Campaigners battling to save a historic Harrogate district pub from redevelopment have vowed to fight on despite suffering another significant setback.

The Henry Jenkins Inn at Kirkby Malzeard near Ripon dates back to the 18th century but has been closed for the last decade.

This has been much to the frustration of members of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group who have raised £237,000 with hopes of running the pub as a community-owned venue.

They have made several attempts to buy the building and reinstate its protected status, all so far without success. Their latest setback came last month when Harrogate Borough Council rejected a third application for an Asset of Community Value (ACV) nomination.

Determined to continue their campaign, pub group chairman Richard Sadler said residents believe the case to reopen the Henry Jenkins is “stronger than ever” and that they are now planning their next move to submit a fourth ACV application.

He said: 

“The pandemic has taught us that community hubs – places where local people can meet up, socialise and make friends or do business – are more important than ever.

“Our legal advisers have scrutinised the official report justifying the council’s decision and found contradictions and inconsistencies.

“We can’t appeal against the decision but we’re entitled to reapply – and we believe there is a very strong case for doing so.

“It’s ridiculous that we have laws and planning policies to protect community facilities – yet the local authority that’s supposed to be helping us is still siding with a private developer.”

If approved, the ACV status would mean part of the pub is protected from a change of use or demolition and has to be considered for community bids.

But following the latest refusal, it will now remain in the ownership of developers who have planning permission to redevelop the pub which is steeped in history.

The Henry Jenkins pictured when it closed in 2011. Photo: Google.

The Henry Jenkins is one of the oldest inns in the Harrogate district and named after the Yorkshire super-centenarian that legend states lived to be 169-years-old.

The pub was first granted ACV status in 2017 but was then delisted by the council after it was partly sold to the developer.

Mr Salder said this decision made “no sense” and that the campaign group are now also considering making a request for the council to carry out a compulsory purchase order on the building.

He said: 

“It is within the council’s powers to restore the Asset of Community Value listing and if we can get the whole pub put back the ACV, that will put us in a much stronger position – because the owners will be forced to reconsider community bids.

“Our members have been helping support vulnerable people during the pandemic and several are working as volunteers at local vaccination centres.

“So we are already active in the community – but we have exciting plans to engage more supporters and increase our profile as we step up the campaign.”

A Beckwithshaw family has booked into Rudding Park hotel to escape its freezing home after two days without power.

Sylvia Skipper’s home was among thousands in the district to lose electricity when Storm Arwen struck late on Friday.

Power has returned to most but about 800 properties in the Harrogate district are still affected, according to a live map by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Ms Skipper, who lives on Shaw Lane, said her family had been without power since 9.20pm on Friday. There has been no hot water or heating, despite the freezing conditions, and they have been unable to cook. She said:

“Our house yesterday afternoon was minus one degrees.

“We couldn’t take any more and are now staying at Rudding Park. We have no idea whether power will be restored today.

“This is inhumane. We have lost faith as we have been forgotten about.”

Northern Powergrid’s live map shows 660 homes are without power in the Summerbridge and Bishop Thornton area, along with 60 in Spofforth, 30 in North Stainley, 20 in Pannal, 20 in High Birstwith, 20 in Kirkby Malzeard, fewer than 10 in Knaresborough, fewer than 10 in Greenhow Hill.

Ms Skipper said:

“The communication from Northern Powergrid has been dreadful.

“Until this afternoon we didn’t even have a phone signal on top of this so we had to venture in the car so that we could communicate with Northern Powergrid.

“I have seen their Twitter updates about providing hot drinks and support to numerous areas in the North East yet there has been absolutely nothing for us or our neighbours.”

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Steve Crisp, whose home between Beckwithshaw and Leathley is also without power, said:

“I keep trying to access Northern Powergrid but the website is unreliable and this morning when I rang and confirmed I would like to wait to speak to someone the system just cut me off.

“Patience and Dunkirk spirit being stretched!”

He and his wife were luckier than some because they had a log burner, which provided heat and a means to cook beans on toast.

