New owners give General Tarleton £500,000 refurbishment

The General Tarleton’s new owners have given the restaurant, bar and hotel a major £500,000 refurbishment.

Father and daughter team Jonathan and Sarah Morris took on the venue earlier this year and have just reopened after months of work.

The family took on the business after the previous owners, Suzanne and John Topham, put it into voluntary liquidation in September 2020.

General Tarleton, which is in Ferrensby, near Knaresborough, has built up a good reputation for fine dining over the last couple of decades.

Ralph’s is the new fine dining restaurant side of the General Tarleton. It serves up a seven course tasting menu for £55 per person.

The new owners want to keep that reputation going but have also expanded the offering with a more informal and accessible menu for the bar and Sunday lunch menu.

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Sarah Morris, a general manager and one of the owners, told the Stray Ferret:

“We want to make sure that this is a real destination for people. Hopefully people will see the effort we have not only put into the building but also the new menus.

“You are still getting the tip top in terms of produce but it is more accessible, more casual. We still have the fine dining, which is what we have worked very hard on.

“The reputation of the General Tarleton is why we wanted to jump at the opportunity. We plan to not just maintain that reputation but also to improve upon it.”

Not only have they given the bar and restaurant a new lease of life, but they have upgraded the rooms and added a further two so there are now 15 hotel rooms in total.

Jonathan Morris, who has overseen the refurbishment and is one of the owners, also said:

“We took on the business in January and when we saw the coronavirus roadmap, our target was to open for indoor dining.

“It has taken a lot of work and a lot of money. At one time we had around 20 contractors here. But the results speak for themselves.

“We have got a good team. The attention to detail is second to none so I am confident we can build on the great reputation of the General Tarleton.”

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Sing it loud! Knaresborough choir returns tomorrow night

A Knaresborough community choir will sing live for the first time this year tomorrow night after making last minute arrangements to beat new lockdown rules.

Numerous choirs in the Harrogate district were looking forward to meeting face-to-face again after restrictions eased on May 17.

But government guidance changed at the last minute to say amateur choirs in England could only gather in groups of up to six people indoors.

Knot Another Choir in Knaresborough, which has up to 80 singers in normal times performing pop songs from the 1960s onwards, was faced with having to cancel its return to the town’s Trinity Church Hall after months of Zoom singing.

But after some frantic calls around the district, Julie Bradbury-Sharp, a trustee of the choir and its events coordinator, managed to secure the use of a marquee at Harrogate Railway Athletic FC‘s ground, which is classed as outdoors and therefore able to accommodate the group.

Craig Lees, Knot Another Choir

Craig Lees, Knot Another Choir’s musical director.

Ms Bradbury-Sharp said:

“When I discovered the rules had changed I wanted to cry. I felt so upset, not only for myself but for members as well.

“It’s uplifting to sing in a choir. Not being able to do so has mental health implications — some people who come live on their own and love singing in the choir.

“I’m just over the moon that we are back.”

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Ms Bradbury-Sharp alerted Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones to the plight of choirs.

Mr Jones raised the issue in a parliamentary debate about covid yesterday, urging the government to resume as soon as possible “indoor gatherings for groups such as community choirs, and other events that bring people together”.

The first song on Knot Another Choir’s list for tomorrow night is Simply the Best by Tina Turner. Ms Bradbury-Sharp said:

“It’s a rousing song to let everybody know we are back!”

Knaresborough Lions and restaurant offer free half-term meals to kids

Knaresborough organisations have joined forces to help vulnerable families and children locally this half-term.

Knaresborough Lions and the restaurant Zolsha have teamed up with young people’s organisation Inspire Youth to provide food for children involved in one of Inspire Youth’s workshops on June 1.

Each child will receive a free curry before the outdoor activities begin.

This workshop is being used as a trial event in the hope of getting more businesses and groups involved in helping the local community.

Zolsha reached out to Knaresborough Lions in the first lockdown wanting to do its bit to help those struggling.

Jav Mian, owner of Zolsha, said:

“As Muslims, we have an obligation to support our community. We have raised money and also sent clothing to Bangladesh, but this is the first time we have been able to help in Knaresborough.

“It feels more real when you meet the people you are helping. A few have been very emotional when collecting their food. We are very happy to be able to help.”

The operation has since grown to include Knaresborough Connectors, Resurrected Bites and King James’s School.

Kevin Lloyd, from Knaresborough Lions, and Mr Mian work with the other organisations to offer five families a week a free dinner.

Mr Lloyd said the families had been given the vouchers by Resurrected Bites, which distributes food going to landfill, and the school after being identified as needing extra support.

He added not everyone was struggling financially; some families may have experienced a sudden loss and needed a boost.

After rebooting the scheme in January, they have given away over 200 free meals and still want to do more.

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Kevin Lloyd, a member of the Lions welfare team, said:

“We knew that many people have lost their jobs or were struggling with furlough wages, but we quickly understood there was more to it than that.

