The leader of Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Liberal Democrats has called for the dismissal of a senior council officer after the Stray Ferret revealed yesterday he was behind an anonymous, abusive Twitter account.

Steve Rogers, Harrogate Borough Council’s parking enforcement manager, used the handle @ChippyGlory to send abusive and obscene tweets -— many directed at Liberal Democrat councillors.

Pat Marsh says she will be raising the issue as a matter of urgency with the council’s chief executive, Wallace Sampson, at a meeting tomorrow.

Cllr Marsh says the revelation that the tweets came from a council officer are deeply unsettling.

“”I am deeply, deeply concerned. The tweets I have seen are deeply offensive. How’s he got away with it without other people knowing it was him?

“I need to know what process he is undergoing. He can’t be in the role he is in. He has lost trust from all sides. Isn’t this instant dismissal?

“This has damaged the relationship councillors have with officers. You start to become concerned – it might be one rogue person but you don’t know.

“It raises issues of whether there is a toxic culture at the council – it is very unsettling. We have got to have a relationship of trust between councillors and officers. “

Many of Mr Rogers tweets were sexist and some explicit and obscene towards women.

Cllr Marsh, said she is angry that Mr Rogers has been tweeting for so long and will asking the council to take the following action:

• That Mr Rogers is removed form a position where he has any daily supervision and work programming responsibilities with female members of staff.
• That the council fully explores any other tweets of a similar nature that The Stray Ferret may have and are not publishing at this moment.
• Investigate if the tweets were made using council equipment during the actual working hours  i.e. was he engaging in this activity during time he was being paid by the council.

In yesterday’s report, the Stray Ferret published a particularly abusive tweet Mr Rogers posted about the New Park Liberal Democrat councillor Matthew Webber.  It was done with the consent of Cllr Webber to illustrate the nature of @ChippyGlory’s posts.

Cllr Marsh paid tribute to Cllr Webber and said he was brave to agree to the tweet being published:

“It impacts on people hugely – Matthew Webber has had a difficult year with the loss of his father. His tweets were personal – it is not acceptable.

“It was very brave of him to let the Stray Ferret show the tweet about him. We will give him every support at this time. It is totally, totally unacceptable.

“To have this thrust out into the public arena is not acceptable – let alone if it’s done an officer of the council.”

She added that Cllrs Philip Broadbank and Chris Aldred who were also targeted by Mr Rogers have given years of service to the town of Harrogate:

“Philip has given more than 40 years service to this town. Chris has also worked very hard and I feel really angry on their behalf.”

Read More:

• EXCLUSIVE: Senior Harrogate council officer’s abusive and obscene Twitter account
• Harrogate cyclists urged to be vigilant after spate of bike thefts

Conservative councillor Nick Brown who was also the subject of Mr Rogers’ derogatory tweets has called for his immediate suspension whilst the council investigates him.

“I am totally opposed to anonymous twitter accounts – it is a cowardly thing to do.

“I think he needs help, as do his 146 followers.

“What he is doing is totally obnoxious and he should be suspended immediately until a full investigation is completed.”

The Stray Ferret will ask the council for a response to the councillors’ demands.

Yesterday a spokesperson said:

“The council will consider any concerns in relation to the conduct of any of its officers and where appropriate investigate the matter in accordance with its policies and procedures.

“The council will not be commenting further at this time.”

The fate of Harrogate’s Woodfield Community Primary School is to be confirmed next week after a recommendation was made to close it at the end of the year.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive will next Tuesday be asked to agree to the closure on December 31.

It comes after council officials said they “exhausted all options” to try to keep the Bilton school open after years of falling pupil numbers and an inadequate rating by Ofsted inspectors in 2020.

But parents say the school has been “badly let down” by the local education authority, while councillors have labelled the planned closure a “disgrace”.

The school reception

There was just one pupil on the school roll earlier this month after the closure plans were revealed in summer and parents were forced to start looking elsewhere ahead of the new term.

Ward councillor Paul Haslam, who is also a governor at Woodfield, said the sudden death of a former headteacher in 2018 led to instabilities at the school and that an “unfounded slur” on social media then caused an “exodus” of about a third of the pupils later that year.

He said in a letter: 

“The school was exonerated of any wrongdoing and the correct safeguarding procedures were found to have been followed and to be in place by the local authority, as they were at the Ofsted judgement.