‘One of worst storms for 20 years’

Northern Powergrid’s latest update at 11pm last night said it had restored power to around 208,000 of the 240,000 customers. About 100 engineers from other power companies had been drafted in to help. It added:

“The scale of damage in some locations is so extensive that in some cases, large sections of overhead lines will need to be rebuilt in order to restore supplies.

“Where it can, Northern Powergrid is deploying temporary fixes that get customers back on supply whilst its teams coordinate the necessary permanent repairs to get the region’s power network back to full strength.

Rod Gardner, Northern Powergrid’s major incident manager, added:

“The impact from Storm Arwen has been one of the worst we’ve experienced in the last 20 years.”

Two Harrogate district men were fined over £4,000 today for selling a van with ‘potentially catastrophic’ faults to its brakes and structural parts.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Trading Standards team began an investigation after receiving a complaint from a resident who had bought the van in October last year to use in a long-distance house move.

The Iveco Daily van was listed on a Gumtree advert as “ready to work and runs perfect”.

However, an expert vehicle examiner found that on a road the van was dangerous because some components were corroded and there was excessive corrosion to the brake discs.

Paul Beesley, of Allotment Gardens, Harrogate and Andrew Birch, of The Green, Kirkby Malzeard, Ripon pleaded guilty at York Magistrates’ Court to offences under the Road Traffic Act 198T8 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Mr Beesley and Mr Birch were each ordered to pay a total of £2,006 in fines and costs at the rate of £200 per month.

The two men are listed on Companies House as directors of Boroughbridge firm Boss Motorhome Hire.

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County Councillor Derek Bastiman, executive member for Trading Standards, said:

“The resident relied on the description of this van in the advert he saw, and thought that he had bought a vehicle that he could use safely on an international journey.

“The nature of the faults on the van could have led to a terrible outcome for him, other road users or pedestrians, and for that reason trading standards officers will always take action where there is evidence that an unsafe vehicle has been supplied in the county.”

The acrimonious struggle over the former Henry Jenkins Inn in Kirkby Malzeard has taken a new twist.

Last week campaigners handed a 500-plus name petition to Harrogate Borough Council calling for part of the closed-down and derelict premises to be re-listed as an asset of community value (ACV).

But now Justin Claybourn has taken the property off the market and informed the Henry Jenkins Community Pub campaign group (HJCP) he will not sell to them ‘at any time or any price’.

Mr Claybourn, whose successful planning appeal in December 2020 gives him permission to create a single dwelling in the part of the building that he owns, is now going to press ahead with plans to convert it to residential use and create a family holiday home.

Campaigners collecting names for their petition in Harrogate.

His business associate and agent David Fielder, who owns the pub group Fielder Holdings, told the Stray Ferret:

“Since 2018 Mr Claybourn has owned the old joiner’s shop, previously known as the eastern annex of the Henry Jenkins.

“The pub closed more than 10 years ago and Mr Claybourn has become increasingly annoyed with the campaign group’s actions, in particular their third attempt to have his property listed as an ACV even after his successful planning appeal.

“He directly holds HJCP responsible for the cost of defending the three ACV applications but further in his opinion the cost of his planning appeal. These costs exceed £25,000.”

Mr Fielder added:

“Over the past 10 years, nobody, including HJCP, has made a bid meeting the criteria that the property was on offer for — i.e. backed by hard cash, not pledges.

“With this in mind, following the latest move by HJCP, my client asked me to formally instruct them that his property has been removed from sale and will not return to the market.

“I was also instructed to advise them that due to their actions and costs they have made Mr Claybourn incur he would never consider a sale of his property at any time or at any price to HJCP.”

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Richard Sadler, press spokesman for the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group, said:

“This statement comes as no surprise to us and changes nothing:  The only reason the Henry Jenkins has stood empty for the last 10 years is that Mr Fielder — and latterly his associate Mr Claybourn — have refused to sell it to anyone.

“We have submitted to the council statements from three prospective private buyers who wanted to buy and refurbish it as a pub and restaurant — including a Michelin two-star trained chef —  but they were told either that the asking price had been vastly inflated or that the pub had been sold.

