Fashion retailer Jules B set to open new Harrogate store tomorrow

Luxury fashion retailer Jules B is set to open a new store in Harrogate tomorrow.

The boutique, which will be in the former Jaeger unit on Cambridge Crescent, will sell womenswear.

The retailer offers collections by designers including Oska, Holland Cooper, NU London, Rag and Bone and Barbour International.

Owners Julian Blades and his wife, Rhona, opened their first womenswear store in Jesmond in 1984.

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Mr Blades said its brands “will be perfect for the sophisticated customer demographic in Harrogate and surrounding areas”.

He added:

“After years of planning to find the perfect location, our newest and biggest store in Harrogate is an inspiring womenswear shopping destination that covers two fantastic floors.

“We knew the time was right when the old Jaeger unit became available as it perfectly suits the Jules B aesthetic.”

An official launch event will take place on September 22.

Why is there so much paint on the pavements in Harrogate town centre?

Anyone visiting Harrogate town centre recently will have noticed colourful doodles on footpaths by Station Parade, James Street and Cheltenham Parade.

It’s not a conceptual art project and has an important purpose, according to North Yorkshire County Council who painted them.

Paint is sometimes added to footpaths before roadworks take place to help engineers identify underground services such as water pipes, electricity cables or broadband.

The £11.2m Station Gateway scheme is arguably the biggest infrastructure project to come to Harrogate in decades and the sheer scale of the project means there is now “gateway graffiti” splattered in front of many shops, cafes and restaurants.

NYCC said the paint is semi-permanent and will wear off, but it could still be there during Harrogate’s busy Christmas period.

North Yorkshire County Council’s assistant director of highways and transportation, Barrie Mason, said:

“The markings are necessary to identify underground services as part of the planning work for the proposed Harrogate Gateway scheme, if the decision is taken for the project to go ahead, and is routine practice to help avoid problems in many situations where contractors will be working.

“The paint is semi-permanent and will wear off over a matter of months but care is taken to keep its use to a minimum.”

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When will work start on the Station Gateway?

The project is still yet to be given the final green light.

A third round of public consultation recently ended.

But last night, Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at NYCC, told businesses that work is likely to start next year if councillors approve it.

Cllr Duncan also discussed whether inflation will increase the final cost of the project.

No requirement for staff day off on Queen’s funeral, says Harrogate solicitor

A Harrogate solicitor has said there is “no legal requirement” for employees to be given a day off for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The government has announced that Monday’s state funeral will be a national bank holiday.

Consequently, many businesses plan to close and give staff the day off. But there is confusion over whether they are legally obliged to do so.

James Austin, from Harrogate-based LCF Law, today clarified the situation.

Mr Austin, who specialises in employment law, said although it was likely many employees would be given time off, it was not a legal requirement for all employers.

He said:

“For example, employees may be eligible if their contract of employment states that they are entitled to say ‘20 days holiday plus bank holidays’. However, if the contract refers to the employee only being entitled to ‘the usual bank holidays,’ this wouldn’t apply.

“In addition, they might not get the day off if, for example, the contract refers to 28 days’ holiday including ‘bank holidays,’ which could mean an employer simply deducts a day’s holiday from the non-bank holiday entitlement.”

Mr Austin added:

“However, this is a unique national moment so we suspect the majority of employers will give staff the time off, which is what we saw with the Jubilee.

“Where employees are entitled to the day off, but the employer wants them to work, the contract will usually state whether the employer can require this and, if so, whether the employee is entitled to extra pay or time off in lieu.”

LCF Law employs more than 125 people at offices in Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford and Ilkley.

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Business Breakfast: Cost-saving expert is on hand to help Ripon businesses

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Ripon Business Improvement District is urging businesses who are looking for help or advice with navigating the ever-changing business cost market to get in touch.

Appointments with the BID’s cost-saving expert, Rishi Sood of Place Support Partnership (PSP) were originally planned for September 19, but have re-scheduled to October 20, following the Queen’s death.

