One of the oldest pubs in the Harrogate district reopened on Friday – just weeks after planners granted permission to convert the site into a convenience store.
Locals in Killinghall wondered whether last orders had been called for the final time at The Three Horseshoes when it closed for lockdown.
Ilkley company Dynamic Capital Killinghall had submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to demolish the building and construct a convenience store and four flats.
When the plans were approved this month, it appeared to herald a new chapter for the site, which has hosted a pub for 150 years.
But the pub reopened at the weekend and the developers have yet to confirm when the conversion will take place.
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Will Rogers, a planner at Planning Potential, which is the agent acting on behalf of Dynamic Capital Killinghall, told The Stray Ferret “the applicant remains committed to the site”.
But he was unable to confirm when work will begin, adding:
“We have a series of planning conditions we need to discharge first and then we’ll know more on timescales.”
One of the council’s conditions was to install six electric vehicle charging points.
Rogers said the convenience store, which will be in the middle of Killinghall on the busy Ripon Road, would open seven days a week from 7am to 11pm and was expected to create 15 part-time and full-time jobs.
How the convenience store will look.
Forty-one individual representations supported the proposal and six opposed it. The council also received a petition signed by 232 people objecting to the loss of the pub.
Councillors decided “the proposal would provide substantial social and environmental benefits” and approved it.
The public body Historic England rejected a proposal this year to grant the pub listed building status.
Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, did not reply to The Stray Ferret’s request for a comment.
Column: Can you force an employee back to work?This article is written for the Stray Ferret by Harrogate employment lawyer Richard Port. Richard is Principal Solicitor and Founding Director at Boardside legal. Over the next 3 weeks he will explore the issues raised for employers and employees returning to work post furlough. This article is not legal advice – more a look at the complexities of the current situation.
Recent government announcements have suggested that the current furlough guidance might shortly be changed and that those who can go back to work safely should now do so. It is worth noting that it is currently a criminal offence for a person to go to work, when such work can reasonably be done from home.
However, if the changes are made, I’m sure that many people will want to return to work straightaway, but there will be many who do not. Indeed, I have dealt with a number of company clients in the last few weeks who are having to grapple with the conflict between ending furlough and dealing with reluctant returners: in my case a food production business (ABC Ltd) and the reluctant ‘Fred’.
First and foremost, the place of work needs to be covid safe, to reduce the potential for transmission as much as possible. This means providing adequate PPE and having a robust hygiene system in place, and compliance with social distancing rules.
Imagine that ABC Ltd has done it all; it is the paragon of compliance and hygiene. Nonetheless, despite his employer being an essential service, Fred is reluctant: he is worried, claiming that he has a ‘new’ medical condition (understood to be asthma) for which he must take steroids. Fred considers himself to be clinically vulnerable, though he does not have any form of medical certificate signing him off work. ABC Ltd has kept in touch with Fred during furlough and is now asking him to return to work. Sometimes getting hold of Fred has been quite difficult, despite being “house-bound”. We understand that Fred enjoys his golf.
Of course, there will be a wide variety of reasons (supported by various legal protections) why employees may be reluctant to return to work which should be taken seriously. In other cases, like Fred, employees may have no good reason for refusing. Leaving this aside, what options does ABC Ltd have in relation to Fred? As difficult as it might be, ABC Ltd needs to tread carefully. Employers should work on a case-by-case basis and ensure that they have carried out thorough risk assessments and implemented relevant covid safety measures.
Ultimately, ABC Ltd may seek to stop paying Fred in the circumstances, or even to dismiss him, but both of these courses of action for refusing to return to work are fraught with danger and could lead to employment tribunal claims being raised, particularly if the employer’s health and safety processes are short of what is reasonably practical to put in place.
It is a complicated subject, but my experience is that many organisations are now reviewing their working practices and looking at ways to create a more adaptive, innovative and resilient workforce. If ABC Ltd gets this right, it will ensure its long-term viability and the health and well-being of its workforce, with better morale and higher productivity.
Next week, Richard looks at the rights of the employee and looks at the case of Fred.
Farm shop opens in Harrogate after demand soars at cafe
The owners of a bohemian-style cafe in Harrogate will open a farm shop today after the demand for groceries soared in the coronavirus lockdown.
Kyrensa Bentley set up 53 Bo’Grove Cafe, based on Grove Road, just under a year ago and it has been growing ever since.
The grand opening is tomorrow.
Following in the footsteps of the antique shop, the refill shop and the garden centre, the new rustic farm shop also has an environmentally-friendly focus.
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53 Bo’Grove Farm Shop will officially open its doors today at 10.30am with a selection of fruit and vegetables as well as oils, chutneys, jams, bread, cakes, and more.
The farm shop is based at 53 Bo’Grove.
