WATCH: Harrogate basks in the sun as shopping and dining returns

Harrogate basked in the sun today as outdoor dining and shopping returned.

From today non-essential shops, hair and beauty salons, gyms and spas have been allowed to open.

It was a day many people had long looked forward to and it did not disappoint, with lots of people flocking to the town centre and some describing it as “absolutely glorious”.

The Stray Ferret went to North Bar, West Park Hotel and the high street to see how people were feeling about the big day.

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Police and council to check Harrogate venues comply with outdoor rule

Police and council officers are to conduct checks on outdoor hospitality shelters in the Harrogate district to ensure they comply with government regulations.

Harrogate Borough Council warned of the checks amid concern about whether all of the shelters in the district comply with what is classed as outdoor.

Many hospitality venues have created shelters to take advantage of today’s latest easing of lockdown rules, which allow licensed premises to serve customers outdoors.

Government guidelines say that to be considered outdoors, ‘shelters, marquees and other structures can have a roof but need to have at least 50% of the area of their walls open at all times whilst in use’.

A source close to one small business owner told the Stray Ferret they were ‘surprised’ the council, which is enforcing the national government guidelines, had agreed to some of the structures.

The issue has also raised numerous comments on social media.

A council spokesman said its officers would be carrying out visits across the Harrogate district in partnership with North Yorkshire Police, “to offer support, advice and guidance to businesses and check on compliance with the latest regulations”.

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He added:

“Temporary outdoor shelters are determined by national government advice.

“Any Harrogate district businesses wishing to find out more, or whether planning permission is required, should get in touch and we will be happy to advise.”

Asked to comment on claims some venues breached the guidelines, he said:

“Without knowing the details of the premises who have raised concerns we cannot comment further.”

The council spokesman was unable to say how many venues had applied to erect outdoor structures.

But many large Harrogate hospitality venues, including the West Park Hotel, the Fat Badger , La Feria and Gianni’s Brio Restaurant and Pizzeria, as well as the Fox and Hounds and the Grantham Arms in Boroughbridge have done so.

Perhaps the most spectacular is the Cedar Court Hotel‘s £50,000 tipi, which can accommodate 36 people.

Wayne Topley, managing director of the hotel, said it was built in full compliance with the regulations. He added it could be adapted for weddings and conferences.

“It’s a temporary structure but we hope to use it for a couple for years to come.”

 

 

Column: The shops in Harrogate should be opening now

This opinion column is written by Marilyn Stowe. Marilyn built the largest family law firm in the UK which she ran from Harrogate. She sold her firm in 2017 to private equity left the law and is now a writer and speaker.

How sad is Harrogate right now? Long gone are those days of my glorious morning commute to Harrogate, stunning views of the Harewood Estate and the Yorkshire Dales in the distance, on the one side and on a clear day, even the Kilburn White Horse on the other, accompanying me en route, until I finally sped up the hill into a town already active at 7.30am, busy with folk walking purposefully to work on the Stray.

I used to turn right at James Street to check out the shops, in case something caught my eye for a spot of lunchtime shopping and finally it was second right, into Raglan Street, to my office filled with colourful flowers outside, so pretty we regularly entered the Harrogate in Bloom competition and did quite well.

I was lucky working in the gorgeous Old Court House. Newly qualified, I had nervously appeared there, pre its refurbishment, before crusty magistrates. My own office, up the imposing stone stairs faced out onto the park. It used to be the solicitors’ waiting room where I paced about practising what to say.

What a difference 30 years can make! “She’s always dressed in terrifying black ” a client’s husband once said of me after one meeting he left sweating, and I laughed because I dressed in black, precisely for that reason. When I finally left work in 2017, out went entire wardrobes of black and oh what a joy that was.

For the last year though, I’ve dressed in drab dark navy. Sweater, shirt, loose pants, gilet – all navy blue. When this damn thing is over, they will all get thrown in the bin and my mood will improve. Meanwhile I’ve got used to sitting on a bench outside Starbucks shoving a paper mask in my handbag to drink a skinny flat white in the drizzle, mask on again to shop in Marks and Spencer – and let’s not forget Boots. For a bit of comfort Hotel Chocolat is open too. Even so, Harrogate is empty. Soulless. Locked down just like us.

This isn’t the Harrogate I love. It’s not the joyous Harrogate of my Granny’s Edwardian era when she reminisced how she and her own grandmother used to holiday here to take the waters and watch a show.Today, horribly, many empty shops in town will never reopen.

So why cant we try and save as many as we can – now?

Why are some shops and offices trading well, taking advantage and not the rest? Why can’t we get a hair cut? Why can’t we at least sit outside in cafes and enjoy ourselves? With half the population vaccinated, and if vaccination is working as well as they tell us, then why not?

Harrogate urgently needs to be released from captivity, it will take years to recover. No wonder I’m dressed in dreary navy blue to sit on a street bench. When freedom finally comes, watch out for the Woman in Red.

That will be me.

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