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Mar

Last Updated: 23/03/2024

Politics

Harrogate needs ‘collective approach’ to town centre problems, says MP

by Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter

| 23 Mar, 2024

Harrogate needs a “collective approach” to tackling problems in the town centre, says Harrogate and Knaresborough's MP.

This week, the Stray Ferret revealed how town-centre traders feel about anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and threats to staff through our unprecedented Trading Hell survey.

We also took a deep dive into crime data, heard from Harrogate Homeless Project about the limits constraining the charity sector’s response and put concerns over trader confidence to North Yorkshire Police.

Nearly all of the businesses who responded to our survey agreed that anti-social behaviour was an issue in the town centre.

The Stray Ferret asked local politicians how they felt about our findings and what they feel could be done to tackle some of Harrogate’s problems.

Andrew Jones, Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, described the issues as complex and in need of a collective approach to tackle them.

He said:

“Although Harrogate is by any measure a safe town that does not mean we do not have our problems. We do and the Stray Ferret articles highlighted some of these.

“The interviews with the BID, the police, the Harrogate Homeless Project and other organisations highlighted the need for a collective approach to dealing with these issues.

“For example, simply asking the police to move street beggars from one street to the next does not tackle the underlying issues with which that person needs help.It may be a housing issue, a benefits issue, it might be a mental or physical health problem, it might be addiction, it might a criminal justice issues such as county lines drug dealing.

“We need to look on a case-by-case basis and decide which interventions are going to be most effective to support that individual so that they do not feel that street begging is the only or the most viable option for them to address their circumstances. We need to support them into a stable situation with their home, job, health and personal life.

“So these are complex issues and a complex approach involving many different groups is required to solve them.”

Mr Jones added that he would continue to meet with businesses and organisations to listen to concerns over the problems in the town.

He said:

“We all have the same objective. To continue to have a vibrant town centre where we see brilliant events, our trademark independent shops thrive alongside branded stores, where we feel safe as retailers and customers and where our town attracts tourists to provide the footfall businesses need.

“I meet regularly with the organisations who have contributed to this series of articles and will be doing so again to continue discussing how we can work together to achieve that objective. I hope the Stray Ferret will repeat their survey in a year’s time so we can see how effective the solutions we develop as a town centre community are.”

More comprehensive strategies needed

Meanwhile, Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, said the issues had been raised with him on the doorstep.

He said:

"Over the last few weeks and months this is something that has come up more frequently on the doorsteps and in my inbox. Retail employees make a huge contribution to our society and economy and they are the life blood of our town. Abuse against retail staff has an incredibly serious impact on those who experience it.

"The Liberal Democrats recognise that the UK government are asking shop workers to enforce the law themselves; they are enforcing the law on age-restricted products such as alcohol, games, DVDs and more.

"For retail workers specifically, we believe that where they are enforcing the law (e.g. minimum age for alcohol) or acting to prevent/detect crime (e.g. detaining a shoplifter), the law should give them extra protection.

"That's why the Liberal Democrats are backing the measures in the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening, or abusing a retail worker, allowing for the aggravation of that offence where the retail worker is seeking to enforce a statutory age restriction.”

However, Mr Gordon said more comprehensive strategies would be needed to tackle the issues in Harrogate.

He added:

"I welcome and support the efforts of Harrogate BID and other organisations working to tackle these problems, including initiatives such as the Report a Crime campaign. However, it's clear that more comprehensive strategies are required.

"We also need to do more to look at and address the root causes of anti-social behaviour, such as substance abuse and homelessness. This requires an evidence based approach that is multifaceted and takes into account access to support services, mental health resources, and addiction treatment.”

Trading Hell: A Stray Ferret investigation reveals how Harrogate shop workers routinely face threats, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour

Trading Hell: Shocking rise in shoplifting in Harrogate town centre

Trading Hell: ‘We cannot force people to do something’, says homeless charity

Trading Hell: ‘We can’t arrest our way out of it’, says police chief

Trading Hell: ‘Report crime so we can cut crime’, says BID manager

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Harrogate needs ‘collective approach’ to town centre problems, says MP

More comprehensive strategies needed

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