Work has begun to demolish the historic Three Horseshoes pub in Killinghall.
The pub has stood on the site for 150 years but closed in September and will make way for a new Tesco Express supermarket and four flats.
When plans were first submitted in 2019, a petition was launched by residents to try to save the building.
It was signed by 124 people who agreed that to lose the pub would be a “travesty”. The petition read:
“The Three Horseshoes is the hub of our community and plays an important part of bringing people together.”
However, there were also many people who submitted comments to the council in favour of the redevelopment.
One person wrote:
“We have been without a grocery or convenience shop for many years which has been to the detriment of the community.”
Anna, who runs the Killinghall Village Community Facebook page, shared photos of the demolition with us.
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A Tesco Express in Harrogate received the lowest mark of all supermarkets in the district when unannounced covid checks were carried out.
More than 230 supermarkets and shops were assessed in a joint operation between North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council.
Trading standards and environmental health officers checked whether they had made their premises covid-secure and followed regulations.
Premises were graded using a traffic light system, with green lights given to the most compliant and red lights to businesses where a number of issues were flagged up.
All supermarkets received either green or amber lights, with the exception of Tesco Express on Knaresborough Road.
The inspector who visited that store on February 8 noted “poor and infrequent cleaning”, “lack of cleaning products for the in-store Costa Coffee” and “cashier not wearing mask but was advised she was exempt”. Another comment said:
“Felt I was being given lip service.”
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A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:
“With regards to the Tesco on Knaresborough Road; a follow up visit was undertaken, the site had followed up on the issues raised and it was found to be compliant and following government guidance.
“No further action was necessary and we were satisfied with the measures that had been put in place.”
A Tesco spokesman said:
“We are following government guidance in stores to ensure that all our colleagues are wearing face coverings, unless they cannot do so for medical or safety reasons.”
Information released after FoI request
North Yorkshire County Council issued a press release in February about the visit but initially refused to reveal details of individual inspections.
However, after a request made under the Freedom of Information Act by the Stray Ferret it did release its findings.
The Stray Ferret’s investigation focused solely on supermarkets.
Louise Wallace, North Yorkshire’s director of public health, said in the press release:
“Many supermarkets and other essential retailers have made huge efforts during the whole of lockdown to make their shops covid-secure.
“Across the whole county we have found breaches by only a handful of retailers.
“North Yorkshire’s shoppers can have real confidence that the vast majority of retail premises are covid-safe in our county, that they carry out proper cleaning procedures and that regulations about the wearing of face masks, hand sanitising and keeping a social distance are properly applied and patrolled.”
Checks were carried out in December and January.
Looking back: Harrogate district’s most popular stories of 2020
As 2020 draws to a close, the Stray Ferret looks back at the news stories that stood out among a year of extraordinary events.
Today, we reveal the most popular stories on our site since we launched at the beginning of March.
10. Events company folds after 46 years
Andrew Manby, director of Joe Manby Ltd.
The tenth most-read story on our site this year was a sad one for those involved – and for many others.
After months of uncertainty for the events industry, long-standing family firm Joe Manby Ltd was put into liquidation.
Director Andrew Manby had been warning for many months about the threat to the sector, with events unable to go ahead and no sign of improvement on the horizon.
Readers and fellow business owners expressed shock and sympathy after the news was announced.
9. Eat Out to Help Out
Restaurants and cafes took part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme
When the government scheme to encourage hospitality spending was launched, businesses in the Harrogate district signed up with enthusiasm.
Residents were also keen to show their support, as our ninth most popular story shows. With more than 100 businesses on the list, locals checked in to see where they could get a discount on dining out early in the week.
8. Six workers rescued from Ripon takeaway
In September, six people were rescued from a Ripon takeaway after local residents raised concerns about their living and working conditions.
Agencies including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Immigration Enforcement, Harrogate Borough Council and the police and fire service swooped on the takeaway, which was not publicly identified.
As a result, six people were placed in temporary accommodation. Officers reported several possible indicators of labour abuse but could not find any signs of modern slavery offences.
The council and the fire service said they would investigate a number of housing and fire safety issues at the property.
The story was our eighth most-read of the year.
7. Many hospitality businesses will not reopen
In his first column for the Stray Ferret, Peter Banks, MD of Rudding Park, gave an honest account of his expectations for the future of his industry.
Writing in early May, he said the first week of the pandemic’s impact was the worst of his professional life. However, in a rapidly changing climate, he soon found himself trying to work out how the hotel would reopen – and concluding that, for many, it would never happen.
The column proved hugely popular, especially with our audience on social media, and is seventh on our list of most-read stories of the year.
Today, we published Mr Banks’s reflections on the year in hospitality – including the last-minute bombshell delivered by the government to scupper plans for New Year’s Eve.
6. Long queues outside Harrogate shop after pubs close
Queues formed outside the Tesco Express shop in Harrogate’s town centre just after 10pm.
When the 10pm curfew on hospitality came in, many said it would only lead to a rush of people onto the streets all at the same time.