BID manager Lilla Bathurst (pictured) said:

“Our aim is to deliver on issues that are important to our member businesses and cost saving in the current economic climate is considered high priority.

“In response to business needs, PSP were commissioned by Ripon BID to support local businesses through our Place Saving Programme focussing on business critical spend areas including energy, telecoms, merchant services and water.”

Appointments can be made via info@riponbid.co.uk or by calling call 01765 530 910.

The new units on Cambridge Street.

The new units on Cambridge Street.

Project to bring Harrogate retail unit back into use complete

A project to bring a vacant Harrogate retail unit back into use has been completed.

The boarded-up shop on Cambridge Street was purchased by Broadland Properties in 2020 and the 25,000 sq ft former Topshop store has now been reconfigured into a mixed-use retail and leisure development.

It now includes Cosy Club, Sainsbury’s Local and Skipton Building Society.

Matt Harriman, associate direct at GV&Co which project managed the scheme, said:

“It’s great to see this scheme come to such a successful conclusion, with an impressive line-up of new retail and leisure tenants taking their place on this busy Harrogate high street.

“The unit had been vacant since 2017 and we managed the extensive enabling works to divide the property into separate units, with new services and several structural changes to suit the revised layouts, as well as external refurbishments over three phases. These included new windows, stone cleaning, and stonework repairs.

“Now fully let and brought back to life with Sainsbury’s, Cosy Club and Skipton Building Society all in place, we have thoroughly enjoyed working with a big project team that included engineers, GGP, architects, DLA, RGP building control specialists, Ball and Berry letting agent, Robinson Webster managing agent, Ryden, Brentwood Consulting Engineers, and contractor JP Wild for Broadland Properties.”

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Harrogate man banned from keeping animals after cruelty case

A Harrogate man has been disqualified from owning pets for five years after being found guilty of neglecting two dogs.

Charlie Nelson, 28, of Woodfield View, was found to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act at York Magistrates Court yesterday.

The court heard Nelson did not take reasonable steps to look after a mastiff called Rocco and a lurcher called Smudge at High Street, Harrogate, on March 18 last year.

Court documents reveal he was banned from keeping animals “to ensure no animals suffer at the hands of the defendant during this period”.

They also show an order was made under section 33 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 depriving him of ownership of a dog and for its disposal.

Nelson was also ordered to pay costs of £200 and a surcharge of £95 to fund victims’ services.

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North Yorkshire Police issued warrants in July for the arrest of Nelson and his brother Robbie Nelson after they failed to turn up in court to face animal cruelty charges.

Robbie Nelson, 24, of Woodfield View, was subsequently banned from keeping animals for five years.

The RSPCA said Rocco and Smudge were malnourished and living in a flat covered in faeces and with carpets soaked in urine.

Robbie Nelson RSPCA

An RSPCA picture of the flat where the brothers kept dogs.

 

Valley Gardens sculptures to be removed today

The kiwi and marlin sculptures are being removed today from the New Zealand garden in Valley Gardens due to rot.

The garden commemorates Harrogate’s twinning with Wellington and the country’s airmen being stationed in the town during the Second World War.

Chainsaw sculptor Mick Burns carved the marlin, kiwi and a carved Maori bench in 2010.

In 2020, suspected vandals also ripped chunks out of the Kiwi bird and hastened its decline.

Friends of Valley Gardens, a charity that helps Harrogate Borough Council look after the park, said:

“It was always known that when these sculptures were carved that they had a limited life, the softwood rots naturally, but they will be sadly missed.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council if it has plans to replace the sculptures.

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Man jailed for biting police officer in Harrogate

A notorious thug has been jailed for biting a police officer following a disturbance in Harrogate town centre.

Adam Snowdon, 31, was arrested following a drunken incident in Parliament Street and brought into Harrogate Police Station, where he bit one officer and allegedly assaulted two others.