“What failed to happen was a restoration of the reputation of the school and difficulty in getting permanent, long term leadership.

“The school did not get enough support to come back from this reputational damage.”

Cllr Haslam also argued the school should not be closing because Harrogate’s population is growing and it had made good progress since the inadequate rating in January 2020.

Read more:

• Parents vow to fight closure of ‘fantastic’ Woodfield primary school
• Woodfield school taking ‘effective action’ to improve, says Ofsted

But a report to Tuesday’s meeting said government legislation requires the school to close unless an academy sponsor can be found. Any school rated as inadequate is required to become part of an academy, but Woodfield has failed to find one to secure its future.

The school had also held merger talks with the nearby Grove Road Community Primary School, but these fell through.

If approved, the closure will mean the Woodfield catchment area will be shared with Grove Road and Bilton Grange Primary School.

The school’s debts, which were forecast to reach almost £100,000 by the end of 2022/23, will be absorbed by the council.

North Yorkshire Police has appealed to cyclists in Harrogate to be vigilant after a spate of bike thefts.

The force said in a statement it had made “four arrests of individuals in connection with burglaries across the local area” in the last few days.

It added:

“A number of bikes have been returned to their owners but we still have several which have not yet been claimed so if your bike has been stolen in the last few weeks, please get in touch by calling 101.”

The statement said thieves were targeting garden sheds. Some bikes weren’t locked while in other incidents the locks had been forced.

Read more:

• New start date for next phase of Otley Road cycle path works to be revealed
• Thieves steal seven bikes from Ripon cycle shop

Police issued the following advice to cyclists:

• Double lock it: Using two locks slows thieves down and makes your bike less of a target. Use two quality locks, at least one of which is a D-lock. Thieves are less likely to carry multiple tools, so use two different types of lock if possible.
• Lock the lot: Lock the frame and both wheels to a secure cycle stand.
• Secure it: Secure your bike as close to the stand as possible to give any thieves little or no room to manoeuvre.
• Take removable parts with you.
• Park securely: Lock your bike at recognised secure cycle parking. It should be well lit and covered by CCTV.
• Register it: Register your frame number for free on a cycle database such as BikeRegister. The frame number is usually found underneath the bike between the pedals or where the back wheel slots in. If your bike is ever stolen and recovered by the police, it can be traced back to you.
• Mark it: Get your bike security marked. It’s a highly effective, visible deterrent to bike thieves. They know that if they are caught with a registered bike, the owner can be traced and they will be arrested. BikeRegister provide a list of police bike marking events. You can also mark your bike with SmartWater.
• Remember safety begins at home: Take the same care to lock your bike securely at home as you would on the street.
• Check ownership: Ask for proof of ownership and check the bike frame number on a cycle database such as Bike Checker at BikeRegister.
• Act fast: If your bike has been stolen, contact police as soon as possible by calling 101 or use the online reporting tool. Provide your frame number, cycle database number, a photo and any other details and make sure you update the status on the cycle database where you registered it.

Read more:

• Revealed: the three Harrogate district sites that could become investment zones
• Andrew Jones MP launches ‘non-political’ fact-checking service

Green Party rejects Mr Jones’ claims

Paul Ko Ferrigno

But Harrogate and District Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate Paul Ko Ferrigno criticised Mr Jones’ stance.

“Like his government, Mr Jones has had 12 long years to establish his green credentials, and it is on that track record that he must be judged, not some aspirational scheme that has been rushed in so quickly that councillors have not been given time to scrutinise the detail.

“It isn’t even clear that these investment zones are needed because we haven’t been told which regulations are potentially holding schemes back.”

Business support

Lilla Bathurst, manager of Ripon Business Improvement District, backed the county council’s submission. She said:

“Whilst the Potter Space is outside the Ripon BID area, we welcome any investment into the Ripon city region.

“The potential for more businesses and employment in the area, and therefore further footfall and spend in our BID businesses, can only be a positive and we fully support Cllr Carl Les and North Yorkshire County Council in their submission.”

