‘Sneak peek’: Harrogate’s new Manhattan-style cocktail bar

Harrogate’s answer to a Manhattan cocktail bar will open it’s doors on Friday, with the launch of 63rd+1st.

Decked out in trendy dark blue and gold, and featuring lots of greenery, the restaurant, lounge and bar on Albert Street is aimed at customers who might just want a nibble and a drink after work or a meal out with friends.

The restaurant area.

The extensive selection of cocktails, priced at around £10, include the likes of a New York Hangover and a Fuhgeddaboudit, as well as a more traditional selection. There is also a good choice of low alcohol or alcohol-free options.

With plenty of other restaurants in the area, as well as bars on nearby John Street, the venue will need to stand out from the crowd.

And general manager Eva Souza, from Harrogate, who has been in the hospitality industry for 15 years, believes it will.

She said:

“The location is really great in the town centre. I believe we are the right cocktail bar and restaurant for this particular place.

“People love to go out here and enjoy nice surroundings and I believe this is the right place for Harrogate people.

“There are a lot of Italian restaurants in this area and this is something unique. I believe it is something new for the town.

“Our bartenders are really well-trained and the bar itself is beautiful. You can sit around it and watch them prepare the cocktails.

“It’s like a home away from home and we want to be a nice, cosy place for everyone. The place is very stylish and I hope guests will be very happy here.”

General manager Eva Souza enjoying a cocktail in the lounge area.

The new 3,380 sq ft venue, which was formerly Ask Italian, seats 101, as well as another 12 outside.

The menu is inspired by Manhattan street food and features small plates to enjoy with a cocktail, as well as larger dishes.

It includes a ‘signature burger’ steaks and seafood, as well as savoury donuts, a crayfish roll and a corndog. Small plates include arancini and calamari.

Head chef Nick Chappelow, who is also from Harrogate, said:

“I’m excited to cook all of it. The menu is great.

“I like the fact that there are sharing plates on the menu. It’s more relaxed and you get to just graze, so it’s somewhere in between tapas and a main meal starter size.

“The jammy chicken lollipops are insane.

“There’s a really good team here. I’ve been a head chef for 20 plus years, so I’ve seen a lot and it’s nice to go into this going forward.

“It’s fresh and funky and we are going to hit the ground running.”

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Brunch will be served from 9am on a Friday and over the weekend and there will also be a Sunday lunch option. Diners can also choose table service or they can order and pay using a tablet.

American-style booths in the restaurant area.

The venue, which will generate 30 part-time and full-time jobs, is being developed by Hostmore PLC, which also includes TGI Fridays as part of its portfolio. It is named after the street in New York that was home to the original TGI Fridays and where Tom Cruise filmed Cocktail.

Harrogate’s branch is the third to open in the UK behind Surrey in May and Glasgow in September.

52 social homes built in Harrogate despite 1,800 households stuck on waiting list

Just 52 social homes were built last year in the Harrogate district, despite there being 1,867 households on the social housing waiting list.

The latest annual figures were published by the government yesterday.

Social homes are low-cost homes rented to tenants by housing associations or a local council. It is the only type of housing where rents are linked to local incomes with any increases limited by the government.

The charity Shelter says social housing is the only genuinely affordable type of “affordable” housing.

Affordable housing also includes homes sold under shared ownership schemes and those sold at 80% under the market rate.

The figures for the Harrogate district were criticised by both the local Liberal Democrat and Labour parties.

Lib Dem leader on Harrogate Borough Council Cllr Pat Marsh, who also sits on the council’s planning committee, said the numbers were “alarming but not surprising”.

She said the council needs to be more proactive instead of relying on developers to build them.

“New homes for social rent are being built on predominantly small infill sites such as former council garage sites and are relatively low in numbers.

“There doesn’t seem to be much of an emphasis on the council developing larger sites with social housing. When there are so many people on the housing waiting list this seems to be letting our residents down. We cannot just rely on developers providing affordable homes on their sites, as welcome as these truly are, they will not solve the problem.

