New Harrogate craft beer bar set to open next month

A new town centre craft beer run by the owners of Husk Beer Emporium could be open by the end of October.

Friends Danny Duckworth and Tom Gill have had a shop on King’s Road for the last couple of years.

It’s become a haven for craft beer lovers, selling a wide range of beers with idiosyncratic branding and flavours.

They will soon be creating their first bar in a former restaurant on Station Square and will keep the Husk name.

The friends received the keys from the landlord this week and are now busy refurbishing the premises ahead of opening, which Mr Gill said is likely to be late October or early November.

The bar will be in a unit previously home to Souvlaki restaurant on Station Square

The ground floor bar will have 10 craft beer lines as well as a selection of bottles and cans. It will also serve tea and coffee as well as cakes and cheeseboards.

The shop will move from King’s Road to downstairs below the bar.

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Mr Gill said it was “exciting but also nerve-wracking” to be opening.

Rising energy bills are on the mind of every business owner at the moment and he hopes the new Chancellor will cap bills for businesses in next week’s emergency budget.

He said:

“Some bars in Leeds have seen 200% to 400% increases on their energy bills. That’s pretty scary.”

Over the last decade, Harrogate has welcomed many new craft beer bars including North Bar, the Disappearing Chin and the Harrogate Tap.

Handily, the bars all follow a trail for drinkers, which Husk will be part of.

They also hope to apply for a pavement licence so drinkers can sit outside. Mr Gill said he believed his business will benefit from the proposed Station Gateway scheme that is set to transform the area and pedestrianise James Street.

He added:

“I can quite easily see the negatives [of the Station Gateway] but for us it will help increase footfall and help to create a ‘cafe culture’ around Station Square.”

To find out more about Husk Beer Emporium visit its website.

Dacre Banks pub gives warning as it faces £65,000 energy bill

The owner of the Royal Oak pub in Dacre Banks has warned that there will be a “massive” knock-on effect if local pubs close this winter after he revealed that the pub now faced an energy bill of £65,000 a year.

Speaking to The Stray Ferret, Steve Cock said he was “absolutely distraught” when he realised what the cost would be.

The pub will now have to increase its prices to try and meet the rising costs.

On Tuesday, industry group the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) asked for government intervention to help small businesses in the face of “out of control” bills.

It warned that there could be “real and serious irreversible” damage if nothing was done.

Until this year, the Dacre Banks pub paid between £13,000 and £15,000 for energy.

It will start paying its £65,000 bill next month after entering a three-year deal to reduce the cost down from the initially proposed £100,000 a year.

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Steve and Anna Cock face an expensive energy bill at Dacre Banks pub the Royal Oak

Steve and Anna Cock have run the Royal Oak pub in Dacre Banks for 24 years (photo: Royal Oak)

“We love the village; we love the people.”

The pub has also been hit by suppliers asking for higher prices for products including oil, meat and vegetables.

Mr Cock hopes that the Dacre Banks community will come together to support it through the winter. He said:

“We’ve been here at the pub for 24 years… We love the village; we love the people – lots of nice people come in here.”

However, the Royal Oak’s owner warned that it was not the only small business facing hardship:

“If businesses don’t get help, it’s not just us: it’s restaurants, it’s fish and chip shops, it’s little village shops. The high street will see shops closing one by one.”

The number of pubs in towns and villages has already reduced in recent years. According to real estate consultancy Artus Group, more than 7,000 have closed across the UK since 2012, bringing the total remaining open to just under 40,000 earlier this year.

The BBPA’s chief executive, Emma McClarkin, said:

“If we lose [local pubs], we not only lose businesses and the jobs that go with them, but also the beating heart of communities across the country where people gather in times of need. We need an energy cap for businesses before it’s too late.”

Harrogate pub Christies reopens after refurb

Harrogate pub Christies has reopened after closing for a month-long refurbishment.

