Frustration over delays to new Harrogate steakhouse

The team behind a steakhouse which was set to move into an empty Harrogate restaurant almost six months ago, have spoken of their frustration over the delay.

Last November, Tomahawk Steakhouse revealed it was planning to move into the former Solita Food Hall. 

It was set to open in April, but the unit on Parliament Street, which was also formerly Jamie’s Italian, has remained empty.

A spokesman for Tomahawk told the Stray Ferret:

“At the moment Tomahawk are tied up with legalities that have unfortunately been completely out of our control.

“We were all prepared and ready to go, but with liquidators from the previous owners comes a lot of red tape. We have had to sit on the sidelines whilst it gets thrashed out between the relevant parties.

“It is a shame because we would love to get going with everything and get open, but it’s completely out of our hands.

“So if the people of Harrogate are wondering what is going on with the venue, we are in exactly the same boat.

“We are, however, hoping this will draw to a close very soon and are waiting for information due to come our way anytime over the next few days.”

The steakhouse had initially planned to move into the empty Bistrot Pierre unit on Cheltenham Parade in January, before deciding to change its location to Solita Food Hall’s space.

Instead Samsons brasserie and bar moved into the Cheltenham Parade site in March. However it is currently shut “for essential works”, according to a spokesperson for the restaurant.

Tomahawk Steakhouse has restaurants in a number of locations, including Chester, York and Newcastle.

Read more:

 

Roadworks reduce Harrogate’s Cheltenham Parade to single lane until Thursday

Drivers are set to face delays in Harrogate town centre as roadworks take place on Cheltenham Parade.

North Yorkshire County Council is carrying out work to install a fibre optic cable up the street and has reduced traffic to one lane.

Cheltenham Parade becomes single lane next to the junction with Commercial Street and Station Parade.

The move has led to queues on the road this lunchtime, with traffic backing up onto Ripon Road.

According to the county council’s roadworks map, the work is set to remain in place until Thursday this week.

Read more:

 

Police issue CCTV pics of 6 people after Harrogate assault

*Update* – North Yorkshire Police has now identified the six individuals in the CCTV pictures and they are assisting officers with their investigation.

Police have issued CCTV images of six people – three men and three women, they would like to speak to following an assault in Harrogate.

The incident took place in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, February 13 at an unnamed bar on Cheltenham Parade.

A North Yorkshire Police press release tonight said:

“The incident involved a large group of people who were involved in an altercation, which resulted in a number of people in the bar being assaulted and receiving injuries.

“Despite enquiries with neighbouring police forces, the identity of the people captured in the CCTV images remains outstanding.

“Therefore, detectives from Harrogate criminal investigation department are asking members of the public to get in touch if they recognise the people in the images, as they believe they hold important information which will help the investigation.”

Read more:

Police urged anyone who recognises the people in the images, or who has any information regarding the incident, to contact them by calling 101, selecting option 2 and asking to speak to Detective Constable 604 Naomi Harris.

You can also email naomi.harris@northyorkshire.police.uk.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12220025651 when passing on information.

New restaurant to open at former Bistrot Pierre site in Harrogate

A new restaurant celebrating “exceptional British produce” is set to open at the former Le Bistrot Pierre site in Harrogate this month.

Work is underway to transform the building into Samsons restaurant and bar, dubbed a “vibrant yet elegant dining and drinking destination”.

The spacious unit on Cheltenham Parade has remained empty since July 2020 after Le Bistrot Pierre became one of the first restaurant casualties of the pandemic.

Managing director Mark Morris said:

“I am thrilled to bring the people of Harrogate and the surrounding area a unique drink and dining location in the heart of the town.”

The team behind Samsons includes executive chef Josh Whitehead, who is known for his work with the Harewood Food and Drink Project. He was also a semi-finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals 2016. Andy Castle, who was head chef at the Ox Club, Leeds, is also involved.

No opening date has been announced yet.

Roof garden

It aims to be the first carbon-neutral restaurant in the UK. This includes plans to launch a full roof garden with a wild flower meadow and bee hives next year.

The ‘design-led’ restaurant, which will offer an all-day dining space with plush booth seating, will have space for up to 182 guests across the main restaurant and bar, as well as a snug room for private wine-tasting.