“The Henry Jenkins Community Pub group has since made five offers to buy the pub at or above the price set by an independent valuer – but all these offers have been refused.”

“Despite this – and despite previous statements by Mr Fielder saying he would never sell the pub to us – we remain open and willing to discuss terms for a purchase of the Henry Jenkins as a community facility.”

A decision on whether a Harrogate district pub under threat from demolition will regain its protected status will be made by next month.

The Henry Jenkins Inn at Kirkby Malzeard has been at the centre of a long-fought battle between villagers and a developer since it closed in 2011 and was later removed as an asset of community value by Harrogate Borough Council.

In a latest attempt to secure its future, a petition from the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group was delivered to a council meeting last Wednesday. The petition urged the authority to “do the right thing” and reinstate the 18th century pub’s protected status.

The council has now issued a statement saying it will make a decision “no later than 10 November”.

A council spokesperson said:

“The council received an asset of community value nomination for the ‘eastern part’ of the Henry Jenkins public house on 16 September from Henry Jenkins Community Pub.

“It is currently being assessed against the criteria in the Localism Act and a decision will be made no later than 10 November as required by the legislation.”

The status of an asset of community value means buildings must be used by the community and are protected from a change of use or demolition.

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If approved, the campaign group hopes to buy and take over the running of the pub for which it says it has the backing of £237,000 in share pledges.

One of the Harrogate district’s oldest pubs

The Henry Jenkins is named after the Yorkshire super-centenarian that legend states lived to be 169 years old.

It is one of the oldest inns in the Harrogate district and is the last of several pubs in the area named after Mr Jenkins, who is reputed to have lived from 1500 to 1670.

The Henry Jenkins pictured when it closed in 2011. Photo: Google.

Despite its rich history, members of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group say it has now fallen into a state of disrepair and is in need of a change of ownership in order to bring it back to its former glory.

Speaking at last week’s meeting, group member Richard Sadler said the pub was an “intrinsic part of the history, culture and identity” of Kirkby Malzeard, but had recently become a “blight” on the village.

He said: 

“We have now put together a business plan and have community share pledges for £237,000 to buy the pub.

“But there is a problem. The council has delisted part of it simply because that part was sold off.

“That is why we are asking the council to do the right thing and put the whole pub back as an asset of community value so we have a chance of bringing it back as a thriving pub for future generations.

“This could be a huge boost to our village and the whole region.”

A petition calling for a historic village pub under threat from demolition to be reinstated as an asset of community value has been handed in to Harrogate Borough Council.

More than 500 people have supported the campaign to save the 18th century Henry Jenkins Inn at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, which has been at the centre of a long-fought battle between villagers and a developer since it closed in 2011.

The building was made an asset of community value six years after it closed, but the protected status was later removed by the council after part of the pub was sold off.

Campaigners were in Harrogate yesterday gathering signatures in support of the bid ahead of a full council meeting.

Richard Sadler, one of the campaigners, told councillors that the pub was an “intrinsic part of the history, culture and identity” of Kirkby Malzeard, but had recently become a “blight” on the village.

He said the council should now “do the right thing” and reinstate the pub’s protected status to stop it from being demolished for housing and so that it can be run by the community.

Mr Sadler said: 

“We have now put together a business plan and have community share pledges for £237,000 to buy the pub.

“But there is a problem. The council has delisted part of it simply because that part was sold off.

“That is why we are asking the council to do the right thing and put the whole pub back as an asset of community value so we have a chance of bringing it back as a thriving pub for future generations.

“This could be a huge boost to our village and the whole region.”

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The council has yet to respond to the petition.

Earlier this year, villagers were dealt a blow to their campaign when a government planning inspector overturned a council decision to refuse permission for part of the pub to be converted into a home.

Inspector Helen Hockenhull said in a report at the time that there was “no reasonable prospect of the public house reopening”.

The status of an asset of community value means buildings must be used by the community and are protected from a change of use or demolition.

