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24
Jan 2022
Harrogate BID 'waste of money', says pub landlord
A Harrogate pub landlord has described the town's Business Improvement District as a "waste of money" — and is refusing to pay the £370-a-year levy.
Marik Scatchard has been the landlord of Christies Bar on King's Road for 14 years. He told the Stray Ferret that his pub has seen little benefit from the BID, which was set up in 2019 to improve Harrogate town centre
Businesses within Harrogate's town centre pay the BID 1.5% of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates. Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from local firms.
Because a majority of companies voted to set up the BID, Christies is legally obliged to pay the levy. However, Mr Scatchard said he would not pay because the BID does not offer good value for money to levy payers and is run by a "private mates' club".
He said:
Read more:
- Business groups claim they’ve been ignored in Station Gateway consultation
- In Depth: To BID or not to BID? Divided opinion in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon
Whilst the landlord said the BID provided the pub with some furniture after lockdown and sponsored the Pubwatch scheme, he dismissed recent BID initiatives such as a ping pong table in the Victoria Shopping Centre.
He said the BID should focus its efforts on cleaning up King's Road and Parliament Street, which he said were regularly strewn with litter.
BIDs have been criticised for doing jobs that have traditionally been under the remit of local councils, effectively taxing businesses twice.
Mr Scatchard said:
BID's response
Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID Manager, said:
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