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The owners of one of Harrogate's most famous live music venues have been talking about their plans to open a new bar in a historic quarter of town.

Simon and Sharon Colgan, who have run the Blues Bar at 4 Montpellier Parade since the 1990s, say they intend to transform the premises at 18 Montpellier Parade into a new bar, possibly with live jazz music.

“We have taken Prego Cafe Bar with plans after the New Year to refurbish and give it a slightly new look and a new name,” said Mr Colgan.

"How far we take the live music we are not sure yet but time will tell.

Simon and Sharon Colgan, who have run the Blues Bar in Harrogate since the 1990s, say they intend to open a new bar further down the hill on Montpellier Parade. (Picture Gerard Binks)

"We plan to expand the opening hours and develop a nice evening vibe.”

The Blues Bar has been a Harrogate institution since it first opened in the later 1980s.

Over the years, this small but characterful venue’s wooden floorboards have hosted live music acts seven days a week, from local talent to bigger names such as John Cooper Clarke, Julian Cope and Hope & Social.

During the day, it acts as a cafe and it boasts a gin bar upstairs.

Simon Colgan, who also run The Empress on the Stray and the Worlds End in Knaresborough with his partner Sharon, says, when it opens next year, the new venture may be called the Montpellier Jazz Bar.

If the plans go to schedule, it will be Harrogate’s first jazz music bar since the days of Harrogate Brasserie and, briefly, Montey’s Jazz Cafe.

'Why we are opening new bar in historic area of Harrogate' by well-known owners