Knaresborough gift shop to open this weekend

A new home and gift shop is set to open in Knaresborough over the Easter weekend.

Trinket will open on Saturday, March 30 at 11 Castlegate in the former Cave & Castle delicatessen premises.

The independent boutique will sell home fragrance, handbags, throws and cushions, stationery, jewellery and home décor.

The store is owned by partners Claire Gagon and Georgia France who live in Starbeck.

They decided to move to the district last year after they “fell in love with the area”. Prior to their Knaresborough business venture they owned a café bar in Macclesfield but sold it when they decided to move to the Harrogate area.

Ms Gagon said:

“We spotted the shop was empty and made enquiries to acquire it. It has a lot of character and the landlady has given us permission to make use of her lovely shop.”

She added that they renovated the shop to “bring it back to its former glory”.

The Cave & Castlle delicatessen prior to Trinket’s refurbishment

Ms Gagon said:

“The shop needed quite a lot of work doing to it, it had fallen into a state of disrepair. It has been rewired throughout, a new kitchen for our personal use has been installed, new bathroom facilities, repairs to shop front and new signage, new flooring throughout, we have a builder on site to make repairs.

“We have settled in well and our lovely neighbours have been so welcoming. We are going to be open for the easter weekend, hopefully fingers crossed.”

Charlotte Gale, of Knaresborough & District Chamber, added:

“We’re delighted to welcome Trinket to Knaresborough. We’re fortunate to have such a diverse range of independent businesses in the town, with some fantastic new openings during the past year. A new home and gift shop will really compliment the current Castlegate and Green Dragon Yard offering and we wish the owners every success with their new venture”

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Two Brothers opens new takeaway in Knaresborough

Two Brothers Grill and Pizzeria opened its new takeaway on Chain Lane in Knaresborough yesterday.

The company previously operated a restaurant and takeaway at Castle Courtyard.

But it became too busy at times so the business decided to set up a standalone takeaway in the former Chilli Hut unit.

It sells pizza, pasta and burgers and other options including vegan dishes.

The Two Brothers restaurant on Castle Courtyard continues to operate as a restaurant.

First customer Stephen Teggin, a local businessman who lives next to the takeaway, was given a free pizza to mark the start of the new venture.

Two Brothers was established in March 2018 when the Ravasz brothers, Nandor and Szilard, opened the business with their wives Vivien Kovacs and Eniko Szenasi.

First customer Stephen Teggin receives his pizza.

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Knaresborough’s Marigold Café expansion plans approved

Plans to extend the Marigold Café in Knaresborough have been approved.

The café, situated alongside the River Nidd on Waterside, is one of the most familiar sights in the town. The business also provides rowing boats for hire.

The owners applied to North Yorkshire Council for a single storey extension for toilets.

The council has now approved the planning application, saying it “will enhance the service offered by the existing building to the district’s visitor economy”.

The café consists of two main buildings. The former boat house building provides seats and a single disabled toilet. The kitchen block and servery is located in a separate block.

The extension will create an additional toilet next to the existing disabled toilet.

A design and access statement, submitted in support of the application, said the existing buildings have undergone extensive refurbishment, adding:

“It has a slate tiled pitched roof and vertical timber weather cladding to walls with a waterproof render finish as flood defence at low level.”

Marigold Cafe (left) on Waterside

The “small” extension, the statement added, would “create a much needed additional toilet”.

“It is proposed that the building will have a flat roof to keep its height and impact on the street scene and the residences opposite to a minimum. The impact of the proposal is further mitigated by the existing high hedge which completely conceals the extension from Waterside.

“The walls will be clad in weatherboarding and render to match the existing building.”

The council’s decision notice said the proposed extension “is not considered to be a detrimental impact to the surrounding conservation area, nor to the character of the surrounding landscape”.

It added:

“Yorkshire Garden’s Trust have commented that they would not consider the proposal to harm the setting of the Grade II registered Garden ‘The Long Walk’ and have no objection to the scheme.

“The extension to the café will enhance the service offered by the existing building to the district’s visitor economy.”

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School holiday frustration as Knaresborough play area remains closed

A family has voiced frustration about the ongoing closure of the new council-owned play area next to Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre.

Fysche Hall Field Play Area opened briefly in February only to close a few days later due to wet weather. It has not reopened since and is now not expected to do so until May.

This is disappointing news for Knaresborough families whose young children would like to use the facilities, which include swings, a climbing frame and a slide, during the Easter holidays.

Hayley Lister, whose step-grandson is nearly two, said it was frustrating not to be able to use council facilities when council tax was rising.

She added:

“I understand we have had a lot of rain but surely if they are building a brand new park they would have a good drainage system in place for the water to run away.

“It’s the Easter holidays now and I just hope this will be open as there will be a lot disappointed children if it stays shut.”

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council for an update.

Karl Battersby, the council ’s corporate director of environment, said:

“The play area was installed as part of the new swimming pool complex in Knaresborough and was handed over to our parks team to manage once building work on the development was completed.

“The play area opened in time for the February half–term holiday, but the site became very muddy due to extremely wet weather over the last few months and was closed as the newly-laid turf needed to dry out.

“As the weather has not improved and heavy rain is still forecast, the current plan is to reopen the site at the beginning of May.”

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Rail disruption expected over Easter weekend

Train operator Northern has advised people to ‘check before you travel’ over Easter.

Engineering work is scheduled over the bank holiday weekend, meaning there will be disruption to services between Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1.

Trains will still be running on Easter Sunday and the two bank holidays, but some journeys may take longer than usual and services may finish earlier in the day. Some routes have reduced services and a small number are closed completely.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer, said:

“Easter has long-been a period when essential engineering work is carried out as there are fewer customers travelling than normal.

“We do appreciate, however, that this still causes disruption for those who are on the move and we work closely with Network Rail to ensure the impact is kept to a minimum and alternative transport is provided wherever possible.

“During periods of disruption, customers are always advised to ‘check before you travel’ and to allow extra time for their journeys.”

Last week, the train driver union, ASLEF, announced that strikes that will take place the week after Easter. Walk outs are planned between Friday April 5 and Monday April 8.

Northern services will be impacted by this action on Saturday April  6. More information is due to be released closer to the time.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with over 500 stations across the North of England including Harrogate, Knaresborough and Starbeck.

For more information about travelling over the Easter bank holiday weekend, click here.

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Knaresborough man jailed for racially aggravated verbal abuse

A Knaresborough man, who used racially aggravated threatening language and later dodged police custody, has been jailed.

Lee Harpin, 38, of Littondale Avenue, appeared at York Magistrates Court on Monday for sentencing.

He was found guilty of two counts of using threatening language with intent to provoke violence in a racially aggravated incident when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court last month.

Harpin was granted unconditional bail pending sentencing but when he failed to turn-up for sentencing, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was eventually charged with failing to surrender to custody.

He pleaded guilty to the latter charge on Monday and was handed a 26-week prison sentence for the three offences.

According to court documents, magistrates considered Harpin’s “previous record of offending” when deciding his sentence, and felt prison was the only justified punishment for offences “so serious”.

Harpin was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £154, as well as a further £620 to the Crown Prosecution Service, for the abuse offences.

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5 things to do in and around Harrogate this weekend from 22-24 MarchThe Knaresborough shop ‘delivering beeswax products directly from Mother Nature’Stinger ends 100mph police chase in Knaresborough

A stinger punctured the tyres of a stolen car following a high-speed police chase that ended in Knaresborough today.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement a high-performance Mercedes was stolen by a teenager in York just after 4am this morning.

It was stolen as part of a two-in-one burglary, which is when thieves break into a house and steal car keys. Keys to other vehicles, cash and jewellery were also taken.

The statement added:

“We tracked down a high-performance Mercedes that was stolen soon after 4am this morning.

“The driver failed to stop, reaching speeds of well over 100mph.

“We deployed a stinger to puncture its tyres near Knaresborough, with support from the NPAS police helicopter.”

The vehicle crashed on a roundabout, where an 18-year-old man from the Hull area was detained.

Police said he remains in custody.

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Councillors approve 135 homes off Harrogate’s Skipton Road

Councillors have voted to approve 135 homes on the site of a former farm off Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The proposals by Rowan Green Developments Ltd will see the homes built at Cow Dyke Farm near Jennyfields.

The land is allocated for housing in the council’s local plan and the scheme was recommended for approval in a report.

The majority of the homes will have between one and three bedrooms and 54 are expected to be classed as affordable.

Chris Calvert spoke on behalf of the developer at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this afternoon.

He said the application met all of the council’s planning requirements.

Mr Calvert said:

“The site is within development limits for Harrogate. It’s been assessed by the local authority to be a suitable and deliverable site for new homes on the edge of Harrogate.

“It will be a high-quality and sustainable development ”

Cow Dyke Farm. Image: Rowan Green Developments Ltd.

Councillors visited the site this morning where concerns were raised about the current 40mph speed limit for motorists on Skipton Road.

Hundreds of homes have been built nearby in recent years and Tesco has planning permission to build a new supermarket close to the site.

Cllr Robert Windass (Conservative, Boroughbridge and Claro) asked if the speed limit on the nearby section of Skipton Road could be lowered to 30mph.

He said he saw a woman cross the road this morning with a pushchair, adding:

“40mph was maybe OK when there was no housing there, but I now think it’s inappropriate.”

However, his request was knocked back by a council transport officer who said the 40mph limit was appropriate.

North Yorkshire Council has asked the developer to pay a one-off contribution of £161,906 towards Killinghall Village Hall and £76,347 for improvements at Jennyfields recreation play area.

This led Terry Jones, representing the 72 objectors, to say the developer was offering a “paltry sum” towards local services.

Mr Jones said:

“You all seem to assume it’s going ahead. It’s probably a waste of time objecting, but it’s interesting to see the impact on local services. To employ extra doctors, dentists, teachers, it costs money every year.”

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans but a reserved matters application that deals with the scheme’s appearance and landscape will come before the planning committee at a future meeting before homes can be built.

Cllr Windass added:

“It looks to be a sympathetic approach to development on this land. I hope when they come back at reserved matters, the sympathy of the site is maintained and improved on.”

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