Ripley Store unveils £100,000 relocationRelocating Ripon barber grabs attention with motorcycle displayThe village shop owner taking his family business across the roadRipley Store to move to large new site in villageTwo Ripon Solemates will be getting together in springPandora Harrogate to relocateCouncil approves Northern Energy plan to move from HampsthwaiteHarrogate Borough Council has approved plans for Northern Energy to relocate to Marton-cum-Grafton.
The company is currently based In Hampsthwaite and has had its headquarters in the village for more than half a century.
However, officials at Northern Energy tabled a proposal to the council in February 2021 to move to Limebar Lane, one kilometre from the village of Marton-cum-Grafton and next to the A168.
The plans include 10,000 square feet of office space, a vehicle depot, LPG and oil storage tanks and a new car park.
In documents submitted to the council, the company said it had outgrown its current site.
“Such is the success of the business, the company have now outgrown their current premises on the edge of Hampsthwaite.
“Indeed, the location of the facility, some distance from the local highway network, and the absence of oil and fuel storage capacity on site is now beginning to hinder the business.”
The proposed Northern Energy site off the A168 as submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in planning documents.
The firm, which has an annual turnover of £27 million, supplies more than 50 million litres of oil and liquid petroleum gas across the UK each year.
However, the proposals were met with strong objections from local parish councils.
Both authorities said the development is inappropriate and would have “unacceptable consequences”, such as loss of agricultural land, increase in traffic and the proximity of the site to local residents.
Arkendale, Coneythorpe and Clareton Parish Council wrote to the council to object in “the strongest terms”.
It said:
“The other consequence is of course that valuable agricultural land will be lost.
“Such land is increasingly being lost to development and for us to be as sustainable as a nation we need to preserve our agricultural capacity rather than rely on importing foodstuffs from abroad.”
Meanwhile, Marton-cum-Grafton added in its response that the development was “not of exceptional quality” and “does not enhance its immediate setting nor is it sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area”.
Read more:
Councillors object to ‘premature’ application for redevelopment of Ripon football ground
Ripon City Council has described a planning application for a 66-bed care home at Ripon City AFC’s Mallorie Park ground as ‘premature’
At its full January meeting, members voted unanimously to reject plans by Leeds-based care company LNT Care Developments. However, the final decision will be made by Harrogate Borough Council.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the meeting:
“While we want to see the football club thrive and are happy to meet with them and work with them, this application is premature because the football club has not confirmed exactly where it will be relocating to.”
Fellow councillors shared that view, but said that they would like to extend an invitation to the club, which has played at Mallorie Park for more than 100 years, to present its proposals to the city council.
An artist’s impression of how the care home would look at Mallorie Park.
In October, club secretary and former player Daniel Metcalfe told the Stray Ferret:
“A shortlist of potential locations has been drawn up, but the move will only take place when we have a new site with all necessary planning and other approvals in place.”
The Stray Ferret has attempted to clarify with the club whether a new site has been agreed, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
If LNT’s plans are approved by Harrogate Borough Council, the Mallorie Park ground would be transformed by the construction of a two-storey home specialising in general and dementia care. The proposed development includes 25 parking spaces.
Read more:
LNT has developed more than 200 care homes in the UK since 2005. A planning statement, prepared on behalf of the company to support the application, says:
“The proposed care home would provide a character and form of development that should positively
enhance the character of the site and surrounding area, whilst also offering an important local
community service.
The development would also have a positive impact within the area by improving employment
opportunities, not only during the construction phase but also in the longer term when the care home
becomes fully operational.”
Ripon City AFC has not disclosed how much the deal is worth, but has stated that funds from any sale would be used to develop a new facility, which would include floodlit 3G and grass pitches, seated stands as well as a multipurpose clubhouse.
Envirovent moves to new Harrogate headquartersHarrogate based ventilation manufacturer EnviroVent has relocated to a purpose-built zero carbon headquarters just outside the town.
The new 61,000 sq. ft premises on Harrogate West Business Park, near the Army Foundation College on Penny Pot Lane, is the culmination of a 10-month building project.
It brings together EnviroVent’s manufacturing facility, warehousing, head office and training suite into one purpose-built headquarters.
EnviroVent’s 260 employees have relocated from two existing premises on Hornbeam Park in Harrogate.
The new building will reduce the company’s environmental impact significantly and includes many energy efficient initiatives, including solar panels, air source heat pumps and a ventilation heat recovery system to ensure high levels of indoor air quality.
There are also electric charging points for vehicles and LED lighting units and responsive lighting.
