflation affecting constructions costs.
The project will be funded by a £56.1 million grant from the Department for Transport, with the council covering the rest from its reserves.
A further £11 million has been factored into the budget to cover any issues with ground conditions or bad weather.
Business Breakfast: Lawyer retires after 30 years in HarrogateIt’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 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.
LCF Law held a party at Piccolino in Harrogate to say farewell to partner Tim Axe, who will retire at Easter after 30 years as a lawyer in Harrogate.
Planning specialist Mr Axe is a partner in the law firm, which has offices in The Exchange building on Station Parade in Harrogate as well as in Leeds, Bradford and Ilkley.
Managing partner Simon Stell paid tribute to Mr Axe, who plans to go travelling with his wife in a camper van.
Harrogate finance firm appoints new commercial officer
A Harrogate financial firm has hired a new chief commercial officer.
Dan Baines has joined Tower Street Finance and has been tasked with spearheading the firm’s growth in the probate lending sector.
Dan Baines, new chief commercial officer at Tower Street Finance.
Mr Baines is widely credited as being a driving force behind Age Partnership’s rise to market leadership in the equity release sector and was also a founding director of award-winning equity release provider, Pure Retirement.
He said:
“I’m delighted to be joining the team at Tower Street and look forward to helping this exciting market to reach its potential.
“As was the case with the equity release sector some 15 years ago, I see in the probate-lending market an innovative product set that can significantly improve the lives of customers.
“Probate lending is already the fastest-growing UK consumer credit market, and this is despite consumer awareness still being low.”
Robert Husband, chief executive officer of Tower Street Finance, added:
“We are thrilled to have Dan come on board at this exciting time in our development.
“We have already experienced significant growth and made good strides towards building this new and innovative sector. Dan brings a wealth of experience which will help us to continue this journey.”
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Harrogate council’s biggest moments: A shopping revolution, Royal Hall rebirth and controversial new offices
With Harrogate Borough Council in its final days, the Local Democracy Reporting Service looked at five major moments that defined it.
From controversy over the Harrogate conference centre to the move from Crescent Gardens to the Civic Centre — the council has played a major role in the look, feel and development of the district for the last 49 years.
As well as searching the archives of the Harrogate Advertiser we spoke to some of the people who were involved at the time to give a picture of how these five events unfolded.
1992: The future of shopping comes to Harrogate
Speak to a Harrogate resident over the age of around 40 it’s likely they will talk with fondness about the town’s former indoor market that was demolished in 1991.
For some, shopping has never quite been the same since the council approved the demolition so it could be replaced with the £50m Victoria Shopping Centre.
The old market was well-loved and included butchers, fishmongers, florists, needlecraft shops, second-hand book and record shops and much more.
But the late 20th century was the era of the shopping mall and there were hopes in Harrogate that a more modern facility would revitalise the town centre and attract major national brands. The market traders would be invited to take the space downstairs as part of the project.
Funding came from National Provident Institution and it was developed in partnership between Harrogate Borough Council and Speyhawk Retail plc.
The plans included a council-owned 800-space multi-storey car park on the other side of the train tracks with a bridge to connect shoppers.
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But the scheme was developed during the recession of the early 1990s that hit the town hard.
Harrogate’s bus station had been boarded up due to financial difficulties and the letters pages of the Harrogate Advertiser was full of fears about the town becoming a wasteland of empty shops and buildings.
During construction, market traders were moved to a temporary market on Station Parade while they eagerly awaited their new home to open.
Excitement was building and in early 1992 the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce suggested good times were finally around the corner. It called on the Harrogate public to be more positive.
The business group had a punchy statement published in the Advertiser. It said:
“We’ve had enough! We’re sick and tired of the Harrogate and district moaners. All they do is complain, complain, complain and never look for the encouraging signs all around us.”
The Victoria Shopping Centre was designed by architects Cullearn & Phillips and was inspired by Palladio’s Basilica in Vicenza.
But its most controversial aspect were the sculptures depicting customers and staff on the balustrade around the roof line.
Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam desribed the statues as “quite hateful” resident Simon Townson told a reporter they were “grotesque and not for Harrogate” and the Harrogate Civic Society led calls to see them removed.