However, the North Yorkshire branch of Unison took a different view:

We share the concerns of @WildlifeTrusts, and our branch committee has voted unanimously to oppose #InvestmentZones and we arw asking @northyorkscc to withdraw its interest.@AJonesMP @nadams @JulianSmithUK @JulianSturdy @RishiSunak @kevinhollinrake

@ChrisGPackham https://t.co/3oHgEsdb3u

— North Yorkshire UNISON (@NYUnison) October 15, 2022

Community libraries in Bilton and Starbeck are set to be given 10-year leases to continue their services.

North Yorkshire County Council‘s executive will be asked next week to approve the proposal, which aims to give long-term stability to libraries run by volunteers.

Both Bilton and Woodfield, and Starbeck, were previously run by NYCC but difficulties with funding led them to handing over day-to-day running to the communities.

The county’s libraries budget fell from £7.8m in 2010 to £4.3m in 2017, prompting communities to rally to ensure their facilities stayed open. Across the county, 1,700 volunteers came forward.

Bilton and Woodfield was the area’s first community library, celebrating its 10th anniversary earlier this year.

The libraries have continued to receive support from the council with books and IT services, as well as support from paid library service staff.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for libraries, Cllr Greg White, said:

“We take great pride in the community-run model with our service being in the top 10 per cent of performance nationally. Working in partnership with communities alongside volunteers in all libraries allows the service to meet local needs.

“There continues to be interest from other local authorities and central government as it is proven to retain high standards whilst delivering savings. The original leases of five years were introduced as the new model was unique and unproven. However, it has been a great success so we are proposing to introduce longer leases which will avoid costs around future renewals.”

Read more:

• Community library marks 10 years at the heart of Bilton and Woodfield
• Library visits remain low following pandemic, says council

Around half of North Yorkshire’s book-lending is via community libraries across the county and almost 40% of active library users belong to them.

During the summer, more than 1,000 people visited community libraries to claim household support fund vouchers, while 3,500 children used them to complete the summer reading challenge.

Libraries manager Chrys Mellor said:

“During the pandemic many of the community libraries became the base for community support organisations who were vital in the delivery of food, prescriptions and books.

“During the cost of living crisis our libraries are offering warm spaces for vulnerable people in their communities, providing a range of activities.

“Residents should be proud of their communities and library service for retaining such a high-class service which is delivered at a local level.”

A Ripon IT company has announced it has bought Skipton-based Verus Solutions.

Fresh Mango Technologies, which is based on Barker Business Park, acquired the company, which specialises in IT support, computer systems and server supply and installation.

Officials at Fresh Mango said the purchase was an ideal fit due to Verus’ location and customer base.

Guy Phoenix, managing director at Fresh Mango, said:

“Their offering and ethos is almost identical to ours with a customer reach beyond Yorkshire’s borders. 

“The Fresh Mango mission is to bring much-needed first-class IT support to even more SMEs. Verus Solutions will help us to continue to fulfil that mission and we’re delighted that they’re now part of the Fresh Mango family.” 

Paul Roach, director of Verus Solutions, said: 

“Due to our close and long-standing relationships with our clients it was crucial for us to find an organisation that shared the same values as us, while at the same time having sufficient scale to provide the highest levels of customer service. 

“Fresh Mango demonstrated this throughout our discussions with them.”

Harrogate estate agents comes top at industry awards

A Harrogate estate agents picked up four awards at an industry awards ceremony.

Myrings Estate Agents came top in three categories and won silver in a fourth at the Estate Agent of the Year Awards.

The firm won Regional Sales Award for North Yorkshire, Lettings Agent Landlords Award, Estate Agents Sales Award and silver for Lettings Agent Tenants Award.

A post on the company’s social media said:

“We are truly grateful and our sincere thanks go out to all our wonderful customers for your reviews and support. We would not be where we are without you, combined with our amazing team that made this happen.

“It is all thanks to their hard work, positivity, and outstanding customer service we are where we are.”

Read more:

• Harrogate district business groups cautiously welcome mini-budget
• Harrogate district businesses ask police for help tackling anti-social behaviour

A senior Harrogate Borough Council officer has been using an anonymous Twitter account to insult councillors and send abusive, obscene and misogynistic tweets.

@ChippyGlory is an account with 146 followers. We have established it is run by Steve Rogers, Harrogate Borough Council’s parking enforcement manager.

The Stray Ferret has been tracking the @ChippyGlory account for two years after being told from a source that it was run by a council manager.