He was charged with affray and assaulting three police officers. 

He initially denied all allegations but admitted affray on the day of trial. 

Snowdon, of Lupton Close, Glasshouses, was tried by a jury on three allegations of assaulting a police officer.

At York Crown Court yesterday (Monday, September 12), he was found guilty of one count of assaulting a policeman but not guilty of attacking the two others.

The substantive charge on which he was found guilty was biting a named officer at the police station on Beckwith Head Road on May 1. 

Prosecutor Ben Whittingham said that Snowdon was on a community order at the time for previous offences, including violence against police officers. 

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Defence barrister Allan Armbrister said Snowdon was “very much a loner” who desperately needed help after years of mental-health issues. 

He said Snowdon had not yet received that professional help and would now “lose that chance” due to the inevitable jail sentence for his “awful behaviour” in the town centre in May.

He added that Snowdon had recently become a father but any hopes of family life were now “completely lost” because his now-ex partner didn’t want “anything more to do with him”.

Snowdon, who was no stranger to prison, had been diagnosed with behavioural problems as a child.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, said he had “taken a chance” with Snowdon when he gave him a community order earlier this year, but jail was now the only option because of his “bad” record for violence.

He said although Snowdon didn’t start the violence in the town centre, it was a “prolonged incident thereafter, on a busy street where people are fed up with…drunken violence”. 

Jailing Snowdon for 19 months, the judge said he would reserve all future cases involving the Harrogate man to himself and would “come down on you like a tonne of bricks if you cause trouble in North Yorkshire’s towns and cities”.

Snowdon will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Plans to convert former Slug & Lettuce in Harrogate

Plans have been submitted to convert the Herald Buildings in Harrogate, which was most recently home to the Slug & Lettuce pub, into four retail units and apartments.

Built in the 1850s, the buildings were also the headquarters of the Harrogate Advertiser newspaper for much of the last century until it moved out in 1990.

The Slug & Lettuce chain then occupied part of the buildings for nearly 30 years before closing in May last year.

Plans were submitted last week by Leeds-based developer Rushbond PLC to give it a new lease of life.

It hopes to subdivide the downstairs pub into four retail units and convert the upstairs area into five apartments.

It’s in the Montpellier Quarter which is a popular area for boutique shops.

The plans have been designed by Harrogate-based SPX Architects. Documents say the development would “enhance the area’s reputation” as a destination for independent boutique-style shops.

It says:

“The proposals generate a sustainable, long-term use for the upper floors of this locally designated heritage asset and simultaneously improve its energy efficiency and visual contribution to the area.

“Moreover, the replacement of a large public house and its associated outdoor eating and drinking areas with a scheme providing a complementary mix of small high-quality ground floor retail units to those found on Montpellier Mews, Montpellier Parade and Montpellier Street only serves to enhance the areas reputation as a destination for independent boutique style shops.”

HBC will decide on the plans at a later date.

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Inquest hears how Harrogate boy had taken multiple drugs

An inquest into the death of 16-year-old Ben Nelson-Roux heard how he had multiple drugs in his system, including cocaine and diazepam, when he died.

Ben, a former student at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died in Harrogate on April 8 2020.

His body was found by his mum, Kate, at Harrogate Borough Council-run homeless hostel Cavendish House. He had been living there since February of that year.

The hostel on Robert Street is intended for adults and has 9 bedsits.

The inquest into Ben’s death is expected to last twelve days and began this morning at the North Yorkshire Coroner’s Office in Northallerton.

Ben, who left St Aidan’s in 2019, was a known drug user and two days before he died was deemed by NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to be ‘at significant risk of death’.

He was also recognised by authorities as a victim of child criminal exploitation from county lines drug dealers.

The inquest into Ben’s death will explore the decision by the North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to place Ben in an adult homeless hostel, given his age, vulnerability, and what was known about his lifestyle at the time.

Toxicology report

The inquest heard how cannabis, tablets and white powder were found in Ben’s room when he died.