However they are still there to this day after the developer insisted they were a fundamental part of the design.
In the summer of 1992, Speyhawk revealed that 40% of the units had been filled by brands including Tie Rack, Levi’s and the Body Shop.
The underground market hall was opened on October 20 by then-mayor of Harrogate Barbara Hillier, with the rest of the shopping centre opening on November 9.
There was a wave of optimism from shoppers who described the town’s new venue as the future of shopping.
There were 54 units for market traders on the ground floor and they were quickly occupied. Butcher Brian Noon told the Advertiser in 1992:
“I think its brilliant! The developers have thrown a lot of money at it to make sure the building is tip-top.”
Harrogate Wools owner Bill Lee was similarly optimistic about the building’s future. He said:
“It will bring people back to Harrogate because they definitely have not been coming. I haven’t heard one complaint.”
The Victoria Shopping Centre was built in the years just before internet shopping took hold, which was perhaps not to have been foreseen.
Enthusiasm slowly ebbed away during the 1990s and 2000s as the market traders on the ground floor left one-by-one.
Today, the Victoria Shopping Centre still features big high-street names like WHSmith, TK Maxx and HMV. The town’s post office also moved there in 2019.
It’s now owned but not run by Harrogate Borough Council. The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last year its value has fallen by more than 80% in 10 years.
Harrogate Borough Council said it could receive a boost in shoppers if another controversial scheme, the Station Gateway, goes ahead.
But that will be a decision for North Yorkshire Council.
2008: A dilapidated Royal Hall brought back to former glory
The Royal Hall’s halcyon days saw it host the likes of the Beatles as well as the music, arts and comedy stars of the time.
But by the turn of the twentieth century, Harrogate’s grandest council-owned building had fallen into rack and ruin. In 2002 it closed to the public after part of its famous ceiling collapsed.
It’s downfall was in part, due to the town’s conference centre being such a drain on the council’s resources, according to the book Kursal – a History of Harrogate’s Royal Hall.
Royal Hall by Jim Counter
It was in such a poor state of repair that the unthinkable was being broached by councillors — after almost 100 years the Royal Hall could be condemned and demolished.
Refurbishment was originally estimated to cost £8.56m with the council likely to having to stump up £2m from its own coffers. The remaining amount would come from a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
However, there were fears the risky project could potentially bankrupt the authority.
Its emotional importance to the town was not only felt by residents in the town but by performers too.
David Hirst, who led the world famous brass band the Brighouse and Rastrick Band, made his plea from the stage of the Royal Hall in 2000.
He urged the audience, reduced in capacity because the theatre’s upper circle has been closed due to the crumbling concrete, to “get those letters in” to the council and back restoration. He said:
“This building is part of the Harrogate heritage, part of the tone of Harrogate.”
The Royal Hall Restoration Trust was formed in 2001 after then-leader of the council, Cllr Geoff Webber, suggested to the chairman of Harrogate Civic Society, Lilian Mina, that the council would welcome the support of an independent organisation whose prime role would be raising money for the refurbishment.
Then followed tea dances, school concerts, charity balls and other events, which raised £2.7m for the restoration — far more than the £1m it originally expected.
Lilian Mina died in 2008 and Geoff Webber died in 2021 but his son Matthew Webber, who is currently a Liberal Democrat Harrogate councillor, paid tribute to those who spearheaded the campaign to save the Royal Hall.
It was officially re-opened by patron of the trust Prince Charles in 2008 after six years of works.
Cllr Webber said:
“I am very proud of the work done by my late father as council leader at the time in conjunction with the Lilian Mina and the Royal Hall Preservation Trust that led to the Royal Hall being returned to its continued use today.”
2017: Goodbye to Crescent Gardens and a new home
Like the conference centre throughout the 1980s, it was Harrogate Borough Council’s move away from Crescent Gardens that dominated council-business during the mid-2010s.
Crescent Gardens had been used by HBC since 1974 and before that was used by the predecessor council in Harrogate ever since it opened on Halloween 1931.
But by the 21st century, the neo-classical building was showing its age and had become expensive to maintain for the council.
In 2010, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power and councils were ordered to find savings under its programme of austerity.