Mr Rogers holds a senior position at the council yet his tweets are strongly in breach of the local authority’s own social media policy.

His most offensive tweets are often deleted soon after posting but we have recorded many of them.

In the following section, we have taken the decision to publish a small number of Mr Rogers’ tweets to demonstrate the nature of them. Please be aware the following content is offensive and explicit. 

Offensive Tweets

Mr Rogers has published numerous offensive tweets about councillors from across the political spectrum.

Several of Mr Rogers’ tweets have been directed at the Liberal Democrat councillor for New Park, Matthew Webber.

Cllr Webber has given us his consent to show this tweet.

Cllr Webber said it was upsetting to see the tweet about him.

He told us:

“I’m offended and I will be contacting the chief executive asking for action to be taken. It brings disrepute to the council.”

Some of Mr Rogers’ most misogynistic and obscene tweets are targeted at Carrie Johnson, wife of the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Rogers has posted several sexist tweets about Harrogate Residents Association’s Anna McIntee, giving her the nickname ‘Barbie’.

Following the Sarah Everard case last year, Mr Rogers tweeted the following message to a serving police officer:

Attacking councillors:  

Despite being a public servant employed by the council, Mr Rogers has frequently published tweets attacking or mocking councillors.

After a council planning committee meeting last year @ChippyGlory tweeted “It’s always great to see Tories kicking Tories” and following the recent council elections he referred to the Conservatives as “Tory scum”.

He recently tweeted about North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for highways Cllr Keane Duncan.

Mr Rogers is responsible for parking enforcement which gives him an active role Harrogate. Yet as ChippyGlory he has posted derogatory tweets about many well known figures in the town such as former Christmas market organiser and rail campaigner, Brian Dunsby.

One person who did not want to be named, but had a high profile role in Harrogate and was the subject of Mr Rogers’ abusive tweets, has told the Stray Ferret of the hugely detrimental impact they had on their mental health.

Mr Rogers tweeted this in an exchange on pedestrianisation about William Woods, Robert Ogden and Bob Kennedy – all well known, long-standing independent retailers:

Council’s social media policy

 As the anonymous ChippyGlory, Mr Rogers has had regular non-offensive exchanges with the council’s Twitter feed on various issues.

The Stray Ferret has obtained a copy of the council’s social media policy. It applies to all council employees using social media either in a business or personal capacity.

It says:

“Do not post anything (including text, photographs or videos) that your colleagues, councillors, customers, clients, business partners, suppliers, vendors or other stakeholders would find offensive, including discriminatory comments, insults or obscenity.”

It warns that any breach of the policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Mr Rogers has said he is sorry for his actions. When contacted by the Stray Ferret he told us:

“I regret any offence that I may have caused. I would like to think I have moderated my persona over recent months.

“I apologise for my previous behaviour.”

We asked the council for a comment and if anyone knew that Mr Rogers was behind the ChippyGlory account.

A council spokesperson said;

“The council will consider any concerns in relation to the conduct of any of its officers and where appropriate investigate the matter in accordance with its policies and procedures.

“The council will not be commenting further at this time.”

Read More:

• Police say Harrogate town centre ‘is safe’ despite highest anti-social behaviour rate in county
• Man charged after Harrogate stabbing

Bus services across the Harrogate district are under “unprecedented” pressure thanks to dwindling passenger numbers, leaving some routes at risk of being cut.

North Yorkshire County Council has issued a stark warning that, faced with passenger numbers of only around 80% of their previous levels, additional funding would be needed to maintain services.

The authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said unless more people travel by bus, the new North Yorkshire Council may be unable to maintain the existing services.

A planned cut of funding from the Department for Transport has been delayed from October until March, but local authorities face reduced income and rising costs even before the money runs out.

Cllr Les said:

“We are in a time of immense pressure for bus services nationally and North Yorkshire is no exception.

“Throughout the pandemic, the government has provided significant support to commercial companies to keep services running in North Yorkshire that would otherwise have been lost.

“While it is very welcome that this has been extended until March, we know many routes are continuing to struggle and companies tell us it will be impossible for these to continue operating without significant additional funding.

“The stark reality is that the survival of many services across the county are on a knife edge. We know how important public transport is for many residents but we are in a use it or lose it situation.”

