Barely a month passes without a new planning application to create flats in Harrogate town centre.

This week we reported on plans to turn the offices on the first, second and third floors of 5 Cambridge Road into three flats.

Planning permission has been previously granted to create flats in buildings that used to host the Kings Club strip club and the main post office, among others. And, in a few weeks, the former River Island unit on Cambridge Street, will open as Trinity House, a 14-flat development incorporating retail units. It’s hard to think of a more central location.

Town centres are changing from places to shop to places to live — and Harrogate appears to be at the forefront of the trend. Is this good or bad, and what challenges does it present?

The former Kings Club

The Stray Ferret sat down this week with Tariq Shah, chief executive of Vigo Group, the property developer behind Trinity House, and Matthew Chapman, chief executive of Harrogate Business Improvement District, to discuss the trend and whether it posed a threat to retail.

Mr Shah, whose company is based in Doncaster, said Harrogate was particularly attractive to developers because it was seen as a desirable place to live and has good transport connections, which lessened the need for cars in town centres.

He said Harrogate had reasonable short-term accommodation for tourists and conference centre delegates but a shortage of town centre flats for living, adding:

“Harrogate is a town centre in transition. We are seeing more people from outside Harrogate wanting to come here.

“Trinity House has attracted more interest than any other scheme we have done. We would like to do more here.”

Cambridge Street

Trinity House flats will be marketed from £300,000 and although a nice town centre pad might suit some people, what impact will it have on retailers and on people who live here who regard the town centre predominantly as somewhere to shop?

The BID is funded by town centre businesses but Mr Chapman is not opposed to the change.

He said:

“A collaborative approach with landlords and developers is key. If people are willing to put something back into the community then we welcome it. Where I struggle is if buildings are owned by offshore investors, like Debenhams.

“Every town has probably had too much retail space for a long time. It’s an emerging trend but there needs to be a long-term vision for the town centre.”

Besides the 14 upper floor flats, Trinity House includes the existing Body Care shop and has additional room for a storage facility or small dance or yoga studio, as well as a kiosk space for a start-up business wanting a town centre presence.

Mr Shah said his company had agreed to improve lighting at the rear of the building, put up security cameras and create an internal bin storage area to improve safety and appearance and reduce the risk of vermin and fire. He said these were examples of the firm’s commitment to town centre improvement as well as profit.

He added having more people milling around at night added to the vibrancy and created “natural surveillance” at night in empty town centre streets where some people feel unsafe.

Mr Chapman said many of the units being converted to flats were first and second floor offices that had been unused for years, adding:

“If you have spaces that people live in and take pride in, it has to be better than having them crumble away.”

Despite his overall positivity, Mr Chapman said there was probably a ceiling on the trend and there were dangers. For example, he said converting ground floor retail units on the fully occupied James Street to flats “would be seen as a threat”.

Mr Chapman said the system of determining business rates needed reviewing to adapt to the trend, which he said would see an increasing shift towards “experiential activities” in town centres. He added:

“Whether it’s a cool independent retailer or axe throwing, people will want to experience something in town centres.

“Harrogate needs to be forward thinking and unique.”

Health services are being made available in Barnsley town centre.

So what will Harrogate town centre look like in 10 or 20 years?

Mr Shah said besides a more diverse mixture of retail and living, there would be more short-term leases, more leisure opportunities due to the higher population, more food halls and even community healthcare facilities. He cited Barnsley Council’s decision to work with partners to create a health and wellbeing hub in the Alhambra Shopping Centre as an example of how health managers will increasingly take services into towns.

He said:

“When it comes to long-term planning and thinking about these issues on a local level it’s important that a variety of partners are involved in these discussions and that is also a real strength of Harrogate, as a number of organisations are already open to having these conversations about how we can reimagine town centre usage.

“It’s not about drastically changing what is here but everyone working together with what we already have to bring clear economic and social benefits and secure our town centre for the next 30 years and beyond.”

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Fourteen newly built flats in the centre of Harrogate are set to go on the market in the next few days.

The Trinity House development, which was built on the site of the former River Island shop on Cambridge Street, consists of one and two-bedroom properties.

Prices for one-bedroom flats start at £300,000.

It is one of several schemes recently approved by planners to convert town centre retail units in Harrogate to residential homes.

The former main post office on Cambridge Road, the former Orvis shop on West Park and the former Kings Club strip club on Oxford Street, are all due to be transformed to homes.