The civic centre at Knapping Mount.
For the council, Crescent Gardens was an obvious place to look.
The council put forward several proposals, which included refurbishing Crescent Gardens, but it ultimately decided to build new offices on land it already owned at Knapping Mount off King’s Road.
At the time, it said the build would cost £8m although the move, as well as the selling off of other offices, would save around £1m in year due to reduced costs involved with maintaining the older buildings.
Tantalisingly for the council, there were hopes it could sell Crescent Gardens to a luxury developer.
Then-council leader Don Mackenzie was quoted saying it could generate an investment of up to £30m into the district’s economy.
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Another former Conservative council leader, Anthony Alton, told a meeting the move was probably the biggest decision the council has taken since 1974. He added:
“We are in a continuing economic downturn which means that we have to make every penny count.”
The move to the Civic Centre was always contentious.
The Liberal Democrats argued that £2.5m should be spent on a refurbishment of Crescent Gardens and the Knapping Mount site should be sold for affordable housing.
They also criticised its circular design, saying it would increase costs.
By 2015, rumblings of another local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire were beginning to gather pace and questions were being asked about what would happen to the Civic Centre if there was no longer a council in Harrogate.
Vicky Carr is a former reporter at the Harrogate Advertiser and current deputy editor at the Stray Ferret.
She remembers the subject coming up at a heated Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce meeting that year.
She said:
“Someone wondered whether it made sense to be spending millions on a new headquarters for a local authority which, under government policy, was likely to be abolished within a decade.
“HBC offered reassurances that, should devolution go ahead, a shiny new civic centre would make Harrogate an ideal place for a new unitary authority to have its headquarters.
“Fast forward eight years and, while North Yorkshire Council will use the civic centre for some staff and services, it is keeping its headquarters firmly rooted in Northallerton.”
In 2020, the Stray Ferret published an investigation that estimated the land at Knapping Mount was worth £4.5m to the council, taking the project’s overall cost to £17m. However, the council has always disputed this.
Apart from during the covid lockdowns, council staff have been using the Civic Centre since December 2017.
Crescent Gardens on the other hand is still empty, almost five years’ since Harrogate Borough Council moved out.
The council originally announced it would sell it to property developer Adam Thorpe who had plans for a £75m redevelopment including luxury apartments, an art gallery, underground car park, swimming pool and restaurant.
But two years later, Mr Thorpe’s company ATP Ltd fell into administration with debts of almost £11m, including £24,394 owed to the council.
Crescent Gardens then went back up for sale and was eventually bought for £4m by Impala Estates in 2020.
The Harrogate-based developer was granted planning permission last year for a major refurbishment of the building that will see two-storey extension, rooftop restaurant, gym and new office space.
Stray Views: Residents ‘up in arms’ at Harrogate gateway traffic ordersStray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Town centre residents are once again up in arms regarding the announcement of road traffic orders for the Harrogate Station Gateway project.
Having raised concerns over the past 18 months by each person writing into object, they have written to every single councillor involved in the scheme and they have democratically voted against it.
The results of the last three consultations results show that the people of Harrogate Town as well as the Granville Road Residents Group are not in favour of this Scheme going ahead.
They have received an ‘Official Notification’ to raise their concerns again, about this scheme, along with any other residents in Harrogate.
However, the local Granville Road Area Residents have concerns on many levels about the whole scheme in its entirety including the construction works and access to their homes during this. Many of the town centre residents also run small businesses and need to access local roads.
They feel democracy is failing them in this ‘consultation process’ after already voting against this gateway scheme, in the last three consultations. Results have shown over 56% of the whole of Harrogate town have voted against the Harrogate Gateway Scheme.
They have now another opportunity to raise their concerns and vote democratically against it, but who is listening and taking notice of these results.
Rachael Inchboard, Harrogate
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‘Ugly box’ destroys Knaresborough flower bed
Would someone please take a look at where Swish Fibre have placed an ugly large box at the junction of Manse Lane/York Road in Knaresborough.
Not only have they placed it directly in front of the flower bed (planted & looked after by Harrogate council) but in doing so have also destroyed lots of Daffodil bulbs.
Shaun Carrick, Knaresborough
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.