Councillors have approved a variation of Crimple’s alcohol licence so the venue can serve alcohol and offer live music until 2am on weekends.

The garden centre on Leeds Road near Pannal had a multi-million-pound makeover in 2021 and now offers a food hall, restaurant, and space for weddings and other events.

North Yorkshire Council’s sub-licensing committee met in Harrogate this morning to consider the application.

Licensee Tori Watson told councillors that varying the licence from its current cut off of 11.30pm would allow the business to provide an extended bar service at weddings and for bands and DJs to play later into the night.

Mrs Watson said:

“We hold a lot of events and it’s becoming more and more popular as our reputation has grown.

“It won’t be for every Friday and Saturday, it’s just we get enquiries for weddings and they say can we have bar open until 1.30am or 2am. It allows us to say, ‘yes we can’.

“We’re not trying to open some late night venue with partying.”

Licensee Tori Watson

Councillors heard there has been one noise complaint at the venue in the last nine years which came in 2021 but was found to be unsubstantiated.

However, the application has received several objections on noise grounds, including one from Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council on behalf of residents living at the nearby All Saints Court in Pannal.

Parish councillor Howard West said:

“The problem is people who live in All Saints Court. They are not a complaining bunch of people but if there’s a nuisance sound after 11.30pm they would have no idea who to communicate to at that time of day.”

However, the Conservative chair of the committee, Cllr Tim Grogan, queried why none of the residents had gone to the premises to complain in person. He said:

“If I’d have been living there and was discomfitted by the noise I’d be knocking on the door to say ‘turn this down’, but I can’t speak for other people.”

Mr West also read out a statement on behalf of Dunkeswick wedding venue Wharfedale Grange, which said it was forced by the council to spend £750,000 on sound proofing in order to offer live music.

It said it was “extremely disappointing” that Crimple’s application could be considered without similar noise mitigation requests.

The committee of three councillors ultimately voted to approve the licence. They imposed conditions preventing customers from using the rear terrace after 10pm, ensuring loud speakers are not used outside, and requiring all windows and doors to be closed when entertainment is taking place.

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A new bar and restaurant could be opened in Knaresborough if a licence is granted by North Yorkshire Council next week.

An application has been made for an alcohol licence at the former Natwest bank premises at 42 High Street.

Planning permission was granted last year to convert the ground floor into a cafe and sports therapy rooms.

Now, owner Jaime Wilkinson is seeking a licence to sell alcohol until midnight seven days a week, under the business name 1858 Bar and Restaurant Ltd.

Mr Wilkinson has requested extended opening hours until 2am on bank holidays, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The application also states there will be live music until 11pm.

As part of the application, Mr Wilkinson said there will be a “higher retail price for alcohol than other venues in Knaresborough to restrict over drinking and commotion”.

He also committed to install CCTV at the premises, as one of a number of conditions suggested by North Yorkshire Police’s licensing officer.

However, there have been five objections to the plans submitted to the council.

One nearby resident said an alcohol licence until midnight and reference to the premises as a bar is not in line with the planning approval given last year. They said:

“Harrogate Borough Council conducted a public hearing for a former license (sic) application and the resulting decision limited operation and licensing hours to strict terms and much earlier hours than those being applied for again here.

“We kindly ask the team and [North Yorkshire] Council to review the former hearing outcome and consider this in review of this latest application, where all points we believe are relevant, as are the views of those objecting and as such the restrictions should adhere again here to this license (sic) at the least, if indeed permitted at all.”

The application will be decided by North Yorkshire Council’s licensing committee at a meeting next Thursday.

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A Harrogate bar owner will be raising a glass or two after successfully appealing alcohol licence restrictions that he says would have made trading from his Cold Bath Road premises “impossible”. 

Dave Swallow received a licence for his bar, AAA, in November, but it came with conditions.

Harrogate Borough Council said he had to build a barrier to separate his forecourt seating area from the pavement; he had to build a lobby as a sound-proofing measure; and he could only serve alcohol till 9pm. 

He told the Stray Ferret: 

“I couldn’t comply with those conditions as well as the building regulations and the fire regulations all at the same time. It was just physically impossible.” 

So he took North Yorkshire Council, which assumed all Harrogate Borough Council’s functions on April 1, to court – and won. He no longer has to build the barrier or the lobby, and may now serve alcohol from 12 noon till 11pm, as is the norm for bars and pubs in England. 

He said: 

“I’m elated. The waiting is over, the amalgamation of work and stress has lifted and I’ve cleared that hurdle. 

“Now I’ve got a long list of things to do to make sure I comply with the remaining licence conditions, but that’s fine – all bars have to do that. The main thing is, we’re serving now!” 

AAA, pronounced triple-A, is a bar that also sells vinyl records and merchandise from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel. He said he wanted to create “a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks”. 

He added:

“We’re getting in more vinyl by the week, and we’ll soon be serving breakfast, lunch and sociable, picky stuff in the evenings, such as charcuterie and cheeseboards.

“We’re taking on more staff and we’ll be having an opening party on July 14. After months of waiting, this court victory means we can finally move ahead with our plans.” 

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A Harrogate farm shop and bohemian-style cafe has applied for a licence to serve alcohol.

Harrogate Borough Council will decide whether to grant the licence for 53 Bo’Grove at a meeting next week.

The shop on Grove Road has applied to sell alcohol with meals on the premises from 9am until 5pm Monday and Tuesday, 9am until 8pm Wednesday to Saturday and 10am until 4pm on Sundays.

In its application, Bo’Grove said the premises would operate as a farm shop, cafe and bistro, not as a bar or “vertical drinking establishment” where people mostly stand up to drink.

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It added that any drinks purchased on site would only be allowed to be taken off premises in sealed containers.

Kyrensa Bentley, owner of 53 Bo’Grove, set up the cafe back in 2019 and later opened a farm shop on the site.

Bo’Grove Groceries subsequently opened on Commercial Street, Harrogate this year.

Kyrensa Bentley outside her shop on Commercial Street in Harrogate.

A report due before the licensing committee next week said North Yorkshire Police initially objected to the application, but later withdrew its concern after conditions for the licence were met.

Councillors on the committee will make a decision on June 8.

A Knaresborough pub could be granted permission to serve customers alcohol outside until 10pm if an objection from police is withdrawn.

The Cricketers, located on Thistle Hill, Calcutt, wants approval to extend its premises licence to include an outdoor bar but North Yorkshire Police says it must agree to rules around CCTV.

Licensing officer PC Jackie Allen said in an objection to the application that while cameras were being installed to cover the outdoor area they must be of a high quality, recording at all times when the pub is open and with the footage made available within 48 hours of any request. She said:

“North Yorkshire Police believe that the following conditions need to be placed onto the premises licence for the purposes of strengthening and promoting the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance.

“If the applicant is in agreement with the proposed conditions set by North Yorkshire Police, the representation will be retracted.”

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The pub is located at the former Union Hotel and is owned by national brewing and pub retailing business Marston’s.

Currently, it has a licence to serve customers from the indoor bar until midnight Sunday to Thursday and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The new application, set to be decided by Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee at a meeting next Tuesday, will cover service from a new outdoor bar.

No other objections other than from North Yorkshire Police have been received.