Business Breakfast: Lawyer retires after 30 years in Harrogate

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.

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.

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

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.

Harrogate Borough Council's Civic Centre

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 orders

Stray 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.

Explained: What happens to leisure centres when Harrogate council is scrapped?

A new council is set to take over in the Harrogate district next week.

Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will make way for North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

Brimhams Active, an arms length company owned by Harrogate Borough Council, currently runs leisure services in the district.

In this article, we explain what will happen to leisure facilities under the new North Yorkshire Council.

Who currently runs leisure facilities in the district?

Currently, Brimhams Active operates leisure facilities in the Harrogate district.

The company was set up in August 2020 to run swimming pools and leisure centres.

This includes Harrogate Hydro, Knaresborough Pool, Starbeck Baths and the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.

Brimhams Active has also overseen major projects, such as the redevelopment of the Harrogate Hydro swimming pool and the construction of new facilities in Ripon and Knaresborough.

What will happen under the new council?

As of April 1, Brimhams Active will transfer over to North Yorkshire Council.

The new council will add Selby’s leisure services to the Brimhams Active portfolio from September 2024.

North Yorkshire Council will also undertake a £120,000 review of leisure services with the aim of creating a countywide model for delivering leisure and sport by 2027.

While people who use the centres may not see an immediate change, the ownership of the company will be different.

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Volunteers needed to help disabled children ride ponies

A charity that helps children with disabilities enjoy the thrill of riding ponies is appealing for volunteers.

Riding for the Disabled Association enables children from four specialist schools in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon areas to ride each week.

But each child requires three volunteers to supervise and some children are missing out because of a shortage of helpers.

The charity is therefore hosting an open session on April 25 to allow people to see what’s involved.

It seeks people aged over 16 to give three hours of time on Tuesdays, particularly in the afternoon, during term times.

Experience with horses and children is not essential and training is provided. Sessions take place at Harrogate Riding Centre at Burn Bridge.

Riding for the Disabled

Children can only ride if they have three people supervising.

Shona Crichton, principal at The Forest School, Knaresborough, said:

“For some of our children at The Forest School, the experience of being on a pony is transformational. We see children as young as five who have incredibly complex physical and or learning needs overjoyed at the freedom of movement they can’t achieve on the ground.

“Positive mood changes, confidence, social development and building core strength are other vital benefits. We are really grateful to the Riding for Disabled volunteers who give their time to make this happen”.

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Margaret Flannery, who has been volunteering for four years, said:

“I love it. Where else can I get my steps in for the day whatever the weather as we’re in an indoor arena, have a laugh with a great bunch of people, do something different to my normal routine and see what a difference I’m making to the children.

“We really need more volunteers to join us though if we are to keep the sessions running so I hope we can recruit some more much needed volunteers as I’d really miss it if we couldn’t keep going”.

About 10 volunteers are wanted. To find out more, contact Jane on 07786980195 or visit here.

 

 

 

Harrogate’s Olympic hopeful from a famous sporting family

Harrogate is home to one of Britain’s most famous sporting dynasties — the Mills family.

Dad Danny played football for England and Leeds and while his 19-year-old son Stanley is forging a career with Everton, 23-year-old son George is making a name as an international middle distance runner.

George was 1,500 metre British champion in 2020 and has realistic ambitions of representing the UK at the World Championships in Budapest this year and at the Olympics in Paris next year.

Like most international athletes he lives a nomadic life, spending winter training in South Africa and then alternating between there, Leipzig in Germany and St Moritz in Switzerland during the summer race season.

George Mills

Training in St Moritz

But his roots are firmly in Harrogate, having lived in the town for most of his childhood when he attended Ashville College, Brackenfield School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School. His youngest brother is still at St Aidan’s. George says:

“St Aidan’s is where I got properly into running. I was in Year 7 and I went to a lunchtime cross-country club every week. I started doing local school races and joined Harrogate Harriers when I was 12 or 13 where I had my first proper coach.”

Under Jo Day’s guidance at Harrogate Harriers, he improved rapidly and became under-18 European 800 metres champion at the age of 17 by running a remarkable 1 minute 48.36 seconds.

Jo recalls:

“Everything I asked George to do he did. I had to pull the reins in on him at times because he wanted to work so hard.

“He was incredibly focused. If you are going to do something in the Mills family, you do it 110%!”

George Mills and Jo Day Harrogate Harriers

George in a Harrogate Harriers shirt with coach Jo Day

In September 2017 George moved to Brighton to attend university and transferred to Brighton Phoenix, the club 1980 Olympic 800 metres champion Steve Ovett ran for. But injuries kept him off the track for three frustrating years.

He bounced back in 2020 to win British indoor and outdoor titles at 1,500 metres — the distance he now focuses on.

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But international athletics is a brutal and unforgiving sport. His senior British debut at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade last year turned into an “absolute disaster” when he thought he’d recovered from a bug only to fade to seventh in his heat.

He was then tripped in his second senior international appearance at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul this month.

George, however, doesn’t dwell on these disappointments. He says:

“You learn to roll with it. There’s always setbacks in sport. It’s how you deal with them that counts.”

Instead he is focusing on doing everything he can to have the best chance of success in the 18-month run-up to the Olympics. And we mean everything: he runs up to 180 kilometres a week in training, which even by the standards of the Mills family, where everybody exercises at least five times a week, is extreme. He jokes:

“They think I’m a bit of a weirdo because it’s so time consuming.”

Parental support

His parents are, however, totally behind him and occasionally watch him race. George, who is now a member of On Athletics Club Europe’s elite team of young runners, says:

“Having a dad from a high level sporting background was positive. He taught me about discipline and training — how I have to eat, sleep and train right and recover right. Being a professional sportsman is a 24/7 thing.”

