New bar and restaurant could open in Knaresborough at site of former Natwest bank

Councillors will meet next Thursday to consider a premises licence application submitted by Jaime Wilkinson for a new venue called 1858 Bar and Restaurant.

Natwest moved out of the building in 2017 and in 2021 Harrogate Borough Council granted a licence to Knaresborough-based Turning Point Brew Co. and Harrogate’s Major Tom’s Social for a bar called Claro Social on the site but it never opened.

Mr Wilkinson has proposed the new venue is able to sell alcohol from 10am until midnight seven days a week.

He’s also asked permission for the venue to have live music between 12pm and 11pm from Thursday to Saturday.

The applicant has agreed to 13 conditions set out by North Yorkshire Police including installing a CCTV system and offering 70 chairs inside to avoid people standing at the bar with their drinks.

There have been five objections to the application with one person saying the hours of operation should be shortened to be in line with the 2021 approval.

Another person said they bought a house near the building “on the grounds that it was a quiet residential plot”.

They said: “[The bar and restaurant will] directly affect our ability to sleep in our main room facing the establishment, on weekdays especially, affecting our ability to work and the additional problems for young infants when in residence.”

Councillors will meet next Thursday at the Civic Centre in Harrogate to consider the application.