The drop in passenger numbers follows the covid pandemic, with more people now thought to be working from home or using other modes of transport.

Read more:

• Council sets aside contingency ‘sum’ to cover Kex Gill costs
• Cost of North Yorkshire unitary authority’s new council tax system soars

NYCC has already tried to mitigate the impact of the pressures on bus services by setting up an enhanced partnership agreement, which met for the first time in August.

It sees the council work with bus operators to improve facilities and introduce measures to enhance operating conditions.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said the problems were down to the drop in passenger numbers, making many more routes unsustainable. He said:

“This is an unprecedented situation with around a third of the network at risk of seeing a reduced level of service or ceasing altogether unless patronage levels improve.

“We have already seen several routes cease, often at short notice, and the unfortunate expectation is that others may follow unless usage improves.

“While the council uses £1.6m each year to support services that are not commercially viable, this cannot meet the scale of the challenge we are now experiencing from routes operating without council subsidy.

“The council has been successful in lobbying government for extra financial support, but we accept this will not continue in perpetuity. We are working closely with operators to encourage passengers to use services and protect them for our communities.”

A report has revealed the Harrogate district hotspots with the highest number of reported crimes over the last five months.

North Yorkshire Police has published a breakdown of the top offences in each ward area between May and September – and one location which has become an increasing crime concern features prominently.

Low Harrogate includes most of the town centre and perhaps unsurprisingly is named in all the top five areas for crimes including domestic violence, drug offences, robbery, burglary, sexual offences, hate crime and fraud.

But what might not come as a surprise is the fact that the ward has the highest rates of anti-social behaviour not just in the Harrogate district, but across the whole of North Yorkshire.

Despite this, police officers have insisted the town centre “is safe” and that crime overall is on the decline.

Here we look at the top hotspots broken down by each offence:

Anti-social behaviour 

Low Harrogate – 96
High Harrogate – 43
Starbeck – 35
Ripon Spa – 28
Ripon Minister – 26

North Yorkshire Police said in its report that although there are some hotspot areas, the latest crime figures “really cement that there are large parts of Harrogate which are unaffected by ASB”.

Outside of Harrogate town, the force said that Ripon Minister is “by far the busiest ward” for officers responding to reports of ASB.

It also said officers have and will use powers to deal with offences, including an ability to disperse people from a certain area for up to 48 hours.

The report added:

“Continued work is also being done across the night-time economy to ensure that those people out enjoying a drink can do so without the often-associated ASB that alcohol can attract.

“This has included use of drug dogs, increased patrols dedicated to the bars and a joint effort with licensing officers who can utilise their own powers.”

Drug crimes

Low Harrogate – 34
High Harrogate – 25
Granby – 19
Rossett – 15
Starbeck – 15

Low Harrogate again features at the top of the list for this crime and police said most drug offences tend to be within the town centre and with CCTV being used to identify individuals.

Offences in High Harrogate – which covers the area around Skipton Road north of the Empress Roundabout – tend to be vehicle stops, the report said, adding:

“We are aware there is a constant flow of drugs into the area from both home-grown dealers and those from other cities.

“Since May to the beginning of September, just within the Expedite team there have been 64 arrests and nearly 200 safeguarding visits.”

Sexual offences

Low Harrogate – 23
High Harrogate – 22
Granby – 17
Starbeck – 13
Stray – 13

North Yorkshire Police said there has been a “steady decrease” in reported sexual crimes across the district and that the vast majority of reports involve the victim knowing the suspect as a friend or family member.

The force went on to highlight concerns over nightclub spiking incidents and said there have been some suspected cases in the Harrogate area. It explained:

“We have not had any confirmed cases of drug spiking in the area despite treating several cases as possible cases.”

Read more:

• Man charged after Harrogate stabbing
• Police say Harrogate town centre ‘is safe’ despite highest anti-social behaviour rate in county

Hate crime

Low Harrogate – 36
Granby – 15
Ripon Minister – 12
High Harrogate – 10
Starbeck – 10

Across the Harrogate district, a total of 183 hate crimes have been reported between May and September, and almost half are still under investigation.

Most reported incidents involved racial hate crime, whilst others included hateful comments over people’s sexual orientation, disabilities and religion.