“The council needs to be more proactive and that includes the new authority when it is up and running in 2023. We owe it to those people needing houses.”

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The figure of 52 is an improvement on recent years. In the three years prior to 2020/21, just 18 social homes were built out of a total of 2,355 new houses.

Margaret Smith, chair of the Harrogate & Knaresborough Constituency Labour Party, said the amount of social housing built in the last few years has been an “absolute disgrace”.

“It reflects really badly on the council and all its councillors when the waiting list for social housing is so large.”

According to Harrogate Borough Council, 359 new affordable homes were built in 2020/21 but Ms Smith said that not enough of these were genuinely affordable homes for social rent.

Ms Smith added:

“One assumes that social housing is not considered as much of a priority as the other categories in ‘affordable’.”

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate & Knaresborough Conservative Party for a response, but we did not receive one at the time of publication.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“Although we are limited by the amount of land available to us, and the high sale price of land on the open market, 359 new affordable homes were provided by Harrogate Borough Council, our partner housing associations and through the planning system last year (2020/21). In the first six months of this year, 170 new affordable homes have also been provided.

“There are currently 1,867 households on the housing waiting list. We urge anyone with a local connection to Harrogate district who would be interested in a council or housing association property to apply to join the list.”

County council meets today to discuss fate of two Harrogate primary schools

The plans for Woodfield Community Primary School to merge with nearby Grove Road Community Primary School have been met with fierce backlash from some parents.

Woodfield was put into special measures by Ofsted in January 2020. Any school judged “inadequate” by Ofsted is required to become a sponsored academy but Woodfield failed to find an academy willing to take it on.

At the meeting today county councillors will discuss whether the merger should move to a consultation period from December 2. It has already been discussed by the governing bodies of each school.

The consultation stage would last until January 22, next year with a final decision taken by the executive board in April.

Woodfield Primary School has been under-subscribed for years, according to a county council report. It currently has 49 pupils and Grove Road has 292.

New format for the schools

The Woodfield site would initially operate as a nursery for children from both schools while Grove Road would cater for children from reception to year six.

Then from September 2023, all nursery children and reception pupils would be based at the current Woodfield site, which would eventually accommodate all key stage 1 pupils. All key stage 2 children would be based at the current Grove Road site.

The county council report says if the proposals went ahead, there would be 350 primary school places available across the two sites of the amalgamated Grove Road School.

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The report spoke of the future of staff at Woodfield school:

“The county council is the employer for staff at both Grove Road Community Primary School and Woodfield Community Primary School and the Governing Bodies will seek to protect employment as far as possible for staff currently employed at Woodfield.

“A separate HR consultation process for staff and their professional associations will commence in the spring term and the Governing Bodies will most likely propose an internal transfer of staff from Woodfield to Grove Road.”

 

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning, it’s Al with you this morning, here to update you with any travel alerts to keep your journey moving.

I’ll let you know about roadworks, delayed trains and any traffic hotspots that could cause you delays.

If you spot anything, and it is safe to do so, give me a call on 01423 276197 and we can help other commuters too.

These blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

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Traffic is slow in these areas:

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8:30am – Full Update 

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Traffic is moving more slowly in these areas:

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8am – Full Update 

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There are a number of new road closures and temporary lights today, so do check the list below as delays will likely increase as more people get out and about.

Some traffic is starting to build in some areas:

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7:30am – Full Update 

Roads

Most roads seem to be clear so far this morning. There are a number of new road closures and temporary lights today though, so do check the list below as delays will likely increase as more people get out and about.

Some traffic is starting to build around the Flaxby junction of the A1(M), and on Otley Road around Killinghall.

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7am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no build ups of traffic yet.

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6.30am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no build ups of traffic yet.

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Woman wanted after fraud scam in Harrogate shop

North Yorkshire Police has appealed for information to identify a woman spotted on CCTV in a Harrogate shop after a fraud was committed.