This appeared to be true, as the queue outside Tesco on Cambridge Road showed on Saturday, October 24 just after 10pm.
The same happened again the following week, and both stories proved popular with local readers. It’s at number six on our list.
5. Harrogate district to enter tier two restrictions
As the second national lockdown ended in early December, the decision about which tier the Harrogate district would be placed in drew a lot of attention.
Readers were eager to find out what restrictions they would face – and local businesses were also keen to know if they could open and trade in the vital few weeks before Christmas.
The story was the fifth most-read of the year. Yesterday’s announcement of the district’s move into tier three from New Year’s Eve is the most-read story in December.
4. Coach and Horses has alcohol licence revoked
Police were called to the Coach and Horses pub by concerned locals in May
In July, long-standing West Park pub the Coach and Horses had its alcohol licence revoked by Harrogate Borough Council after a dispute over their compliance with lockdown rules in May.
The pub opened to sell take-out beer, but as crowds gathered on the pavement and across the road by the Stray, police and council enforcement staff arrived.
Their accounts of the situation suggested landlord John Nelson had been “aggressive and abusive”, though at the licensing hearing his lawyer said he accepted he had made a “chronic error of judgement”.
The committee revoked Mr Nelson’s licence with the support of North Yorkshire Police, and the report on the decision was our fourth most read story of the year.
Three months later, his daughter Samantha was successful in her application for a licence to reopen the pub.
3. Police attend serious incident near Harrogate town centre
A man died and another was treated in hospital after an incident on Harcourt Drive, on the edge of Harrogate town centre.
On a quiet Sunday evening in late August, the incident shocked neighbours and the wider community. It was the third most read story of 2020 on our website.
Police later confirmed the incident was not being treated as suspicious and an inquest would be held to examine the circumstances of the man’s death.
2. Harrogate’s Stray FM to close
Owners Greatest Hits Radio announced the end of Stray FM in May
Residents of the district were shocked by the announcement in May that Stray FM would be disappearing from the airwaves.
Though owners Greatest Hits Radio described the plans as a ‘rebrand’, the reality was that there would be mostly national programming on the station from September, with one regional show each day at drivetime.
As well as the ending of a familiar brand established in 1994, community groups expressed their sadness at the loss of the station’s valuable support.
The announcement of the plans was our second most-read story of 2020.
1. Town centre roads closed by police
Police closed off Mayfield Grove junction with Bower Road. Picture: Sharon Canavar.
A police incident near the centre of town on a Friday afternoon drew our biggest audience of the year.
A man was arrested for saying he had a knife and making threats to other residents.
Officers closed a number of roads around Strawberry Dale while they dealt with the situation, leading to congestion on surrounding routes. The roads were reopened after around 90 minutes.
A second man was arrested for obstructing the police, separately to the original incident.
Read more:
- Looking back: Happiness in Harrogate district amid the challenges of 2020
- Looking back: Clap for carers and scrubbing up for key workers
New Tesco could open in Killinghall next year
The new Tesco Express in Killinghall is unlikely to open until late next year at the earliest.
The store is due to be built on the site of The Three Horseshoes pub on the main Ripon Road in the middle of Killinghall.
The pub posted a message on its Facebook page on Saturday saying it will close on September 27. But it could be some time before the Tesco Express opens.
In July, Harrogate Borough Council approved plans by Ilkley developers Dynamic Capital Killinghall to convert the site to a convenience store.
The plans also involve constructing four flats and installing six electric vehicle charging points.
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At a meeting of Killinghall Parish Council last week, Cllr John Moretta said the developers had suggested once work gets underway it is likely to take a year to complete.
Last month Tesco applied for an alcohol licence from 6am to 11pm seven days of the week at the site, which has hosted a pub for 150 years.
Tesco subsequently submitted three more planning applications for signage, lighting and an ATM machine. Work is unlikely to begin until these matters are resolved.
Fellow parish councillor George Novelli told last week’s meeting the store would be “absolutely vital for the village”, which has grown considerably in recent years. A Tesco spokesman said:
“We believe the new store will be a positive addition to the local community and we aim to be serving customers there in 2021.”
The Greyhounds Inn opposite The Three Horseshoes remains closed.
Tesco moves forward with plans on Killinghall pub siteTesco has applied for a licence to sell alcohol at the site of the Three Horseshoes pub in Killinghall, which will be demolished and rebuilt as a supermarket.
The company wants to sell alcohol from 6am to 11pm seven days a week in the shop, which it says will create 15 part-time and full-time jobs.
In July, Harrogate Borough Council granted Ilkley company Dynamic Capital Killinghall planning permission to demolish the building and build a shop and four flats.
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The council received a petition signed by 232 people objecting to the loss of the pub, which has served Killinghall for 150 years.
Locals also asked public body Historic England to grant the pub listed status, which was rejected.
However, HBC planners decided “the proposal would provide substantial social and environmental benefits” and approved it.
The pub reopened in July after being closed during the lockdown.
A Tesco spokesperson said:
“We believe the new store will be a positive addition to the local community and we aim to be serving customers there in 2021.”