“Resurrected Bites helped us reach the financially challenged, but the school identified families facing other issues too. Many people have told me their story when ordering their meals, they have said it makes a real difference to know someone cares and wants to help.”

The Lions are asking anyone interested in getting involved in future projects to get in touch via their website or on Facebook.

Police object to Knaresborough pub’s plans to serve late drinks outside

A Knaresborough pub could be granted permission to serve customers alcohol outside until 10pm if an objection from police is withdrawn.

The Cricketers, located on Thistle Hill, Calcutt, wants approval to extend its premises licence to include an outdoor bar but North Yorkshire Police says it must agree to rules around CCTV.

Licensing officer PC Jackie Allen said in an objection to the application that while cameras were being installed to cover the outdoor area they must be of a high quality, recording at all times when the pub is open and with the footage made available within 48 hours of any request. She said:

“North Yorkshire Police believe that the following conditions need to be placed onto the premises licence for the purposes of strengthening and promoting the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance.

“If the applicant is in agreement with the proposed conditions set by North Yorkshire Police, the representation will be retracted.”

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The pub is located at the former Union Hotel and is owned by national brewing and pub retailing business Marston’s.

Currently, it has a licence to serve customers from the indoor bar until midnight Sunday to Thursday and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The new application, set to be decided by Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee at a meeting next Tuesday, will cover service from a new outdoor bar.

No other objections other than from North Yorkshire Police have been received.

Barclays begins Knaresborough mobile bank trial today

Barclays bank will trial a mobile banking service in Knaresborough over three days this summer, starting today.

The mobile bank will be available in Harrogate Borough Council’s Chapel Street car park and customers of the bank can drop in or book an appointment through this website.

The bank will be there today as well as on June 17 and July 20. Its opening hours are 9.45am to 2.30pm.

Knaresborough’s last bank, Halifax, closed its doors for good in February this year. News of the bank’s closure prompted 1,200 people to sign a petition to keep it open.

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Last year, Harrogate Borough Council ran a consultation to gather views on Knaresborough banking services.

Cllr Graham Swift, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said:

“The issues regarding banking availability in Knaresborough have been well documented, and Councillor Darling, particularly, has pushed hard to seek new, flexible solutions.

:Officers have also worked very hard to seek a potential solution and this trial with Barclays is the result of a lot of work and persistence.

“I would encourage the residents of Knaresborough to embrace this lifeline and use the service as much as possible. Retail and banking services are going through great change, and persistent use and strong demand are critical to retain this trial. We are very grateful to Barclays and everybody involved in getting this to happen.”

Academy trust appointed to run new Knaresborough school

Elevate Multi Academy Trust has been appointed to run the new primary school that is being built at Manse Farm in Knaresborough.

The Thirsk-based trust, which was created in 2017, has 12 members schools in north and west Yorkshire, including three in Knaresborough.

They are Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School.

The £5 million school will cater for families moving into the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road, as well as the wider Knaresborough area.

It is being funded by North Yorkshire County Council, using government grants, and a £2 million contribution from the developer, Linden Homes in conjunction with Taylor Wimpey UK.

The school is set to open in September 2023 after the county council delayed its original planned opening date of September 2022 due to covid slowing construction work.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420 pupils if necessary.

Nigel Ashley, chief executive of Elevate Multi Academy Trust, said:

“On behalf of Elevate and my team, I am delighted that we have been awarded such a prestigious honour to develop future educational excellence for new families who will be moving into the Manse Farm Estate area.

“We already have strong presence in the Knaresborough area, where we are familiar with the demographics and needs of the local community.

“Our utmost priority is quality provision where we all can achieve together and we look forward to opening the doors to our new, free school in September 2023.”

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The school will be a state-funded academy, in line with Department for Education guidance.

It was granted planning permission in June 2020.

Patrick Mulligan, the council’s member for education and schools, said it had been a “very competitive tender process”, adding:

“The Harrogate Local Plan has identified that in the medium to long term, more than 1,000 new properties will be built in Knaresborough and a new school will be needed over the coming years to meet demand.”

Knaresborough businesses call for social distancing cones to go

Three Knaresborough businesses have united to call for the removal of the social distancing cones in the town centre.

The traffic cones have been in place on the High Street since the start of the pandemic but some traders and residents feel now is time for them to go.

The government is due to drop all social distancing measures next month in the final step of the roadmap out of lockdown.

However, three business owners told the Stray Ferret the cones should be removed as soon as possible so disc parking spaces can be restored.

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Hairdresser Kelly Teggin, who owns a shop on Castlegate, told the Stray Ferret:

“The car parking spaces are needed more than the room they provide for social distancing.

“When I have stood on the High Street and watched, I do not see anyone using the cones to walk around others anymore.

“But in the last few weeks when it has been busy in town, nearly all of my clients were 20 minutes late because they could not find a parking space.”

Jordan Thompson, who owns Harriets Clothing, also said:

“We need normality back and we need parking available so people can come and spend their money in time like they used to do.