The Henry Jenkins is named after the Yorkshire super-centenarian that legend states lived to be 169-years-old.

It is one of the oldest inns in the Harrogate district and is the last of several pubs in the area named after Mr Jenkins who is reputed to have lived from 1500 to 1670.

The bitter battle between a community campaign group and the owner of a now-derelict pub in Kirkby Malzeard rages on.

More than 10 years after the last pint was pulled at the Henry Jenkins Inn, the fight has entered a new phase.

Campaigners want to refurbish and resurrect the centuries-old inn and see it return as a community-owned and run pub, restaurant and coffee shop.

To support their case, they have launched a petition calling on Harrogate Borough Council to restore Asset of Community Value listing, so it covers all of the building in Main Street.

They hope that the petition will contain 500 or more signatures when it is presented at the full council meeting next Wednesday.

Also preparing an approach to the council is David Fielder, owner of the western portion of the building, which was the original pub before an eastern annex was added.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I am going to apply for a change of use from public house to residential.”

Flashback to how The Henry Jenkins Inn looked before it closed

Fielder Holdings, Mr Fielder’s pub company, sold the eastern part of the building to his business associate Justin Claybourn, who subsequently applied for a change of use to allow conversion to a single dwelling.

The council’s decision to refuse the application was overturned at a planning appeal in December.

At the online hearing, planning inspector Helen Hockenhull said:

“I am not persuaded that the loss of the annex would make the remaining pub unviable for an alternative community use.

“The scheme would therefore not result in the unnecessary loss of a community facility reducing the community’s ability to meet its day to day needs.”

‘No prospect of reopening’

In making her decision, Ms Hockenhull took into account the fact that Kirkby Malzeard already has a pub – The Queen’s Head, as well as Kirkby Malzeard Mechanics Institute, which is also licensed to sell alcohol.

In a hammer blow to campaigners, she concluded:

“There is no reasonable prospect of the public house reopening.”

However, the campaign group thinks differently, though its ambitions are reliant upon securing the purchase of the whole site from its two owners.

In May, they offered £200,001 for the entire Henry Jenkins building, saying it would use £237,000 of pledges made by supporters to fund the deal.

Richard Sadler, press spokesman for the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group, said:

“It’s vitally important that this pub is recognised for what it is: The Henry Jenkins has been an essential part of the fabric of this village for hundreds of years, the overwhelming majority of villagers want it back as a pub and community facility – and they’ve put their money where their mouth is.”

But Mr Fielder said:

“Both my part of the former pub and Mr Claybourn’s eastern annex remain for sale. For the whole site any purchaser would need around £500,000 to secure a deal.

“We’ve always been willing to speak with the campaigners, but there is a significant difference between their valuation and our own.”

Possible £250,000 support

If the campaigners, who have the support of Kirkby Malzeard Parish Council, district ward councillor Nigel Simms and former MP and now pub campaigner Greg Mulholland, are successful in their application to obtain ACV listing for all of the Henry Jenkins, Mr Sadler, claimed:

“The group would be well placed to qualify for up to £250,000 under the government’s new Community Ownership Fund.”

He does, however, admit:

“If the whole of the pub is not recognised as an ACV, that could sink our chances.”

“That’s why we’re calling on the council to do the right thing. It never made sense to delist half a pub just because it has changed hands – the council should be helping local communities rather than private developers.”

It took six-and-a-half hours to drive 10-year-old Tegan Ford and her pony from North Yorkshire to West Sussex for a one-minute ride, but it was well worth it.

The long journey was to Hickstead – home of the famous derby that attracts the world’s elite showjumpers – and mother, Sarah, didn’t want her daughter to miss the experience of taking part in the National Schools Equestrian Association event.

Tegan and her 18-year-old pony, called Lilly Hill Make My Day, had earned their place by winning a qualifying competition at Northallerton Equestrian Centre.

They represented Grewelthorpe Primary School in the county showjumping class over fences measuring 70-75cm.

