Paperchase in Harrogate will close tomorrow after the company went into administration last month.

The cards, gifts and stationery company has been holding a closing down sale since administrators Begbies Traynor took control of the business.

The James Street shop has already sealed off half of the unit as stocks run low. It is running a 70% off sale and selling some cards for as little as 10p.

Tesco bought the rights to the cards, gifts and stationery brand, entitling it to sell Paperchase items in its supermarkets, but did not buy the stores.

The move affected 106 Paperchase shops and more than 800 staff nationally.  All stores are due to cease trading by Monday.

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Womenswear chain Phase Eight has closed the doors to its James Street shop – but will not be leaving Harrogate entirely.

The brand is set to open a new concession on the first floor of Hoopers department store, just a few metres down the road, on April 3.

At more than 270m sq, the old premises has retail space on the ground and first floors, as well as staff facilities on the second floor.

The unit is now being marketed by Montpellier Property Consultants at £72,000 per annum on a full repairing and insuring lease, with the term to be agreed.

Phase Eight has not publicised its reasons for the move, nor confirmed whether any jobs will be lost as a result. It did not respond to a request for details from the Stray Ferret before publication.

The Harrogate branch is one of 350 across the UK and Ireland, alongside 200 elsewhere around the world. It already has concessions in Hoopers’ stores in Tunbridge Wells and Wilmslow.

It is owned by the Foschini Group, which is also home to Hobbs and Whistles – both of which have shops along Harrogate’s James Street.

The popular address has recently seen a new branch of Oliver Bonas arrive, alongside Pret a Manger, which opened its doors last May.

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• Traffic order issued to close part of Harrogate’s James Street to vehicles
• Harrogate council refuses James Street aparthotel plan

A traffic order has been issued for the closure of part of James Street to vehicles as part of the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway.

It is one of numerous orders published today as part of the controversial town centre scheme to boost walking and cycling.

If the proposals go ahead, traffic will be prohibited on James Street from the junction with Princes Street to Station Parade.

Traffic orders have also been published to remove town centre parking bays, reduce Station Parade to single lane traffic and make Cheltenham Mount one-way from its junction with Cheltenham Crescent to its junction with Mount Parade, which are also part of the scheme.

The traffic order at the James Street junction with Princes Street.

Cheltenham Mount would become one-way from Cheltenham Crescent to Mount Parade.

North Yorkshire County Council has yet to give the gateway approval and said the orders were a procedural move that would not prejudice its decision.

Richard Binks, head of major projects and infrastructure at the council, said:

“We are required to consult on traffic regulation orders relating to Harrogate’s Station Gateway. This is a statutory process we have to go through and is a requirement of the full business case submission to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

“This will not prejudice the decision on whether the scheme will proceed. We are committed to pressing ahead with the traffic regulation order as waiting until a decision is made on the scheme would result in further delays overall. A decision on the gateway scheme will be made in May.”

How Station Parade would look

But Judy d’Arcy Thompson, a Harrogate resident and business owner, said it was undemocratic of the council to proceed with the scheme when consultations had attracted more opposition than support.

She was also concerned about the impact of long-term roadworks on town centre businesses and people driving around Harrogate, adding:

“Many town centre businesses struggling back to life after covid would be knocked sideways by this.”

Lib Dems to decide?

Funding for the gateway scheme was secured in March 2020 and so far three consultations have taken place.

The council’s Conservative-controlled executive has now said the scheme will come before its Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee before a final decision is made in May.

Eight of the committee’s 14 members are Liberal Democrats and Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways and transportation at the council, has said it would be “very difficult for us to proceed” if the committee opposed it.

Committee member Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley — told a council meeting last night he was coming round to support the project.

People have four weeks to comment on the traffic orders, copies of which are available at Harrogate library, the Civic Centre and County Hall in Northallerton.

They are also due to be published here.

Comments should be submitted by April 6 by email to area6.boroughbridge@northyorks.gov.uk or in writing to North Yorkshire County Council, Customer Service Centre, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 5AD.

Paperchase in Harrogate is holding a closing down sale after the company went into administration this week.

Tesco bought the rights to the cards, gifts and stationery brand, entitling it to sell Paperchase items in its supermarkets, but did not buy the stores.

It means the shop on James Street is one of 106 stores facing uncertain futures. More than 800 staff nationally are affected.

Signs have now gone up in the window confirming the closure, although the final day of trading is not yet known.

In-store notices confirm administrators Begbies Traynor have been running the business since Tuesday.

They say no further gift cards will be sold and customers have until 5pm on February 14 to use existing gift cards.

Read more:

• Paperchase in Harrogate faces uncertain future as company goes into administration
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From Oxford Street to West Park, Harrogate has seen a flurry of recent planning applications to build flats above town centre shops.

Over the past few years, developers have turned their attention to local high streets – specifically to unused retail space.

It’s part of a trend across the UK which has grown since the covid pandemic.