The watering hole on Kings Road, owned by Punch Pubs and Co, welcomed customers to take a look at the new-look pub last Thursday.

The building has had a fresh coat of paint and builders have been busy giving the bar and outside a makeover.

Despite some changes, new managers Lee and Ben say every effort has been made to ensure the pub keeps its “traditional unique character and pub-like atmosphere”.

For drinkers there is a choice of five draft lagers, four cask ales and a selection of craft beers.

There is also a finger food menu that includes burgers and hot dogs.

Previous landlords Marik Scatchard and Jo Jarvis left the pub in July after over 14 years.

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Extension to be built on former Ali Raj restaurant in Harrogate

Plans to build an extension at the back of the former Ali Raj restaurant on Cheltenham Crescent have been approved by Harrogate Borough Council.

The plans were submitted by the owners of the building, who also own the pub downstairs, The Little Ale House.

Richard Park and his wife Danni opened The Little Ale House in 2016 to recreate a rustic country pub atmosphere in the town centre.

The Ali Raj was a longstanding Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant in Harrogate that closed in 2021. It was the first Bangladeshi restaurant in town when it opened more than 35 years ago.

A change of use application was approved in February to turn the restaurant into a bar.

The latest plans will create improved back-of-house and toilet facilities and a roof terrace to increase seating capacity.

Mr Park told the Stray Ferret that building work is set to begin next summer when he will say which business will use the space.

He stressed the new venue will not be an extension of the Little Ale House, which will remain a separate business downstairs.

A CGI image of how the extension will look

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Chef jailed after shooting teenage employee in the eye at Harrogate pub

A “bullying” chef who shot his baker in the face, blinding him in the eye, has been jailed for more than two years.

Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn on the A59 near Harrogate.

The metal ball bearing lodged in Mr Corbyn’s left eye and he was taken to hospital for an operation to remove the bullet, but his loss of vision would be for life, York Crown Court heard.

Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn fear of violence during the incident, which a judge described as “dreadful”.

In July, a jury found him not guilty of the second count, but he was remanded in custody to await sentence for GBH.

Prosecutor Howard Shaw said Mr Corbyn was busy at work in the kitchen when Plummer walked in and announced in a “bragging” way that he had an air pistol.

Plummer started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face, “pretending to shoot him”.

‘Laughing and joking’

At that stage, it appeared that Plummer had the safety catch on, but Mr Corbyn was so worried he tried to get away from him. However, his boss followed him, “laughing and joking and pointing the gun at Mr Corbyn”.

Things turned uglier when Plummer “rested” the pistol on Mr Corbyn’s face for about five seconds and then pointed it at him “from a distance of about one metre”. Mr Shaw said:

“He pointed the gun straight at his face [and] the air pistol discharged.

“Aidan Corbyn was shot in his left eye, the ball bearing lodging in his eye, effectively blinding him.”

He said Mr Corbyn was “scared” of Plummer, who was one of four bosses at the pub.

Mr Corbyn, who was 18 at the time, said he was “miserable” at work due to Plummer’s bullying behaviour towards him and that he made several job applications because he wanted to leave the pub business.

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A waitress who witnessed the incident, which occurred at about noon on September 29, 2020, said she saw Plummer “pointing the gun” at Mr Corbyn and resting it on his forehead for “five to 10 seconds”.

Plummer, who lived at the pub on Skipton Road, was arrested and told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded when he shot Mr Corbyn. The prosecution accepted he would not have known there was a ball bearing inside the gun chamber.

‘Grave and permanent’ injury

At the sentence hearing yesterday, Mr Shaw said Plummer had been “bullying” the victim and shot him from a distance of a few feet. He added:

“This has resulted in the loss of stereoscopic vision and inevitably affects his ability to judge distance.”

“The injury sustained is particularly grave, permanent and irreversible (and will) have a substantial, lifelong effect on [Mr Corbyn’s] ability to carry out his normal, day-to-day activities and which may impact on his work ability.”