Running may have usurped football but the bond remains strong. He grew up kicking a ball and admits he was “an absolute glory hunter as a kid” who supported Chelsea but now just supports his brother, who made his Everton debut last year.

George Mills

George runs up to 180km a week

Athletes may be the financial poor relations to footballers but the route to the top is every bit as hard.

British middle distance is currently the strongest it’s been since the 1980s golden era of Ovett, Coe and Cram so even qualifying for major championships is tough.

George, however, is up for the challenge of being an Olympian in 2024.

“The level is incredible at the moment but if I said to you ‘I don’t believe I will make it’, I would be lying. It’s my sole focus. Paris next year is the big goal. But it’s way easier said than done.”

One thing is for sure, he won’t shirk the challenge.

“I’m very much a believer in mindset and the people you surround yourself with. Success breeds success.”

Harrogate Leon site owners silent over future plans

The owners of Harrogate’s Leon site have remained tight lipped over its future amid speculation it could become a Starbucks.

The Stray Ferret revealed this month the Wetherby Road fast food venue would cease trading, with the loss of about 20 jobs, on April 2.

The site is operated by EG Group, which has a chain of forecourts across the country.

They include franchise partners such as Starbucks, Greggs and KFC.

The Stray Ferret approached EG Group to ask for an update on the site and if any replacement had been found for Leon, but we did not receive a response.

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However, a source within Leon have told the Stray Ferret that a Starbucks drive-thru is the likely option for the site.

The company considered opening a Starbucks on Wetherby Road before Leon was announced instead.

Initial plans for Starbucks

Planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council back in 2019 proposed a drive-thru “to be operated by Starbucks Coffee Company” on the site.

However, following planning approval on appeal, EG Group announced a Leon would open at the site.

Residents near to the drive-thru raised concern that the scheme was not as advertised in the initial plan.

The Stray Ferret asked the borough council in April 2022 how the company was able to build the scheme as a Leon drive-thru when the original approval for the site showed a Starbucks coffee shop.

At the time, a borough council spokesperson said:

“Permission was granted by the Planning Inspectorate for a ‘coffee shop to include a drive-thru’, not specifically for a Starbucks. 

“The Inspectorate did not add any conditions to the permission they gave restricting the use of the premises solely to a coffee shop, so it can legally be used for any other use within the same use class, which includes a drive thru food and drink establishment. 

“So permission is not required for any change of use. However, the building being built differs from the one given planning permission. Therefore, a planning application has been submitted for these changes and is under consideration.”

Harrogate shops to feature in BBC programme hosted by Alan Carr

Three Harrogate shops will feature in an episode of  BBC One’s Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr next week.

The ‘Chatty Man’ was seen filming the programme outside Westmorland Sheepskins, in Harrogate, last summer.

The episode will showcase the transformation of three independent stores – Westmorland Sheepskins, Daniel Footwear and another women’s clothing store.

The 8-part programme follows 10 designers competing for a commercial interior design contract.

The contestants take on a new interior design challenge up and down the country each week, ranging from shops and restaurants, to beach huts and bars.

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Each unit had a unique brief and design requirements, and the designers pitched their plans to the Harrogate shop owners, who decided their favourite idea and nominated a lead designer.

The designers had a budget of £3,000 and just two days to transform the allocated space.

Pic: Daniel Footwear as seen on BBC’s Interior Design Master

Westmorland Sheepskins said:

“The cats out of the bag — you probably saw the front of our shop on this week’s episode.

“It was a new experience for us that we thoroughly enjoyed, and we cannot wait to see the final edit”.

The episode will air next Tuesday at 8pm on BBC One. 

Sadly, Westmorland Sheepskins has announced the closure of its Harrogate store this week.

New tenants soon for Harrogate’s Viper Rooms and nearby bar?

Harrogate’s struggling Royal Baths could soon have two new tenants.

North Yorkshire County Council bought the site as an investment asset for £9 million in 2018 but it has not generated the returns hoped for.

When the council bought the site, the units were occupied by J D Wetherspoon, The Potting Shed bar, the Viper Rooms nightclub and Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant.

But the Potting Shed has been closed for years and the sudden demise of the Viper Rooms in December left half the units unoccupied.

Days after the Viper Rooms closed, the council said the site had attracted “significant interest from potential tenants”. But three months on it remains empty.

In an update today, Gary Fielding, the county council’s corporate director for strategic resources, said:

“A unit which did house the Viper Rooms is continuing to attract significant interest, and an agent has been appointed to co-ordinate discussions with potential tenants.

“A lease has been signed for the final unit and a dialogue with the tenant is continuing to establish when the new venture will be launched.”

The new North Yorkshire Council will assume control of the Grade II listed Royal Baths on April 1 when the county council, along with seven district councils including Harrogate Borough Council, ceases to exist.

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Spectacular display of Northern Lights over Harrogate

Harrogate’s skies were transformed into a dazzling display of colour last night due to the Northern Lights.

The Met Office said yesterday the arrival of fast solar winds could mean the aurora borealis would be visible in Scotland and possibly northern England.

Sally Margerison, a keen observer of the astral phenomenon, was once again on hand to capture it beautifully from her house in Harlow Hill.

Ms Margerison follows the Aurora Alerts twitter site, which predicts the lights could be seen again tonight over the Harrogate district. She said:

“If the aurora ovation is KP 5 or above it’s likely to be visible in northern England.

“The KP was 6 last night so I am lucky to have a good view of the northern horizon from my loft window and can easily see it if there’s clear skies.

“It’s predicted to be a high KP tonight as well.”

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