Instead of new build estates on the outskirts of town, developers see town centres as key for both tackling the housing market and revitalising the high street.

Alex Goldstein, an independent property consultant who works in Harrogate and London, said the trend would be good for the town centre, particularly for younger people who want to live closer to their workplace.

He added that the move was also a chance to regenerate Harrogate’s high street, which has fallen on hard times in recent years along with other towns.

Alex Goldstein, property consultant in Harrogate.

Mr Goldstein said:

“I see this as a good thing. I have been banging on about it for years.

“We need to stop building new builds on the outskirts of town.”

Mr Goldstein added that the trend was replicated in bigger cities, such as London, where people want to be close to “cafe culture” and working remotely.

Harrogate following the trend

Cities such as Lincoln prepared for the changing high street as long ago as 2006, when City of Lincoln Council published its masterplan for the city centre.

It aimed to keep people in the city centre by offering a mixture of retail and “experience”, such as coffee shops and cinemas.

The move is a far cry from the usual consumer retail units, such as Primark and River Island, which high streets have become known for.

The aim of keeping people in the city centre would partly be done by creating more residential space, the council said.

Harrogate is not immune to this trend.

On West Park, space above the now closed Orvis store is proposed to be converted into six new flats.

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Just a stone’s throw away on Cambridge Street, new apartments are proposed above a former phone shop and multiple applications have been submitted to convert the former post office on Cambridge Road into accommodation.

Meanwhile, the government recently stepped in to approve a redevelopment of the former Thomas Cook unit on James Street into three new flats.

A 17-bedroom aparthotel scheme on the floors above the new Oliver Bonas store on James Street was also planned, but was turned down by Harrogate Borough Council.

Left, the rear of the property on the former Thomas Cook unit on James Street currently; right, the proposed alteration.

In a report by estate agents Savills, Paul Wellman, residential researcher at the firm, estimated 36,000 new homes were built close to town centres across the UK in the five years to June 2020.

Since then, the move to think differently about retail on the high street has “accelerated” due to the covid pandemic.

Mr Wellman said:

“The truth is our towns and city centres were already changing.

“In 2020 these changes accelerated. As the need for particular uses and businesses usually found in the heart of towns and cities reduces, opportunities arise to remodel and revitalise those places.

“Whilst covid has given some the desire for countryside and green open spaces, for others it has meant convenience and being part of a community.”

An opportunity for young people

Much of the discussion around converting unused retail space into housing has centred on getting people in closer proximity to bars, restaurants and offices.

While cities such as Manchester and Leeds may have a wider retail offer to youngsters, Harrogate has its own selling point.

Allessandro Biraglia, associate professor of marketing at the University of Leeds, said Harrogate had its own independent retail sector, which bigger cities may not have due to expensive rates and bigger franchises dominating the high street.

As a result, he said living within a smaller town centre may offer an opportunity to “young professionals” who want to get their business ideas off the ground.

He said:

“Having the possibility to live above the shop and having everything in one place would be enticing for many young professionals.”

‘The high street is shifting’

The legacy of covid has led to estate agents, property developers and businesses rethinking how they use the space available to them in town centres.

While larger developers will continue to opt for strategic housing sites, others will see chances to create homes in the heart of the high street such as Harrogate.

For Mr Goldstein, the move is a good thing for town centres.

“The high street is shifting from the usual.”

This week’s photograph was taken by Nick Payne, capturing the lights and movement on the Ferris Wheel during this year’s Christmas Fraye.

Nick Payne

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

The £11.9m Harrogate Station Gateway scheme has been delayed again and is now not due to start for another year.

In an update yesterday, Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways, said it remained “committed” to the controversial project.

But he added the council was still evaluating the results of the third round of consultation, which ended in August, and would ask Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors for their views before deciding whether to proceed.

Information attached to the summer consultation said it was “anticipated that construction would begin in winter 2022/3 for approximately 12 months”.

The council is now, however, saying work will start in late 2023.

Cllr Keane Duncan

Cllr Duncan said:

“We remain committed to moving forward with the gateway scheme, which represents more than £11m of investment into Harrogate.

“The most recent consultation attracted more than 2,000 responses, almost twice the number from previous consultations, as well as more than 5,000 individual comments. We thank all those who took part.

“The results of this consultation show opinion is finely balanced. Full evaluation and consideration of the responses is being completed and we will publish these early in the New Year.

“Following this, we will ask Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors for views on their support for a scheme that could be transformational for the town, and whether they want it to go ahead.

“Subject to final approvals, it is anticipated construction will begin late in 2023.”

Read more:

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• Final consultation event on Harrogate Gateway to be held online today

The Stray Ferret asked the council about the scheme as there had been no updates since the summer consultation and work was due to begin anytime now.

We also asked whether the threat of a judicial review, which was raised by the owner of Hornbeam Park this year, remained but Cllr Duncan’s statement did not address this.