Cash was taken from the One Stop on Crab Lane Harrogate at 10.30am on October 22.

The woman entered the shop and asked for cash to be changed into different notes and coins. The scam known as ‘ringing the change’ involves the scammer asking for various different notes and coins to confuse the cashier into giving them extra money.

Anyone who recognises the woman in the image is asked to contact the police.

If you have information contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Brendon Frith or email Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk. Quote reference number 12210226719.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Harrogate district bird owners must keep birds indoors to tackle flu

The government has ordered bird owners in the Harrogate district to keep their birds indoors to limit the spread of avian influenza, or bird flu.

There is no evidence that the virus can affect humans but it is highly contagious among birds can wipe out poultry flocks. There have been several outbreaks across the country in recent days.

Harrogate joins Hambleton and Richmondshire as new prevention zones in North Yorkshire. It means it is now a legal requirement to keep birds in housing until further notice, whether you have a few hens or thousands.

The government’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, said:

“We have taken swift action to limit the risk from wild birds and have introduced a legal requirement for all poultry and captive bird keepers three districts in North Yorkshire to keep their birds housed and to implement enhanced biosecurity.

“Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from 8PM today onwards you will be legally required to keep your birds indoors. We have not taken this decision lightly, but it is the best way to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease.

“I urge all bird keepers to be vigilant and take all necessary steps to implement the highest standards of biosecurity.”

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Harrogate council criticised for lack of drink facilities at Hydro

Harrogate Borough Council has been criticised for a lack of drinks facilities at the town’s Hydro.

Bob Kennedy, who took his children to a swimming session at the leisure centre this past weekend, said there was nowhere to get a drink at the site for parents.

The Hydro, along with other facilities in the district, is now run by council-controlled company Brimhams Active.

Mr Kennedy said the cafe, which was open before the pandemic, was closed and there were no vending machines.

He added that there was only tap water available and a member of staff told him he had to bring a water bottle to use it.

Mr Kennedy said:

“There were no cafe, no vending machines, no water machine, nothing.

“As a spectator sitting there in the stifling heat for two hours, I have left completely dehydrated with a headache.”

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In response, Harrogate Borough Council said the company which ran the cafe at the Hydro had ended its contract due to covid.

A spokesperson for the council said:

“The café at the Hydro in Harrogate was leased to a catering provider that sadly, due to covid-19 and the unavoidable closure of the leisure centre throughout the pandemic, ended their contract.

“Part of this contract was also to supply vending machine drinks and snacks.

“We are looking at identifying a new supplier and as part of the multi-million pound refurbishment project will be exploring the future provision of a new and improved café at the Hydro.

“In the meantime, a water fountain is available for customers to refill their own drinks bottles”

Harrogate council requests interim-trustee body after it is scrapped

Harrogate Borough Council has requested that a charter trustee body is set up to take the place of the authority after it is scrapped.

The council will no longer exist in April 2023 after a county-wide unitary council is set up as part of devolution plans.

The move will leave the town with no lower tier authority.

As a result, council officials have requested to government that a charter trustee body in Harrogate is established after April 2023.

A charter trustee is a body which “preserves the rights and privileges” of an area which has borough status. However, it does not have any power to provide council services.

A report before the council’s cabinet said:

“Both Harrogate and Scarborough have Borough status, and in the absence of town/parish councils in the town centre areas, consideration needs to be given as to how to preserve the rights and privileges that accompany that status.

“Following a structural change, where there is no suitable local government body such as a parish council, charter trustees can be established to preserve historic property, privileges, rights and traditions presently enjoyed by local residents in council areas which will be abolished.”

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The body would be in place while a town council is considered for Harrogate.

Council officials will write to the unitary authority to recommend that it consider setting up of a lower-tier authority.

In July, Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said the creation of such a town council was “inevitable”.

He told a full council meeting that he had previously offered assurances that a Harrogate Town Council would most likely be created and that a review of services would be carried at “the correct time, in the correct way and by the correct people”.