Two days before his death Ben attended accident and emergency at Harrogate District Hospital where he said he had ingested a number of diazepam tablets as well as crack cocaine.

Dr Stephen Morley, toxicologist, told the inquest that blood and urine reports identified MDMA and cocaine as well as the painkillers diazepam and buprenorphine.  Mirtazapine and temazepam, used to treat depression and insomnia, were also found.

However, Dr Morley said all the drugs were found in “relatively low” concentrations.

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Dr Carl Gray, consultant pathologist at Harrogate District Hospital, said he was unable to undertake a full post-mortem on Ben’s body as it took place during the first covid lockdown.

He said:

“The cause of death cannot be certain as there was no internal dissections due to the pandemic. Multiple drugs were present but were low and the effects were debatable.”

Dr Gray added:

“My opinion on the balance of probability is that the most likely cause of death was multiple drug abuse and cocaine toxicity”.

Died alone

North Yorkshire Police detective sergeant Dominic Holroyd said police studied CCTV of Ben’s last movements in the hostel.

He said the footage ruled out anyone else being involved as Ben was the only person seen entering or leaving his room.

DS Holroyd added that following Ben’s death, police had made two arrests on suspicion of supplying him with the drugs but the investigation was dropped due to lack of evidence.

He also said there was no evidence that anyone at the hostel supplied him with the drugs.

The inquest continues.

Rural Harrogate has worst internet connections in county

Rural areas in Harrogate have been revealed as the worst in North Yorkshire for internet connections.

Ofcom figures show parts of the district are lagging behind Ryedale, Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Scarborough, Selby and York for superfast broadband, with 69% connectivity in rural Harrogate compared with 96% in urban areas.

Slow internet speeds can hinder economic growth and leave thousands of businesses and households plunged into “technology blackspots”.

That is according to North Yorkshire County Council, which launched its broadband company NYnet in 2007 and said the rollout of superfast internet in rural communities has involved one of the most challenging projects of its kind nationally.

It said it has invested £85 million in broadband services, although it admitted improving connectivity remains a “significant challenge”.

Alastair Taylor, chief executive of NYnet, said:

“We remain committed to providing broadband coverage across all parts of North Yorkshire, from the county’s major urban areas to the remotest communities.

“NYnet has been working for more than a decade on a programme to bring superfast broadband throughout North Yorkshire.

“More than 190,000 premises have been upgraded on Openreach’s digital network to provide faster and more reliable broadband connections.

“More than 80% of premises have now taken advantage of the dramatically improved broadband speeds which have been made available to them.”

Mr Taylor also argued that the Ofcom figures date from 2019 and since then there has been “a great deal of work conducted in both the Harrogate district as well as the whole county”.

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Across the whole of the Harrogate district, overall connectivity is now 93% – just above the county’s average of 92%, Mr Taylor said.

The latest figures come after research by the independent North Yorkshire Rural Commission – which was established by the county council and launched in 2019 – revealed that a fifth of all rural areas in the county had no broadband connection.

The council said engineering challenges have “intensified” in the past four years as its Superfast North Yorkshire project has extended into some of the most remote rural communities.

It added more than 190,000 premises have been upgraded over the past decade and that the digital network is now available to the majority of people in the county’s two national parks covering the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.

Council leader Carl Les said:

“The issue of poor broadband connectivity has been a long-standing problem for many parts of North Yorkshire, especially in communities in deeply rural areas.

“The chance to introduce these improved broadband connections is vital for businesses in the 21st century, whether they are based in the biggest town or city or in the smallest village or hamlet.

“But they are also a necessity to ensure our rural communities have a future, helping to attract families and younger people to live in the countryside to ensure services and facilities such as schools, village stores and pubs can continue to operate.

“We have made huge improvements for tens of thousands of businesses and households, but the work does not stop here and we will continue to look at how we can introduce better connections for the remaining parts of the county.”