Mr Shaw said that in the days and weeks leading up to the shooting, Plummer had “abused his position of power over the victim” by bullying Mr Corbyn and it was also alleged that he had assaulted him, causing bruising to his arm. However, Plummer was never charged with any prior assault.

Mr Corbyn, described as a “very gentle character”, said the incident had had a massive effect on his life. He added:

“I thought I had managed to come to terms with what happened, but recent confirmation from a doctor that the sight (in my left eye) would not return was devastating.”

He had suffered from depression and nightmares about the shooting and had lost all his confidence. He now had difficulties even with cooking, reading and crossing the road, and he was still having regular hospital appointments to check his eye condition.

He said he now “walked into things regularly” and had to abandon plans to take up driving lessons. He still suffered from a “pulsing” eye ache.

Heavy drinking

Mr Corbyn, who has since moved to Leeds to take up a university course, said the entire aftermath of the incident had been “very traumatic” and at one stage he had lapsed into heavy drinking to cope.

His GP had recently prescribed him anti-depressants and his family had also been badly affected. He now only saw blackness with his left eye.

Defence barrister Deborah Graham said Plummer was otherwise a hard-working family man of hitherto “exemplary good character” who had shown “clear” remorse.

Judge Simon Hickey said the “dreadful” incident had resulted in a “grave” injury and a “life-changing” effect on Mr Corbyn, “in that he’s now blinded in his left eye” and faced annual medical checks.

He said Plummer had abused his position of “leadership and power” at the pub by “bullying and intimidating this young man” in the days and weeks before the incident. He told the disgraced chef:

“Not only was he physically slighter than you but he was much younger and a very gentle character, easily intimidated, and [during the trial] he pointed out this game that was played, not in a jovial way… but in a more unpleasant and nasty way which resulted in some injuries.”

Plummer was jailed for two-and-a-half years, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

The judge banned him from keeping firearms for five years and ordered the destruction of the ball-bearing gun, as well as two air rifles and ammunition which Plummer had also kept on the premises.

Knaresborough pub co-founder leaves after two years

The co-founder and chef of popular Knaresborough pub The Bear at Carriages has left the business after two years.

Sam Pullan acquired the pub, then called the Carriages, on the town’s High Street in 2020 with business partner Josh Dixon.

Following a £100,000 investment in renovating the pub, it reopened amid multiple covid lockdowns during the summer of the same year.

After helping to open the pub back up and develop a seasonal menu with his team, Mr Pullan has now confirmed he will be leaving the business.

He said:

“After two years of success in Knaresborough, it’s time for me to seek out new and exciting opportunities elsewhere in the region whether that’s working with some of the finest chef’s that Yorkshire has to offer or staging my own public chef demos at food festivals to inspire others.

“Being creative is the foundation of what drives me to be a better restaurateur and chef and having created something really special with the Bear at Carriages,

“I now want to move in a totally new direction and start afresh with something equally unique and different that further enhances Yorkshire’s hospitality reputation and provides a new challenge for me personally. The hunt for what the future holds is already on so watch this space.

“I wish John and the remaining team all the best for the future.”

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Plan to convert upper floors of Harrogate’s Old Bell into holiday accommodation

The upper floors above a traditional pub in central Harrogate could be converted to holiday accommodation.

An application has been submitted to turn the second, third and fourth floors of 6 Royal Parade, above the Old Bell, into letting rooms.

The pub is owned by Market Town Taverns, part of Heron and Brearley (H&B) based on the Isle of Man.

The proposal, submitted by Darren Clibbens of H&B, would see the basement, ground and first floors of the building unchanged. The upper floors would be turned into holiday accommodation, though the plans do not reveal how this would be laid out or how many rooms would be created.

The application is for an area of 360m sq, and states that, if approved, the change of use would see the number of full-time equivalent jobs at the site increase from five to eight.

The upper levels of the building are currently vacant office space, according to the application, with one studio apartment on the top floor.