Trinity Court features a central landscaped courtyard. Eight parking spaces are also available by separate negotiation to the flats.

Cathy Evans, head of Preston Baker land and new homes, which is the sales agent for Trinity House, said the flats “epitomise luxury living” and were “sure to be extremely popular”. She added:

“They are exquisitely crafted to provide an unrivalled living experience with an emphasis on space and style.”

Trinity House spans three floors and includes a lift, entry video intercom, private balconies in some apartments, CCTV in communal areas, underfloor heating throughout and hardwood floors.

The scheme is being delivered by Doncaster-based developer Swan Homes, part of the Vigo Group.

Nathan Brough, managing director of Swan Homes, said:

“We are thrilled to have completed the development of Trinity House. The 14 apartments will make beautiful homes for people who wish to live or work in Harrogate.”

Read more:

• Town centre living trend gathers pace in Harrogate
• Council approves conversion of Harrogate strip club into flats

Flats being built on the site of the former River Island premises in Harrogate town centre are due to be completed in spring next year, the agent has said. 

Work on the 14 one- and two-bed apartments at Trinity House, opposite Primark on Cambridge Street, began in June, and estate agent Preston Baker is now inviting expressions of interest. 

Cathy Evans, head of land and new homes at Preston Baker, said: 

“The Trinity House website only went live on Monday, and we’ve already had some enquiries.

“We’re expecting the apartments will be completed by spring 2024, but we’re hoping to be able to go live to market around the end of this month or the beginning of September.” 

Read more:

• New plan to create eight flats above Cambridge Street shops in Harrogate
• Plan for new cafe on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street
• River Island to close in Harrogate as landlord plans apartments

Work at the site includes the construction of a roof extension and central courtyard overlooked by the apartments’ balconies, as well as eight parking spaces. 

The property is owned by a Santander pension fund and is being developed by Doncaster-based Swan Homes.  

Trinity House was named after Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, in recognition of the property’s location on Cambridge Street. The University of Cambridge is the alma mater of Tariq Shah, director of Swan Homes’ parent company, Vigo Group. 

New Look is to close its store in Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre.

Signs have gone up in the window of the shop saying it will close on February 26.

The fashion retailer sells women’s clothing at its large Harrogate site, which is particularly popular with teenage girls.

A source at the store said customers and staff were “gutted and upset” at the news. They added that the company wanted to remain in Harrogate but finding a vacant store large enough had proved difficult.

The Stray Ferret understands about eight jobs are affected by the news. The nearest New Look shops are in Leeds and York.

A New Look spokesperson said:

 “As part of the normal course of business, New Look occasionally closes sites, but also opens new stores when the right opportunities arise.

“Our most recent new openings were in November 2022 and we have plans for further openings in the first half of this year.”

Read more:

• River Island to close in Harrogate as landlord plans apartments
• Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens to get £21,000 makeover and new name

The Stray Ferret contacted the Victoria Shopping Centre this morning for further details but was told it had no information to share on the matter.

The news comes less than two weeks after River Island closed its Harrogate store.

New Look, which was founded in 1969, has about 440 shops in the UK.

A town centre shop in Harrogate is set to close in just over three weeks’ time.

River Island is holding a closing down sale as it prepares to close its doors on Cambridge Street for the last time on February 4.

A spokesperson for River Island said:

“The closure is due to change of use of the building by the landlord.”

Plans were approved in summer 2020 to refurbish the ground floor of the building and convert the first floor, as well as adding a roof extension, to create 14 apartments. Work would need to begin on the building by June this year to comply with the terms of the planning permission.

The building is owned by a Santander pension fund.

Read more:

• Plan approved to create five flats above Cambridge Street shops
• Sneak peek at Harrogate’s new Cosy Club

Last summer, Cosy Club opened in the same stretch of units, becoming the first bar along the street. Sainsbury’s Local and Skipton Building Society also opened branches earlier in the year.

Further east on the same street, plans were approved last February to convert the upper floors of some retail units into flats.

Today, York-based property company Grantside announced it had acquired the 10,000 sq ft building and was intending to use the flats as holiday lets.

Steve Davis, chief executive of Grantside, said:

“This is a great opportunity and a brilliant location – in the heart of Harrogate town centre.

“Our vision for the building is to bring it back into full use through the conversion of the upper floors into apartments, which will be used as holiday accommodation and help the town’s economy.”