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02
Feb 2021
Funding to boost 'undersold' Knaresborough businesses
Harrogate Borough Council is set to support the setting up of a Knaresborough Business Improvement District with a £27,000 loan.
Senior councillors will be recommended to support the BID in principle and the loan at a cabinet meeting tomorrow.
A BID is a partnership between businesses, which pay a levy on their rates to provide further projects and services to benefit businesses in a defined area.
It can include marketing, promotions and street cleaning.
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As part of the proposal, the Knaresborough BID area would cover 380 businesses.
William Taylor, one of the directors of the BID, told the Stray Ferret that the aim of the project would be to help make the town “more accessible”.
He said:
Business ballot
Knaresborough BID was set up in 2019 and this loan will help it become operational.
Knaresborough BID brought in consultants Mosaic Partnerships, which also supported the development of the Harrogate BID, to help set up the organisation and canvass support.
The project will be funded through a mixture of public and private funding.
The council's proposed £27,000 loan would match funding raised by the Knaresborough BID.
So far, the BID has raised £16,000 from private business sources, organisations and individuals.
The loan would be paid for from the council’s 2024 reserves and repaid if businesses agreed to support it in a ballot.
Mr Taylor said it was working towards a ballot date in June.
A report due before councillors on Wednesday said the move to set up the BID had the potential to be positive for the town.
It said:
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