Construction of the site
Andy Makin, managing director of EnviroVent, said:
“It is fantastic for the company to be together under one roof in our new zero carbon headquarters. We are truly committed to good environmental practices throughout our business and these purpose-built premises allow EnviroVent to operate on an even more sustainable basis.
“With much larger premises, we have room to expand and ambitious plans. Working alongside our parent company Soler & Palau, we fully expect to grow our
Read more:
The build was carried out by Skipton-based construction company Sutcliffe Construction, working alongside developer of the new business park, Teakwood Developments. York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership also supported the project with an allocation from the government’s Getting Building Fund.
Daniel Martin, director of Teakwood Developments, said:
“It’s been a long road but so rewarding to reach the end, providing a facility that we can all be proud of. It secures the future of this fantastic business in Harrogate, providing a state of the art facility, with the all-important expansion capabilities.”
To offset any further carbon emissions, EnviroVent has also entered a partnership with MoreTrees, which will plant 5,000 trees per year on its behalf.
The photo shows (left to right) Andy Makin, managing director of EnviroVent outside the new headquarters with apprentices Dovile Stankeviciute and Stephanie Banks, Rachael Tranter, head of people and sustainability) and
Anna Campey, H&S/HR advisor.
Hong Kong residents choosing Harrogate for a new lifeIt has been a volatile few years in Hong Kong with protests, the jailing of opposition politicians and the closure of media outlets.
Now according to a local estate agent, an increasing number of people from Hong Kong are moving to Harrogate as Chinese rule has led to a crackdown on freedom and democracy.
In January last year, the UK government offered a new visa to residents of its former colony. It expects that 300,000 Hong Kongers will make the move in the next five years. Around 100,000 applied for the visa in 2021 alone.
Three of them are members of a family that moved to Harrogate last year.
Candy Yip and her husband Man Wong, both 44, brought with them bubble tea and opened a cafe called Sweet Pearl House on Commercial Street in January. It also sells traditional Hong Kong egg waffles.
Ms Yip said she wanted their daughter, 16, to have more freedom and a better education than what was possible in Hong Kong.
She said she has been impressed with the town’s safe surroundings and friendly people since making the move.
“Harrogate’s environment is very lovely and I feel very safe when I live here. People are very friendly.
“When we live in Harrogate, we can feel no stress. The people here enjoy their life and I can also feel the relaxing atmosphere.”
More fresh air
Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers above 150 metres in the world with 518.
Space is at a premium and many families live in cramped apartment buildings high up in the sky.
Harrogate’s tallest building is The Exchange on Station Parade which stands at a humble 42 metres.
There is also decidedly less hustle and less bustle than the Asian metropolis, which has almost 8 million residents.
Ms Yip said the lower building density in Harrogate coupled with much more open space makes it an appealing contrast to back home in Hong Kong.
She said:
“I think Harrogate is a popular place for Hong Kongers to live in is because Harrogate has not many tall buildings. It makes people feel more comfortable because Hong Kong has too many tall buildings and here we can get more fresh air.
“Harrogate has lots of countryside and we can also see different kinds of animals such as sheep and horses. It is really beautiful.”
Read more:
Global property map
Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post published an article in March that said Hong Kongers are ‘turbocharging’ the UK’s already red-hot housing market.
David Waddington, director at Linley & Simpson, said since the start of the year the estate agent has seen an increase in people from Hong Kong looking to move to the Harrogate district.
Many Hong Kong exiles have sold their property or businesses in the city before moving to the UK, which means they can afford the district’s high house prices.
Mr Waddington said in one new development in the area as many as 15% of the properties were sold to families relocating from Hong Kong.
“Since the turn of the year we have seen people moving from Hong Kong to start a new life in the Harrogate district in ever-increasing numbers.
“In one new homes development we launched to market recently, three of the twenty properties have been sold to families relocating from Hong Kong.
“Hits on our website from Hong Kong have witnessed a notable uptick too. While Harrogate is a magnet for home buyers from a diverse number of international countries, its name and ‘brand’ is well-known to many in Hong Kong.”
An attractive destination
HK UK Support Ltd is a company that specialises in helping people from Hong Kong relocate to the UK.
Last month it published a Q&A on its YouTube channel with Sue Brandom, inward investment officer at Harrogate Borough Council.
Ms Brandom cited Betty’s, Knaresborough and the Nidderdale countryside as reasons why the district can be an attractive destination for Hong Kongers looking to make the move.
They are all points that are hard to disagree with, although new district resident Candy Yip said Harrogate would be “perfect” if it had just a few more Asian food options.
“I miss my family and friends and also the food in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has more options of food for people such as Korean food. I think if Harrogate can have more variety of food, it will be perfect.”