Harrogate Borough Council’s estates team, and parks and gardens team, have both responded to the application and have not raised any objections. However, they have asked for consideration to be given to the storage of resulting trade waste on the site, and highlighted the fact that the area in front of the building, including the pavement, forms part of the Stray.

To view or comment on the proposal, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02231/FUL.

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Harrogate chef who shot baker found not guilty of causing fear of violence

A chef who shot his baker in the eye with an air pistol, “effectively” blinding him, has been remanded in custody to await sentence.

Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn gastro pub in Killinghall.

Mr Corbyn was taken to hospital for a procedure to remove the ball bearing from his eye, York Crown Court heard.

Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn fear of violence. 

Yesterday (Thursday, July 21), a jury found Plummer not guilty of the second count following a four-day trial, but he now awaits sentence for GBH.

Prosecutor Howard Shaw said the horrific incident in September 2020 began innocently enough but turned more sinister.

He added:

“The defendant came into the kitchen and said, ‘I’ve got an air pistol’.

“(Plummer) was bragging to Aidan Corbyn about the gun, telling he.. he wanted to go outside and shoot at some bottles. He asked Aidan Corbyn to join him.”

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Mr Corbyn later said that he agreed to go outside because he was scared of Plummer, his boss.

The two men went outside to the back of the pub where they lined some bottles up as targets. 

They returned to the kitchen at about 12 noon and Mr Corbyn went back to work.

The chef started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn, “pretending to shoot him”, said Mr Shaw.

He added:

“He kept pointing it at his face several times.”

Safety catch

At that stage, it appeared that Plummer had the safety catch on, but Mr Corbyn was so worried he tried to get away from him. However, his boss followed him, “laughing and joking and pointing the gun at Mr Corbyn”.

Things turned uglier when Plummer pointed the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face “from a distance of about one metre”.

Mr Shaw said:

“He pointed the gun straight at his face (and) the air pistol discharged.

“Aidan Corbyn was shot in his left eye, the ball bearing lodging in his eye, effectively blinding him.”

Plummer, who lives at the gastro pub on Skipton Road, was arrested and taken in for questioning. 

He told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded when he shot Mr Corbyn.

Mr Shaw added:

“He said he thought the safety catch had been on and (that) he hadn’t aimed at Mr Corbyn.

“He said he and (Mr Corbyn) got on well and that this was an accident.”

Sneak Peek: The Coach and Horses, Harrogate

The newly refurbished Coach and Horses on West Park in Harrogate opened its doors for the first time this evening.

The much loved traditional pub was bought last year by Provenance Inns, which promised to keep it true to its heritage.

Work to revamp the pub has been extensive: the once central bar has been moved to the back of the ground floor and there is a restaurant on the first floor. In total the pub can seat up to 100 diners and it employs 30 staff.

Staff prepare for the big opening party tonight.

The upstairs dining space and tables.

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The previous landlord, John Nelson is well-known in the Harrogate area — he was landlord for 33 years and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities.

The new owners want to keep the tradition of raising money for Martin House Hospice. There will be a monthly quiz on Sundays where proceeds will go to the charity and for every burger bought a pound will also be donated.

The Coach and Horses opens to the public tomorrow at 5pm. Normal opening hours are noon to 11pm Monday to Saturday, closing earlier at 10pm on a Sunday.

Plan to convert former Markington pub into house

Plans have been lodged to convert a former Markington pub into a house.

The Cross Keys Inn, High Street, closed in 2016 after declining turnover and profitability.

Now, plans have been tabled to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the pub into a home.

ID Planning, who have lodged the plan on behalf of Leeds-based Lotherton Property Services, said in documents submitted to the council that the building had been extensively marketed.

It added that potential buyers had little interest in reopening the pub.

The documents said:

“No party expressed any interest whatsoever in reopening it as a public house or indeed any other use other than residential.”

The proposal would see the former pub converted into a four bedroom house along with three car parking spaces.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

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