Read more:

Samsons is currently recruiting staff, with a job advertisement for various positions stating:

“Samsons is unique, reflecting its heritage and location, but founded on the core values and principles. Sustainability, provenance, seasonality and traceability shines through.

“We will be striving to be the best restaurant in Harrogate.”

The empty premises were due to be occupied by Tomahawk Steakhouse, however the restaurant chain is now planning to move into Solita Food Hall’s space on Parliament Street, which closed last year after just six months.

The steakhouse had planned to open in January, but with the change of location it is now planning to launch in April.

The site was also formerly Jamie Oliver’s restaurant.

‘Station Gateway consultation a whitewash’, claim Harrogate petitioners

Harrogate residents described the Station Gateway consultation as a “whitewash” when they delivered a petition today.

Consultation on the revised plans for the £10.9 million scheme, which would see Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic and James Street partly pedestrianised, closes today.

Five members of Granvillle Road Area Residents Association took the petition to Harrogate Borough Council‘s Knapping Mount office at lunchtime today.

They are concerned that re-routing traffic off Cheltenham Parade and Cheltenham Mount through the nearby residential streets where they live will increase traffic and pollution and make it more difficult to park.

Dan Harper, executive officer economy and transport at Harrogate Borough Council, received the petition, which had about 140 signatures. He declined to be photographed by the Stray Ferret.

The residents expressed frustration over the consultation process, claiming it was difficult to get hold of information or people to address their concerns.

Catherine Ward-Brown, who lives on Cheltenham Mount, where traffic will be diverted if Cheltenham Mount is made one-way, said:

“They are trying to force commercial traffic on to residential streets and ignoring valid points made. They are hellbent on sticking to their views. It hasn’t been a consultation — it’s been a whitewash.”

Andrew Jones ‘not willing to engage’

Antonia Lowe questioned why Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, had not meaningfully replied to residents’ questions about the scheme.

“He was willing to engage with the process to relocate the post office but isn’t willing to engage with us.”

Rachael Inchboard said:

“He is passing the buck and refusing to engage. He has a duty to the Harrogate residents who voted him in to engage with this at the earliest opportunity. We would like to see him come to Granville Road.”

Read more:

The petitioners are considering paying to monitor air quality in their local streets as well as launching an online fundraising appeal to pay for an environmental impact assessment, which Harrogate Borough Council did not deem necessary.

The Stray Ferret has approached Mr Jones for comment.

What is the Harrogate Station Gateway?

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby funded by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

A consultation on the revised designs ends today. It is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by the middle of next year.

To take part in the online consultation, click here.

 

Harrogate residents form group to fight £10.9m Station Gateway

Harrogate town centre residents have formed a group to oppose the £10.9m Station Gateway project, which they say will increase traffic and pollution and reduce the value of their homes.

Granville Road Area Residents Association is a long established group representing about 250 homes in the streets close to Cheltenham Parade and Cheltenham Mount.

Members are now setting up a Gateway Action Group to oppose the gateway scheme. They say the consultation has been rushed and fails to take into account their views. They are also upset that a full environmental impact assessment wasn’t deemed necessary for such a major scheme.

Karl Battersby, corporate director, business and environmental services at North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the gateway, said it doesn’t think the project will have a significant impact on streets off Cheltenham Parade.

But residents aren’t convinced and formulated plans to act at two meetings at North Bar this week.

Jo Bagley, chair of Granville Road Area Residents Association, said the scheme would push traffic away from the largely commercial Cheltenham Parade into residential areas such as Granville Road, Back Granville Road, Mount Parade, Back Cheltenham Mount and Strawberry Dale Avenue. She said:

“The consultation questions were not relevant for people who live in the area affected. We don’t go into Harrogate — we are in Harrogate,

“A lot of us run businesses and we need to be able to get in and out and I forsee the area being gridlocked.”

Computer data

Colin Anderson, who lives on Granville Road, said his main concern was the volume of traffic that would be diverted on to the narrow Mount Parade if plans to make a section of Cheltenham Mount one way are approved.

He added:

“Traffic will be sitting here with their engines running. Those in charge of the scheme haven’t stood here watching the traffic — they use computer data.”

Mount Parade traffic gateway

Traffic on Mount Parade today.

Resident Nick Karpik said those leading the scheme had “manipulated” numbers from the previous consultation to falsely claim the scheme had public support.