The shop will have a mix of Yorkshire-based suppliers as well as some continental offerings. Ashley Johnson is taking up the reins as manager and said:
“We’ve got balloons, we’ve got banners and we’re giving away some big fruits and cheese hampers. It will be a great day to celebrate, we are still in the coronavirus lockdown but we can enjoy something a bit closer to normal.”
It will sell fresh fruit and vegetables.
The cafe had set up a cart out front to sell fruit and vegetables and it went so well they decided to set up a more permanent offering in the farm shop.
Kyrensa Bentley, the owner of 53 Bo’Grove also told The Stray Ferret:
WATCH: How do you feel about wearing face masks in shops?“We started planning for a little farm shop about halfway through lockdown. This project didn’t start out with a lot of money, we have just saved up as it has grown. It has grown quite organically.”
Today was the first day wearing face masks is mandatory when visiting shops in England.
The Stray Ferret has been asking people how they feel about having to wear face masks in shops.
Kate Baker is a nurse and said:
“I can’t understand it, it makes me said. I think people think its finished and all over and they aren’t realising what can happen. We don’t know whats going to happen in the next few months.
I think we should absolutely be wearing them in shops but for how long is up to the scientists. As a nurse it feels wrong not having one on because I’m used to wearing them at work.”
A nurse from Harrogate said she feels “sad” when she sees people not wearing masks in shops.
Read more:
- The police have said that fining people for not wearing a mask will be “a last resort”.
- We have compiled a list of local in-store and online retailers selling masks.
Mask wearing has been called for by some people since shops reopened on last month.
The government has introduced this mandatory rule which could leave people with a £100 fine if they choose not to wear one.
Bronze statue of Marcelo Bielsa spotted in HarrogateA bronze statue of Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa was spotted in Harrogate today.
Fans stopped to take pictures with the 75kg sculpture on West Park — which sat on a bronze version of Bielsa’s trademark bucket.
The statue was commissioned by Leeds fan Tony Clark and constructed in Bali, Indonesia. He estimates it cost over £50,000 to build and transport it to Yorkshire.
Fans can pay £10 to enter a raffle for the chance to keep the statue, with the draw being made by Leeds’ star midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
All money raised will go to the mental health charity Mind, a charity close to Tony’s heart after he was caught up in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Tony said:
“It’s my gift to Leeds for what they’ve given me”
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Tony has been driving the statue around Yorkshire on the back of a pick-up truck. He said it was important to bring it to the people of Harrogate because “that’s what Bielsa is all about.”
He added:
“When he first came to Leeds, you just knew there was something good there. It’s been immense, it’s been electric”.
He said the Harrogate public have largely welcomed the statue — however, there have been some unkind comments from Manchester United supporters.
Harrogate diving club pleads for a date to resume trainingHarrogate District Diving Club has expressed its frustration that it has not been given a date for training to resume at the Hydro.
Indoor swimming pools are allowed to reopen from tomorrow but Harrogate Borough Council is yet to confirm when it will open its pools. The diving club has been left unable to make plans or reassure its members.
The lack of a decision has left the club worrying about the impact on its members’ mental health. As a team sport, diving develops social as well as physical skills and, after months of lockdown, the club is desperate to give its members a date to look forward to.
Leanne Jalland, chair of the diving club, said:
“It is difficult to make plans without a date to return to training in the water. We have to take each week by week, and come up with a variety of ways to keep our divers engaged and motivated but this is incredibly difficult. The response I have had from a lot parents is dismay and frustration, which is understandable.
“I am confident that by working with Swim England and the council we could ensure a safe return once it is allowed. The club has received no official communication from the Hydro about any update for returning to the pool and only received a response from the council after pressing for a date to return last week.”
The club has trained in Harrogate for over 20 years with sporting stars including Olympic gold medallist Jack Laugher learning to dive at the club. It is a tradition the club hopes to continue once it starts up again.
The diving club are waiting for a confirmed date to return to training.
The council has said its reviewing the safety measures in place at the Hydro before opening.
Currently the club’s two coaches, both council employees, have been redeployed to other essential services by the council. The club has asked for one of its coaches to return to the team once the pool reopens.
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- Boroughbridge junior football club is calling for more girls and disabled players to join its teams.
- Harrogate council has approved an overhaul of its leisure services to a new company.
A council spokesperson said:
“We are working hard to reintroduce leisure facilities for all our residents – not just the diving club – but we need to make sure this is done in line with government guidelines so that our customers, and staff, are kept safe. We will then look at what additional services can be offered over the coming weeks.
“But this will only happen if staff can be relieved from providing statutory services. Any decision to do so will need to be carefully considered and the potential benefit for those people using leisure facilities balanced against the needs of residents and vulnerable people. The diving club has received several emails explaining this position already.”
Winner of Harrogate’s prestigious crime writing award announced
Harrogate International Festivals has awarded its prestigious crime novel award to Adrian McKinty for his book The Chain.
The Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, hosted by Harrogate International Festivals, was awarded this evening to McKinty’s novel after the public and prize judges picked him out from a shortlist of six.
The author was close to giving up his writing career two years ago when his family was evicted from their home and he was working as an Uber driver and barman. McKinty was persuaded to give writing one final go, and he wrote his hugely successful novel The Chain.
His book has since been published in 36 countries with its movie rights sold in a seven figure deal. The plot centres around a chain of child abductions, where a child can only be released when its parent kidnaps another child.
Adrian McKinty was “gobsmacked” when he was announced as the winner of the prestigious award.
Adrian McKinty said:
“I am gobsmacked and delighted to win this award. Two years ago, I had given up on writing altogether and was working in a bar and driving an Uber, and so to go from that to this is just amazing. People think that you write a book and it will be an immediate bestseller. For twelve books, my experience was quite the opposite, but then I started this one.
“It was deliberately high concept, deliberately different to everything else I had written – and I was still convinced it wouldn’t go anywhere… but now look at this. It has been completely life changing.”
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The award marks the launch of the Harrogate International Festivals Weekender – a free virtual festival featuring performances and interviews with dozens of musicians and authors.
Adrian McKinty will receive £3,000 and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.
Cafés in Harrogate say they won’t enforce face covering rule
Café owners in Harrogate have told The Stray Ferret that they won’t be enforcing the new face coverings rule as it should be a “mark of respect” from the customer.
Guidance was released today about the wearing of face coverings, which saw a change for businesses offering a takeaway service.
The new guidelines state that coverings will be mandatory when buying takeaway food and drink but can be removed when seated at a table. However, the government has outlined that it is the responsibility of the individual to wear a face covering, with shops and cafés encouraged to enforce the rule where possible.
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The owners of Bean and Bud on Commercial Street in Harrogate said that the new rules are “common sense”. Co-owner Helen Dolby told The Stray Ferret:
“If you’re coming in for a takeaway and there’s other customers around you, then as a mark of respect you should wear a mask but we wouldn’t enforce it. We deal with hundreds of customers a day, people just need to have a bit of common sense and a bit of respect.”
Owners of Bean and Bud, Phil and Helen Dolby.
Similarly, Dan Bell, the owner of Thug Sandwich Company on Albert Street, told The Stray Ferret that he believes the procedures he already has in place are enough but will follow guidelines and enforce the rule.
He said:
County council asks public to help win £1m cycling bid“People who are coming in are literally here for less than 60 seconds, they place their order and then they stand outside and I give them a shout when it’s ready. There’s very little risk of infection.
North Yorkshire County Council is asking the public to help them win £1m of funding from the government to improve walking and cycling in the Harrogate district.
On NYCC’s website, people have until Friday to mark on a map where they think improvements could be made.
The authority is hoping to win a bid of up to £1,065,000 from the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund. The money will be spent on longer-term projects to “help deliver significant health, environmental and congestion benefits”.
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In the first round of funding, the council was allocated £133,000 – half of what it was hoping for.
That money was to help councils put in place short-term solutions such as widening footpaths or the temporary closure of roads. The council said it would make up the other half of funding through its reserves.
Harrogate District Cycling Action told The Stray Ferret at the time that North Yorkshire’s plans “weren’t ambitious enough”.
Speaking about the council’s second bid for funding, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at NYCC, said:
Turkish Baths Harrogate considers cutting same sex sessions“The new facility we have added to our website to enable anyone to put forward ideas for improvements to cycling and walking provision anywhere in the county is further evidence of our commitment to active and sustainable travel.
“It will remain on our website as a tool to enable us to consider all suggestions from the public.
“If any suitable schemes are submitted immediately, it may be possible to look at those for this tranche of funding, but it is more likely that any schemes that are shown to be practical and appropriate could be considered for future funding opportunities.”
Turkish Baths Harrogate is considering dropping single-sex sessions from its timetable.
Harrogate Borough Council, which runs the baths, said a timetable consisting entirely of mixed sessions would reflect “equality and balance”.
A spokesperson for the council told The Stray Ferret:
“We’re considering the removal of single sex sessions from the timetable at the Turkish Baths to reflect the increased spotlight on equality and balance across the world. This change would allow complete accessibility during the timetable for all genders. We see this as a positive development allowing greater access to all our customers and would allow us to fully, and fairly, consider all genders and orientations.”
This consultation comes at a time when there are debates about how transgender people use different facilities.
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- When the district’s leisure facilities closed over coronavirus fears
The baths stopped male-only sessions back in 2011 in the wake of reports of “inappropriate behaviour,” only to bring them back five years later.
Now Turkish Baths Harrogate has launched an online survey to gauge the demand for single-sex sessions.
It is unclear when this new rule could come into place. The government has not yet given saunas or spa rooms the green light to reopen.