Champagne thief strikes in Harrogate supermarket

Police have appealed for information after champagne and spirits worth more than £800 were stolen from a supermarket in Harrogate.

The theft took place at Morrisons on Hookstone Road in Starbeck at about 10.30am on Thursday April 22.

Officers have released CCTV footage of two men they would like to speak to. They believe the men “hold information which would be of assistance to the investigation”.

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A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“While it’s recognised that the men in the images are wearing face masks, officers are appealing to anyone who may recognise them by their hair or clothing to get in touch.”

Anyone who has information can call the police on 101 and quote reference 12210103291.

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

Marks & Spencer likely to open Ripon store in mid July

Marks & Spencer is likely to open its M&S Food store in Ripon in mid July, The Stray Ferret understands.

The M&S store, on Rotary Way, was originally due to open on April 29 but that was put on hold because of coronavirus.

It is part of the £10 million Saint Michael’s Retail Park development. A spokesperson for M&S said:

“We’re working hard to finish our Ripon store and as soon as we have more information on the opening we will update the community.”

The new store, located close to the Ripon bypass, was first granted planning permission by Harrogate Borough Council in 2017. It will provide up to 80 new jobs, including people who have been recruited locally.

Ripon is currently served by four supermarkets – Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.

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German budget supermarket Lidl, which already has a store in Chain Lane, Knaresborough, has announced that it plans to open up to 89 new stores in Yorkshire and has Harrogate and Ripon on its list, saying:

The company, which is hoping to double the number of stores it has in the UK added, that it was looking for ‘prominent sites  in town, district, edge of centre or out of town locations, ideally with main road frontage with easy access and strong pedestrian or traffic flow.’

“We want to double our portfolio. To continue our phenomenal growth we require further sites across the country.”

The proposed locations for Lidl stores in Ripon and Harrogate is not as yet known.

First conferences fall victim to coronavirus

Two events at Harrogate Convention Centre have been called off because of coronavirus.

The Morrisons supplier conference on 24th March and the three-day IPIG medical conference in May have both been postponed because of the spread of the virus.

However, the AireCon gaming festival is taking place this weekend with 2,500 attendees and the Conservative Party Spring Forum is still currently scheduled for early April.

Kim Wilson, who chairs guesthouse group Accommodation Harrogate, said she believed the two postponed events were relatively small and did not bring significant contributions to the local economy. The Morrisons event would have been mostly day delegates, while those at the IPIG conference kept mostly to the venue itself. New dates have yet to be confirmed for either.

Discussing the growing impact of coronavirus, she said: “I think across town, and across the country generally, we need to hunker down a bit and do what we can to get through.

“There are big events cancelling elsewhere in the country but they are already rescheduling for September onwards. That would be a sensible thing for the Convention Centre to offer, to bring the event to Harrogate in a few months’ time.”