According to a government letter to North Yorkshire chief executives, a structural change order, a parliamentary mechanism which would start the process of abolishing the two-tier system, is expected to be put before the House of Commons “around the turn of the year”.

What is a charter trustee body?

A charter trustee body is a ceremonial body which is set up when a district council is abolished and there is no parish in that area.

They were first set up in the 1970s as part of a wider range of reform in local government.

Councillors are elected to the trustee and a mayor is elected. The body is set up to “preserves the rights and privileges” of the borough and to continue the traditional roles carried out by the previous borough council.

The trustee body is funded through a local precept to fund administrative roles, such as the mayor. 

However, it has no legal power to levy a precept to run services that a parish council would, such as grass cutting or public toilets.

Yoga studio plan for former Laura Ashley shop approved

A yoga studio is set to open in the former Laura Ashley shop in Harrogate after plans were approved.

Harrogate Borough Council has given the go-ahead for the unit on James Street to be converted into a boutique yoga and pilates studio.

Ebru Evrim, which lodged the proposal, currently provides classes in Skipton and sells activewear clothing.

In documents submitted to the council, the owner said they wanted to replicate the business in Harrogate town centre.

As part of the plan, the unit will be converted into retail and teaching space over three floors.

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The two upper floors would be used as yoga and pilates studios and the activewear would be sold on the ground floor.

The owner said in its plans:

“This diverse development will enable a small and local business to occupy a prominent unit on a struggling high street.

“There are obvious economic benefits here to the town centre and wider district.”

The Laura Ashley store has been closed for some 12 months after the company went into administration following trading concerns caused by the covid pandemic.

Stray Views: Let’s get behind the Station Gateway

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.

Station Gateway is best thing to happen to Harrogate for years

The Station Gateway plans are the first glimmer of hope I have felt in my seven years of living in Harrogate town (aka ‘my car’s bigger than your car’ Town).

A glimmer of hope that we just might have a lovely, friendly, safe, human, caring, bustling, fun town buried somewhere here. Buried beneath the surging, charging, horrific madness that is currently ‘our town’.

We have dual carriageways with parking down both sides. The humans lurk, unwanted, forgotten, ignored, often frightened, on a little strip of tarmac potentially a mere few metres from where they want to be. As for cycling. You’d have to be mad.

Nowhere have I seen a town so well-suited to walking, running, cycling and generally playing out, that instead chooses to destroy itself in deference to its rich, entitled, car-addicted populous.

The Station Gateway is just the start…

Ruth, Walker, runner, cyclist, mother and musician of Harrogate

Ripon needs a First World War walking tour

I read with interest your article about the installation of the memorial at Hell Wath nature reserve, which was the site of the WW1 army camp in Ripon.

I was born and grew up in Ripon and have spent a lot of my adult life there, but I had to ask a fellow walker for help to point me in the right direction to find it when we went to have a look at it. It would have been far easier if you had included directions on how to find it in your article.

It would also have been useful to have had more information there about the camp at Hellwath and its significance to WW1 history.

A walking route pointing out points of interest would be both interesting and educational to all age groups. Perhaps some of those metal figures could be placed in key areas of interest. Considering the great lose of life in WW1, it would be a fitting tribute to those that served and were billeted there. Most families were touched in some way by the war at the time, mine included.

Geoff Fletcher, North Stainley

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Time to deal with these dangerous gases

It’s been common practice for some time now to vent to the surface gases from land that has previously been a landfill site.

The gas that is emitted is typically methane (CH4), which we know to be significantly more dangerous to the climate than carbon dioxide (CO2). Some studies rate it as 100 times more powerful a climate change gas.

There are sites in Harrogate that currently vent this gas to the atmosphere: Stonefall Park and parts of the Great Yorkshire Showground, amongst others.

Has the time come to deal with this harmful gas in a more environmentally friendly way?

Robert Newton, Pannal

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.