North Yorkshire Police has issued a CCTV image of a man it wants to talk to after alcohol was stolen in Harrogate.
According to a statement issued last night, £76 worth of alcohol was taken from Marks & Spencer Simply Food on Beech Avenue.
It happened at about 5.50pm on Saturday, March 23.
Anyone who can identify the man or has any other information about the incident can email Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk.
Alternatively, you can call 101, select option 2 and ask for Brendon Frith or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.
Quote reference number 12240051837.
Read more:
M&S café in Harrogate saved after U-turn
Marks & Spencer has decided to retain a café at its Leeds Road food hall in Harrogate after previously saying it would close.
The company announced in December it planned to increase the size of its food hall at Oatlands by more than 70% and extend into the neighbouring Sofa.com retail unit.
It said the scheme would enable it to ‘deliver a bigger, better and fresher new-look food hall’ but that it would mean closing the in-store café.
How the Oatlands food hall will look.
The café is a popular meeting point and the news prompted a petition calling for it to be retained.
M&S has now confirmed to the Stray Ferret that its new look food hall will include a café.
The woman who organised the petition, who lives near the food hall but asked not to be named, said the manager of the store had contacted her to say the café would be retained but would be smaller. She said she understood it was likely to be similar in size to the new Pret shop in Harrogate town centre.
But she welcomed the decision to retain the café:
“I’m pleased. There isn’t a café like it in the area. It’s a place people go to meet friends, especially older people.
“I think they recognise the whole community uses it and a lot of people said they wouldn’t go there any more if it closed.”
Read more:
- 200 people sign petition to save Harrogate M&S cafe
- M&S gives sneak peek of expanded Harrogate Oatlands store
200 people sign petition to save Harrogate M&S cafe
More than 200 people have signed a petition opposing the closure of the cafe in Marks & Spencer‘s store on Leeds Road, Harrogate.
The company wants to increase the size of its food hall at Oatlands by more than 70% and extend into the neighbouring Sofa.com retail unit.
But the plans would also see the closure of the cafe, which is a popular meeting point.
The petition, sent to the Stray Ferret by one of the signatories, says:
“There is such strong feeling about the cafe. Your customers really appreciate the service and feeling of community there. The staff are also so kind and friendly.
“The customers see it as a wonderful meeting place, a resource which is convenient for shopping and a place for parents and children to meet up before and after school.
“The elderly and lonely also find friendship in the cafe. Plus the food and drink is excellent! I really hope you will read all the comments and reconsider closing the cafe.”
Read more:
- M&S gives sneak peek of expanded Harrogate Oatlands store
- Petition mooted over Marks & Spencer plans to close Harrogate Oatlands cafe
The petition has also been sent to Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
If M&S’ plans are approved by Harrogate Borough Council, the expanded store will include an in-store bakery, wine shop, fill your own section to reduce waste and new decor throughout.
The retailer said in a statement:
Petition mooted over Marks & Spencer plans to close Harrogate Oatlands cafe“Our expansion plans at M&S Harrogate Oatlands are designed to deliver a bigger, better and fresher new-look food hall for shoppers and mark a significant investment in the local area.
“Whilst these plans involve closing the in-store café, they will allow us to transform the store to deliver the very best of M&S for our customers in Harrogate, with a bigger range of M&S food products than ever before.”
Marks & Spencer has submitted plans to expand its Simply Food store on Leeds Road, Harrogate and close the cafe.
M&S was granted planning permission to demolish a car showroom and build the store at Oatlands Retail Park in 2012.
It now plans to expand into the adjoining sofa.com unit.
The company actually had permission to occupy the sofa.com site in 2012 but did not want as much space then and chose to sub-divide the unit instead.
A planning document sent to Harrogate Borough Council by commercial real estate agents Avison Young (UK) on behalf of M&S reveals the retailer now plans to expand and ‘remove’ the cafe. It says:
“The current works to reverse the unit’s sub-division reflect changes in consumer demand for food products in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and a wider business strategy by M&S to invest in and expand its food retail offer.”
A Stray Ferret reader got in touch to say the potential loss of the cafe had not gone down well with customers and some were considering a petition calling on the company to reconsider.
An M&S spokesperson said:
“Our expansion plans at M&S Harrogate Oatlands are designed to deliver a bigger, better and fresher new-look food hall for shoppers and mark a significant investment in the local area.
“Whilst these plans involve closing the in-store café, they will allow us to transform the store to deliver the very best of M&S for our customers in Harrogate, with a bigger range of M&S food products than ever before.”
Read more:
- Jaeger to return to Harrogate inside Marks and Spencer
- New digital and tech office space to open in Harrogate