Latest delay in controversial saga

The Station Gateway was hailed as the “greatest investment in decades” in Harrogate town centre by Cllr Duncan’s predecessor, Cllr Don Mackenzie, when funding was secured from the Department for Transport.

It would see part of James Street pedestrianised and part of Station Parade made single lane, as well as significant changes to the public realm near the Victoria monument.

How Station Parade would look

The government department had set a deadline of March 2023 for completion and work was due to have started in spring this year and last for a year.

But in January this year it was announced the scheme had been pushed back a year and now the same thin has happened again.

The project is one of three in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund to promote active travel.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority all support the gateway.

It has divided opinion with supporters saying it would boost cycling and walking as well as modernise the area around the train station.

But critics argue it could increase traffic delays and disrupt town centre business.

Harrogate’s Joules shop is set to remain open after the retailer was rescued from administration by founder Tom Joule and high street brand Next.

The deal, announced today, will see 19 Joules stores closed with immediate effect — but Harrogate’s James Street shop is not among them.

More than 130 staff across the country have lost their jobs, but 1,450 have been retained. Next paid £34 million for the business, giving it a 74% share to Mr Joule’s 26%.

He said:

“After three years away from the operational side, I’m truly looking forward to inspiring teams with clear direction to excite and recapture the imagination of the customer again.

“Our customers have always trusted us to lead, not follow, with products that reflect their lifestyle. It’s important that we live up to the high standards they desire in design, quality and… the service they expect.

“I’m so pleased that we have been able to strike a deal that protects the future of the company for all its loyal customers [and] its employees.”

Next is expected to continue to sell from the Joules website, as well as adding the brand to its own site from 2024.

Marks and Spencer has already warned of a difficult time for retail as businesses face rising costs and falling consumer spending.

Read more:

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Harrogate Borough Council has refused plans to convert the upper floors of a Harrogate town centre building into an aparthotel.

Leeds-based Countrylarge tabled the proposal to create the 17-bedroom scheme on the floors above the new Oliver Bonas store on James Street.

Aparthotels are serviced apartments with a hotel-style booking system. London-based operator, Beyond, was brought in to run to the aparthotel, if the plans were approved.

However, the council has rejected the plan on the grounds that the scheme would “not enhance or preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area”.

It added that it would also “result in poor standards of residential amenity” for future occupiers.

The council said in a decision notice:

“The host building has historic interest and makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area. 

“The cumulative effect of the proposed third floor, roof extension, glazed balustrade and paint work, by virtue of their form, scale, siting and appearance would erode the character of the building and create an alienated development.”

The developers had previously said the proposal would help to “fully utilise” the building.

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With Christmas just one month away, many of us are starting to think about our looks for the party season, as well as special gifts to buy or our loved ones.

Fortunately in the Harrogate district we are blessed with some fabulous independent fashion boutiques.

We asked four business owners what was currently flying off the shelves as we approach the big day.

Infinity & Co boutique, Harrogate

Sam Gallagher, owner of Infinity & Co boutique, which has just launched its newly-refurbished store at the Victoria Shopping Centre, said the key word for Christmas was “sequins – and lots of them!”

She said:

“We have trousers, tops, blouses, dresses and jackets in and they are so popular. They can be worn dressed up but it’s also fun to wear them casually too. We have them in lots of metallic shades of gold, champagne, copper black and rose gold, along with some brights too.

“We have also been selling chunky oversized cardigans to wear with boots and PU (synthetic leather) joggers, ideal for walking around a Christmas market.

“Colours this season are lots of neutrals of camel, winter white and black and for the bright colours we have had a strong reaction to raspberry, teal, emerald and cobalt.”

Porters, Harrogate

Andy Shuttleworth, manager of Porters, on James Street, said shirts and dresses were selling fast ahead of the party season.

He said:

“We have got a great selection of occasion shirts and party dresses. They are always very popular this time of year.

“Accessories, which can be bought for gifts and stocking fillers, like socks and underwear, are popular too.

“Brands people particularly like at the moment are Traffic People, which does wonderful party dresses, and shirts from Guide London and Claudio Lugli.

“The trend is currently ‘glitz’ and the shirts are bright and bold – ready for the party season.”

Fennec & Darwin, Harrogate

Aideen Fox, owner of Fennec & Darwin, on Montpellier Mews, said accessories to help you keep warm were currently proving the most popular.

She said:

“I’m finding gift items, such as my slippers and scarves which retail for £19.99, have been my top-sellers on the run-up to Christmas.

“Especially with energy prices going up so much, it’s important to keep warm.”

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Wild Thing boutique, Knaresborough

Dianne Houghton, owner of Wild Thing boutique on Knaresborough’s High Street, said it was currently all about the sparkle.

She said:

“Sparkling dresses are popular at the moment, but they are not just for Christmas. You can make outfits sparkle by accessorising jewellery and layering-up, but still being comfortable.”