Wetherby Road newsagent to be converted to hairdressers
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Last updated Apr 22, 2021
The Wilkinson newsagent of Wetherby Road

The closure of another newsagent during the pandemic has raised concern about the loss of these local community stores.

A planning application has been lodged to change the use of Wilkinson’s newsagent, at 137 Wetherby Road, near Woodlands junction. The newsagent, which closed last year when the owner Alan Wilkinson retired, will become a hairdresser and beauty salon with five treatment rooms.

Councillor Pat Marsh, whose ward the newsagents is located in, recalls that the building was used as a sweet shop as far back as 1956, when she moved to the area. It has been a newsagents since at least 1977.


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Cllr Marsh said that the shop had been a “wonderful asset to the community”:

“There is a problem in Harrogate about a lack of small community shops – but where does the blame lie? It lies with us, we do our shopping in the supermarkets, it’s just the way life has turned.”

Last year also saw the closure of the newsagent at Harrogate railway station, run by Brian Moses. This reflects a national trend of declining numbers of newsagents, driven by lower tobacco and newspaper sales.

The application also includes the demolition of a garage on the premises and an increase in the number of parking spaces, from three to five.

The planning officer will make a decision on the application by 27th May.


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