The report said just under 9% of incidents have resulted in court outcomes, while around a quarter were not progressed due to the victim’s wishes. The force said:

“North Yorkshire Police takes all instances of both hate crime and hate incidents extremely seriously given their hugely impactive and personal implications.”

Domestic violence

Starbeck – 99
High Harrogate – 96
Low Harrogate – 93
Granby – 91
Woodfield – 84

Starbeck had the most reported incidents of domestic violence, with High Harrogate and Low Harrogate following closely behind.

North Yorkshire Police has stressed that it takes domestic violence against both females and males seriously, adding:

“There are specialist officers that are either involved or review every incident and we take a supportive partnership approach to every incident.

“We now have a wider range of powers and tools that we can utilise to support victims and tackle offenders including domestic violence protection orders and notices.”

Robbery

Low Harrogate – 7
Starbeck – 7
High Harrogate – 6
Granby – 5
Ripon Minister – 4

There have been few robberies reported over the five-month period – and North Yorkshire Police said the joint-top hotspot Low Harrogate saw a 50% reduction in its figures when compared to the last reporting period. The force added:

“There are no linked robberies that have gone unnoticed and equally we have no repeat locations/victims or suspects that are causing increased areas of concern.”

Burglary

Low Harrogate – 31
Woodfield – 22
Saltergate – 21
Starbeck – 20
Ripon Minister – 17

Burglaries are much more common than robberies, and following national criticism on attendance and detection rates, North Yorkshire Police said it has committed to attend “all reports of dwelling burglaries unless exceptional circumstances would dictate otherwise”.

Fraud

Ripon Moorside – 47
Low Harrogate – 30
Woodfield – 29
Granby – 28
Saltergate – 27

The final crime listed in the report is fraud and Ripon Moorside – which covers the south-west of the city – comes out on top by some margin for its size.

North Yorkshire Police described fraud as an “ever evolving and growing issue” which is being driven by the reliance of technology in day-to-day lives. The force added:

“Due to our modifying world, fraud has now become the UK’s most common crime, and as a result of this, North Yorkshire Police have already committed and retained fraud as one of its force priorities.”

A senior police officer has insisted Harrogate town centre “is safe” despite it having the highest rates of anti-social behaviour in North Yorkshire.

Chief inspector Alex Langley told a council meeting on Monday that the town centre is the “busiest” ward for North Yorkshire Police, but added the area’s crime figures are considered relatively low when taken in context of the large population.

He explained there have been a total of 243 anti-social behaviour incidents in the area across 12 months, saying:

“That is less than 0.6 incidents a day.”

He added:

“When you look at the amount of people and potential issues, I think it is actually quite a reassuring number and that it really is a safe place to be.”

Chief inspector Langley also said the entire Harrogate district had seen a “steady reduction” in all crimes over a one-year period, including a “phenomenally low” robbery rate with an average of one incident reported every two months.

However, he was warned by councillors that crime was becoming an increasing concern in certain areas and that the force may be unaware of hotspots because of residents’ reluctance to report incidents.

This includes Harrogate’s Bower Street which was highlighted by councillor Chris Aldred, who said anti-social behaviour “does seem to be getting worse” in the area with regular complaints of “rowdy” individuals drinking from 9am.

Read more:

• Police start two-week speeding crackdown in Harrogate district
• Lack of custody cells ‘hitting police responses’

On Friday (October 14), a man was reportedly stabbed in a fight on Bower Street and a 23-year-old man from Harrogate has since been charged with assault on a person occasioning actual bodily harm, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, and wounding with intent.

The area outside Harrogate’s McDonald’s restaurant on Cambridge Road has also been flagged as a concern after two community support officers were allegedly assaulted by two teenage girls on April 1 this year.

A 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have since been charged and are due to appear in court on October 28.

Chief inspector Langley said his officers were “well aware” of problems in the two areas as he also stressed the importance of people reporting incidents.

He added that a problem-solving plan was being made for Bower Street.

He told Monday’s meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission:

“We are alive to this and trying to use all the powers that we have got, but again if we don’t get the reports, we will struggle.

“My plea is that if there is a problem, tell us about it.”

Earlier this year, Harrogate BID launched a campaign to encourage people to report incidents in the town centre to ensure police crime statistics reflected the situation being experienced by business owners.