Tegan and her mother Sarah, with ponies Sox and Leo in the background

The event, for riders up to the age of 12, attracted 30 entries and Tegan was the only representative from the north.

She and her bright bay pony with four nimble white feet, completed a clear round over 12 fences, but her left foot slipped out of the stirrup at the sixth obstacle and the lost seconds meant they finished a very creditable fourth.

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Tegan said:

“That was really annoying, but Sox [the stable name for her pony] kept balanced and her experience meant we cleared all of the fences.

“I was so proud of her, she is a lovely horse.”

As well as the journey down to Hickstead, there was another six and a half hour drive back to Yorkshire after an overnight stay down south.

Ms Ford, who drove the hired horsebox, told the Stray Ferret:

“When I discovered that Tegan and Sox had qualified for an event at Hickstead, I wanted to ensure that she could take part.

“It’s a long way to go to see a ride of only 60 seconds, but its something we will both remember for all our lives.”

Tegan has won more than 50 rosettes since she started riding at the age of six and last year collected a prize of £100 for winning a Show Cross competition at Richmond Equestrian Centre,

She was due to take part in the same event this weekend and her bright bay Sox, looks fit and raring to go.

Kirkby Malzeard Flower and Produce Show returns today after a two-year absence.

The show, held at the Mechanics Institute, features 115 classes, including floral bouquets, photography and wonkiest vegetable.

Now in its 39th year, the event was originally known as The Marrow Show and saw local growers present their biggest marrows in the local pub.

Tomorrow’s event is open to the public between 1.30pm and 4.30pm. Entry is 50p.

Exhibitors can drop off their entries from 7.30am ready for judging later in the day.

Cash prizes are being offered thanks to funding from local businesses and people.

Committee member Heather Clark-Kelly said:

“It’s a village tradition, everyone loves getting involved. This year we have new categories including the showstopper, like from Bake Off, and new children’s categories too”.

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Long-standing volunteer Arnie Clements will be handing out the awards at the end of the day. Mr Clements has been involved in the show since it first started as The Marrow Show but this year is his last.

After the prizes are awarded all leftover produce and floral displays are auctioned off to the public.

A Harrogate councillor’s second attempt for final permission to build a countryside home has been deferred because she could not prove why it needs to be so big.

Conservative cllr Margaret Atkinson was first granted outline permission to build the four-bed property opposite her existing home in Kirkby Malzeard in 2019 and has since made two failed attempts to secure a final go-ahead under a reserved matters application.

This is because the proposed home is classed as an “agricultural workers’ dwelling” which brings with it rules on size to ensure it can be affordable to any future owners. Cllr Atkinson’s plans include four bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, sunroom, an office, storage and two-bay car port.

A report from council planning officer Emma Howson said the plans were “considerably larger” than guidelines allow and that no evidence had been provided as to the 276 square metres of floorspace is needed.

This, however, was contested by an agent for cllr Atkinson who at a meeting last week accused the council of being “overly oppressive” in recommending the plans for refusal.

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The recommendation was not supported by members of the planning committee who instead voted for a deferral to allow time for more information to be brought forward.
Cllr Zoe Metcalfe told the meeting last Tuesday.

“We need to have the whole picture,.We need to know exactly why they need a larger dwelling and come back to committee with that information.”

Cllr Stuart Martin, the mayor of Harrogate, also said he was “disappointed” that all of the facts were not brought forward for committee members to make a final decision. He said:

“I’m certainly not opposed to turning these plans down once I have the full facts in front of me but I would like to see the information and justification first.
“If the information doesn’t stack up, I will absolutely vote against it.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Pat Marsh added:

“If we allow this to go through we will cause all kinds of problems in the future and it will look even worse when we know who the applicant is.
“There are so many policies against this that I do not see how we can actually approve it.
“If we are going to say there is a need for this then let’s make sure what is built there is an agricultural dwelling, not something that is much larger and grander.”

Cllr Atkinson – who represents the Fountains and Ripley ward – is a member of the planning committee but is not allowed to debate or vote on her own proposals.

Her plans will be brought back to another meeting in the coming months.