“Now is the time for them to go. They are very ugly and people drive into them all the time.”

The president of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and barber shop owner, Steve Teggin, added his frustration:

“If you look at the High Street and the rest of town, it is still very quiet. A lot of people are still affected by the lack of parking.

“Unfortunately, we are losing customers to Harrogate so we have got to stop that now.”

The businesses called for people who agree to reach out to councillor David Goode, who represents Knaresborough on North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, by emailing him here.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council whether it was considering the removal of the cones but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Knaresborough residents call for HGV ban in narrow streets

Residents in Knaresborough have launched a campaign to stop HGVs from using a nearby industrial estate.

They say the vehicles are making their lives a misery and causing damage to nearby cars.

Hambleton Grove Industrial Estate is used by several businesses — but to enter the site the 50ft vehicles have to navigate the narrow residential street, Hambleton Grove.

Joe Farrar, who lives on Hambleton Grove, said the situation had worsened and he feared for the safety of passing children from nearby St John’s C of E Primary School.

He said:

“These heavy trucks have over the years caused an increasing amount of damage to vehicles. In one recent incident just on school time, two cars lost their wing mirrors within seconds of each other while parked within the permitted parking spaces on Hambleton Grove.

“What if the slight blow these vehicles received had been a child? We all fear it could happen.”

The site has expanded in recent years so when an application to expand the industrial estate to include the Myers builders’ merchants in 2016, North Yorkshire County Council highways recommended refusal due to the likely impact on nearby roads.

It said:

“The planning authority considers that the roads leading to the site are by reason of their poor junctions, insufficient widths considered unsuitable for the traffic which would be likely to be generated by this proposal.”

Despite the objection, the plans were passed by Harrogate Borough Council in January 2017.

Damage to this car was allegedly caused by an HGV.

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Another resident, Stephen Mckenzie, said he would like HGVs to be entirely banned from the area.

He said:

“As a neighbourhood we are really disturbed. Two of us went door-to-door at the weekend and there is near universal support in the neighbourhood for our request that HGVs are not allowed on our street.”

The residents have launched a petition to try and stop the HGVs which they will present to Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Conservative MP Andrew Jones.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:

“We are aware of concerns local residents have regarding HGV movements in this area of Knaresborough.

“We are currently taking action to ensure all turning facilities associated with business premises are available for use to ensure that unsafe manoeuvres do not take place.

“Any decision to ban certain vehicles from using roads in this location would rest with the county council as the highways authority.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s highways area manager Melisa Burnham said:

“As the local highway authority, we are aware of the issues relating to HGV movements in this area and have discussed these with local residents.

“Discussions are ongoing with the business and Harrogate Borough Council as planning authority to alleviate the problem and ensure all highway-related conditions attached to the granted planning permission are adhered to appropriately.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Myers builders merchants but it did not respond by the time of publication.

Harrogate social distancing measures to be reviewed next month

The use of planters on James Street in Harrogate for social distancing purposes is set to be reviewed as lockdown restrictions ease.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire County Council‘s executive member for access, told the Stray Ferret the issue would be reviewed next month.

June 21 is the date in the roadmap when the government is due to lift all limits on social contact.

At the start of the pandemic North Yorkshire County Council closed off parking bays to give pedestrians more room to spread out, in a move that upset some businesses.

A year later, planters and traffic cones remain on several streets in Harrogate and Knaresborough and it’s unclear how long they will stay.

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The measures continue to be a bone of contention. Harrogate Residents Association has set up a petition calling for their removal. So far, 561 people have signed.

Anna McIntee, one of the association’s founders, said:

“Please remove the planters that are blocking parking for customers on James Street and Albert Street in Harrogate town centre.

“It’s vital customers have convenient access to our shops as they try to recover from the pandemic.”

 

Expanding IT company relocates to £140,000 offices in Knaresborough

An expanding IT services provider has spent £140,000 on moving from Harrogate to larger premises in Knaresborough.

Integral IT is now based at Whitfield Business Park on Manse Lane, where it occupies two floors in open office space to fit 15 administrative and technical support staff.

Set up 15 years ago by managing director Jonathan Edwards, the company now supports almost 100 Yorkshire small to medium-sized enterprises that have between 10 and 200 members of staff.

Mr Edwards said unlike other businesses that were moving towards home working post-pandemic, his team was more productive working together in a physical space.

He added the pandemic had boosted business as more clients recognised the need for IT support. He said:

“Over the last year, we’ve seen a raft of new contract wins as businesses recognise the importance of having a reliable IT partner who makes it possible for them to function seamlessly, wherever their team is based.

“Now more than ever, companies big and small need the reassurance of having expert IT support on hand to solve any issues as well as having the ability to provide comprehensive cyber security services to protect their data.”

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The company offers 24/7 IT services for over 1,200 staff across the UK and further afield in the USA.

It is gearing up for further expansion — Mr Edwards said he expected to have “pretty much” filled the new offices by Christmas as he continues to recruit.