Rachel Melvin, who has lived on Granville Road for 28 years, said:

“They are not solving the problem. They are moving it to a residential area and it will increase noise and pollution.”

Ms Melvin added that even if claims traffic would only increase in each street by two cars a minute were correct, that could still amount to more than 2,000 cars per day in the area.

Read more:

Residents also face the loss of four parking spaces on Cheltenham Parade, for which they have permits. They say this will make parking more difficult, and the knock-on effects of reduced parking throughout Harrogate would encourage more motorists to use the disc zone area in streets outside their homes.

Rachael Inchboard, who is a member of Harrogate Civic Society as well as a local resident, said the gateway scheme would have a profound impact on Harrogate conservation area yet most residents weren’t aware of it until they received letters from the council on October 22 giving them notice of the intention to develop. They now have just nine days until the consultation ends.

The council’s response

Karl Battersby, corporate director, business and environmental services, said:

“We don’t envisage significant impacts on the streets off Cheltenham Parade. Traffic modelling has assessed the potential impact of the proposed changes. In the worst-case scenario, which is the afternoon peak hour, we do not anticipate a significant increase in vehicles on these streets.

“The streets where the greatest increases are predicted in this hour are Bower Road, with an average increase of two or three vehicles per minute, and Cheltenham Mount, with an average increase of one or two vehicles per minute.

“We are in the middle of a public consultation in which we encourage as many people as possible to make their views known. All views will be taken into account before final decisions are made on how we will take the proposals forward.

“In addition to the online consultation – which I encourage people to complete at yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/harrogate – project officers have seen many residents face to face at drop-ins in the Victoria shopping centre. If people have not yet given us their views, I urge them to do so before the consultation ends on 12 November.”

What is the Harrogate Station Gateway?

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby funded by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

A consultation is currently taking place on the revised designs. It is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by the middle of next year.

Vandals may force Harrogate shop to remove iconic bears

A Harrogate children’s clothing shop may be forced to remove its iconic bears after they became the target of vandals.

Milk and Honey of Harrogate, on Cheltenham Parade, has displayed the bears outside for five years but in the last couple of months they have suffered a lot of damage.

Sarah Elizabeth Wood, the shop manager, takes in the smaller bears overnight and locks the largest bear with a chain locked but even this is not enough to deter troublemakers.

Following the latest attack, which happened just after 3am on Sunday morning, Mrs Wood is considering whether the bears should remain.

CCTV footage from the night showed three people, believed to be teenage boys, attack the bear with a stick before pulling it to the floor and jumping on it.

Read more:

Mrs Wood told the Stray Ferret:

“I do think the red carpet and the bears help us get customers because it makes us stand out.

“Everyone who walks past at least comments on the bears or takes a photo with them. So it would just be really sad if we have to take them away.

“I don’t think the bears can take anymore. One more weekend of them being ravaged like that and they will have to go.”

Mrs Wood has tried to repair the broken feet and ears of the bears but she fears that if they are damaged again they may become unstable and fall on people.

She put out a post on Facebook yesterday evening warning that the bears days may be numbered.

The post has had hundreds of reactions, with many people sharing stories of their time with the bears.

Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant to be renamed Catch Harrogate

One of Harrogate’s most famous brands, Graveley’s, is to be renamed Catch Harrogate.

The fish and chips restaurant on Cheltenham Parade is currently being refurbished. It is still open for takeaways.

The restaurant is expected to reopen in May under its new name.

Graveley’s was sold to Catch, which is based in Harrogate and has four other seafood restaurants in Yorkshire, in 2019.

A spokeswoman for Catch confirmed it would reopen as Catch Harrogate, bringing it into line with the ‘Catch’ name used at the company’s other seafood restaurants in Leeds, Holmfirth and Halifax. She added:

“Graveley’s is an institution in Harrogate so we appreciate it is going to be a big thing to change the name.”

She added the new building will have more fresh seafood on the menu, an oyster bar, a licensed bar and more modern decor.

For decades, people have made the pilgrimage to Graveley’s to enjoy fish and chips.

Chat show host Michael Parkinson once said his favourite restaurant was a toss-up between Bettys and Graveley’s in Harrogate.

He described his perfect day as watching Joe Root score a century in an Ashes Test at Headingley followed by a big plate of fish and chips at Graveley’s.

Read more: