Harrogate BID was established in the course of 2018 with the aim of giving businesses a greater say in the way their town developed.
It was always supposed to be business-led – a fundamental rule of all BIDs is that they cannot be used to replace the work of local authorities. The blurring of the lines between the BID, Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, however, lies at the heart of today’s resignations.
Harrogate BID is a limited company and is funded through a levy that is paid by all the business rate payers within a designated BID area, in addition to the business rates bill. The levy in Harrogate’s case earns the BID more than £500,000 a year.
Because its properties fall within the BID area, Harrogate Borough Council is a significant contributor to that income, and its leader, Coun Richard Cooper, sits on the BID board alongside NYCC’s corporate director for business and environmental services, David Bowe. With Sgt Alex Sellars of North Yorkshire Police, they fill the three public sector positions on the board of 15.
Local authority representation is recommended in the government’s best practice advice to BIDs. It says:
“It is essential that you establish a positive relationship with your Local Authority. It is important you identify a key contact at the authority and keep them informed of progress at every stage.“An authority will have its own plans for the area and will need to appreciate the benefits to businesses and the community of having a BID. It will want to be assured that the BID arrangements complement and preferably enhance the local authority’s proposals.“Ideally the local authority will have a seat on the BID Board. The authority and BID will need to agree the additional services the BID intends to deliver.”
According to the four who resigned today, however, that relationship has hampered Harrogate BID’s ability to progress its plans for the benefit of its levy payers. After today’s resignations, all three of the board’s positions for independent businesses are vacant.
Changes to the board
In the spring of 2019 in the BID’s first newsletter, the then chairman, John Fox, talked of “exciting projects” to help attract more footfall to Harrogate.
However, in the months that passed, the BID struggled to find a way of working: only three of the current 15 board members have been in place since this time last year. John Fox stepped down at the end of 2019 and a manager appointed last July left the post within four months.
Today’s letter of resignation by its new chairman – only appointed in March – and three other board members, all from the private sector, shows how frustrated and disempowered they felt at not being able to get things done – how BID proposals were either resisted or subject to “endless debate” about the local authorities’ work. There were arguments too over what was the council’s responsibility and what was the BID’s.
The Harrogate BID website says the aim of the BID is to “empower local businesses to tackle local issues…” Today’s letter makes clear that the Chairman and directors who resigned have no faith in the ability of the BID to tackle Harrogate’s issues – which, they say, run much deeper than its board is willing to admit.
Interim BID manager, Simon Kent
Earlier this week, the new interim BID manager, Simon Kent, told The Stray Ferret he wanted “to turn conversations and plans into real actions” and outlined its priorities. Mr Kent’s job to achieve those goals got a whole load more difficult today.
There are questions now for the two local authorities about how they have worked with the BID and how they can answer the criticism levied at them in the resignation letter.
Concluding their letter with a warning that Harrogate was struggling before the current lockdown, the chairman and directors say “the reality of the situation is becoming very serious indeed” for Harrogate town centre. There is huge pressure now on remaining board members to make levy payers feel their contribution was worth it and for the BID, despite the current circumstances, to deliver some meaningful results.
