Honeybees are making their home in the heart of Harrogate after new hives were installed on the roof of Victoria Shopping Centre. 

The move comes due to a partnership with Spa Bees, a Harrogate-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to honeybee conservation. 

The purpose of the hives is to create a safe habitat for the bees, which play a crucial role in pollination and the overall health of the environment, promoting sustainability and enhancing biodiversity in the town centre. 

Stuart Gibson, of Spa Bees, said: 

“We were delighted to be contacted by Victoria Shopping Centre to install two beehives on the shopping centre roof. Bees will generally collect pollen within a one-mile radius of their hive, but they will travel farther afield, so there are plenty of trees and plants for them to tend to around the town centre and beyond.

“Developing this project, there are also plans to plant flowers in planters on the rooftop which will encourage more insects and pollinators to the area.” 

The beehives are expected to produce a significant amount of honey, and Spa Bees hopes to host a pop-up at Victoria Shopping Centre over the coming year to sell its honey. 

James White, centre manager of Victoria Shopping Centre, said: 

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Harrogate Bees. At Victoria Shopping Centre, we are committed to sustainability and eco-conscious practices, and the installation of these beehives aligns perfectly with our efforts to create a more environmentally friendly space for our community. 

“Through our collaboration with Harrogate Spa Bees, we are excited to engage and educate the public about the importance of honeybee conservation and the positive impact it has on our environment.” 

Read more:

• Natural beeswax shop opens in Knaresborough
• Harrogate and Ripon beekeepers urge public to report swarming bees
• Yemi’s Food Stories: Making the most of honey

Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef  competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food  and sharing cooking tips– please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.  

The past couple of weekends have been full of food adventures involving honey which is always a staple in my kitchen, given its many health benefits.

From having lemon-ginger-honey drink to stave off a chest infection, drinking honey and balsamic vinegar water before bed, to replacing sugar in many savoury and sweet dishes.

Louisa’s honey has been a feature in my past two weekends as I got to work with other chefs to create dishes using their many varieties of honey including the Acacia Ginger, Coriander, Lime, Citrus, the award winning Bosco, Acacia and Chestnut honey.

Food allows one to be creative and there’s nothing better than creating on the fly without recipes. The first event required the chefs including Gennaro Contaldo,  of ‘Two Hungry Italians’,  to create dishes from a range of different vegetables and meat with access to wood fired pizza oven, multiple wood fired grills and stoves.

The beetroot immediately caught my eye. I put some beetroots on the open fire and while they were roasting, I finely sliced some red onions and cooked them in olive oil with grated ginger and some pink Himalayan salt. Once the onions were deeply caramelised, I grated and added the roasted beetroots and finished this with black pepper, whiskey balsamic vinegar and ginger honey.

This is a simple and quick relish to make and goes really well with grilled meat, burgers, hummus and flat bread.

I then cooked a spatchcock quail dish using a simple marinade of Bosco honey which has a woody and intense flavour mixed with fresh oregano and thyme, lemon juice, grated habanero chilli, salt and olive oil. This was a real crowd pleasing dish ( see image below) and all it took on a really hot grill was about 9 minutes depending on the size of the quail.

My final savoury dish was squid cooked with some shallots, roasted peppers, Louisa’s lime honey, chilli, lime juice and fresh herbs. This was a really quick dish and one that I would recommend for a mid week dinner. Squid is a protein that needs to either be flash cooked in 2 – 3 minutes or slow cooked for hours.

This would be perfect as a side dish, topping for salad, couscous, rice, or an appetiser whilst waiting for the main meal. It’s a healthier alternative to battered squid rings.

The following weekend found me and a few other chefs at the BBC Good Food show in Birmingham,  where I created a couple of honey inspired savoury canapes – toasted sourdough topped with prosciutto, drizzle of acacia honey, fresh thyme and micro herbs. The second one was toasted sourdough  topped with labneh which is a strained cheese, sundried tomatoes, a drizzle of acacia honey and micro basil. I find the saltiness of the tomatoes and the sweetness of the honey make for one of those marriages made in heaven.

My dessert creations included carrot, ginger and coconut cake using Bosco and Ginger honey, strawberries and cream canape with ginger honey and chestnut honey crumb, whiskey balsamic and citrus honey macerated strawberries served with mascarpone on sourdough cracker.

My final creation inspired by middle eastern flavours was sourdough cracker topped with mascarpone, roasted pistachios, citrus honey and rose petals and this was tasted and complimented by Katy Truss from Fabulous Food Finds.

I hope you do more with the honey in your cupboard and you don’t just relegate it to being a drinks sweetener or toast topping. Try some of the amazing honey products that our local shops have to offer and have a go at making marinades, cocktails, sauces and bakes.

If  you want to catch Yemi in action she will be giving a demonstration at The Harrogate Food Festival today at 4pm. 

Read More: 

• Yemi’s Food Stories: Making a good chicken burger
• Yemi’s Food Stories: a range of exotic sausages in Knaresborough

Harrogate Borough Council has installed two new beehives to help pollinate flowers and support biodiversity.

Once established, the bee colonies will produce honey that could be sold to the public.

A council spokesman said the beehives had been put on council-owned land off Wetherby Road, although the precise location wasn’t revealed.

They will be looked after by Terrence Ogilvie, a keen beekeeper who works in the council’s parks and street cleaning team.

If the experiment proves successful, the council could introduce more beehives across the district.

Conservative councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“Bees are a vital part of the ecosystem to help pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.

“By introducing beehives we are further playing our part to help stop and reverse the decline of wildlife in the district.”

Read more:

• Nidderdale police issue ‘bee vigilant’ warning after attempted hive heist
• Harrogate’s ‘rewilding’: untidy or biodiversity boon?

Earlier this year, the council’s new rewilding strategy saw swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, left untouched by mowers and strimmers to allow nature to grow free and attract bees.

The idea was welcomed by many, who saw it as a sign that the council was serious about improving biodiversity. But others, who cherish Harrogate’s reputation for organised and elegant planting, believed it made the town look untidy.

Police are warning beekeepers in Nidderdale to ‘bee vigilant’ following the attempted theft of hives.

It comes after a thief wearing a beekeeper’s suit tried to steal six hives recently. It is believed the culprit dropped one of the hives, which enraged the bees, and fled empty handed.

PC Bill Hickson, who is based in Patelely Bridge, warned “there may be criminals out there with an eye on your hives”.

PC Hickson revealed more about the sting operation in a report in the August edition of the Link magazine for the Parish of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite.

PC Hickson said:

“Last month a thief, or thieves, unsuccessfully tried to steal half a dozen beehives at a location not far from Nidderdale.

Police in Pateley Bridge have recorded 15 crimes in the last month.

“They wore a beekeeper’s suit but nevertheless managed to drop one of the hives, thereby enraging the bees, and fled empty handed.

“Despite this apparent incompetence whoever was responsible had planned the raid and were specifically targeting beehives above other more traditional booty.”

In another animal-related matter, PC Hickson called on dog owners to keep their dogs on leads after a sheep was attacked and a lamb killed on Greenhow Hill.

He said:

“However well-controlled you think your dog is, please do not let it off the lead in fields where there may be livestock.”

A total of 15 crimes, ranging from deliberate damage to a parked car in Dacre Banks to graffiti at Brimham Rocks, were recorded in Nidderdale during the month.

Read more:

• Grassington river tragedy
• Art therapy for Pateley Bridge grandmother

Anybody with information that could help the police in their work, is asked to contact PC Hickson by calling 101, choosing option two and asking for “Bill Hickson” or “0-8-2-0”

He can also be emailed at bill.hickson@northyorkshire.police.uk