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    09

    Jun 2021

    Last Updated: 09/06/2021
    Business
    Business

    Shop vacancy rates fall in Harrogate district, according to council figures

    by Calvin Robinson

    | 09 Jun, 2021
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    Figures from Harrogate Borough Council show the number of empty units in areas across the district have fallen since March last year. Boroughbridge is among the best performing with 1.5% of vacant units.

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    The rate of empty shops in the Harrogate district has fallen since last year, according to latest borough council data.

    Shop vacancy rates across Harrogate district have fallen over the last year, according to latest borough council data.

    The figures for March 2021 show most areas saw a decrease in the number of vacant units on the same time last year.

    Boroughbridge was among the best performing with just 1.5% of shops in the town empty - a drop from 6.1% on March last year.

    According to the council’s data, just one out of 64 shops were vacant in the town.



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    Meanwhile, Harrogate town saw the number of empty units fall from 9.5% in March 2020 to 7.3% in the same period this year.

    However, figures for the Harrogate suburbs increased from 3.9% to 4.4%.

    Pateley Bridge’s rate stayed the same, while Ripon fell to 6.6% and Masham dropped by 2.2% to 11.1%.

    Overall the district has 83 out of 1,211 units sat empty, according to the data.

    In a post on his news site, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, said:

    “These have been difficult times and we are still not through them. Retail and hospitality are going to face ongoing challenges but these figures are positive and an improving position on much of the last few years.
    “While the Harrogate town centre vacancy rate is at its lowest since June 2015 this is somewhat masked by the fact that a few really large units in prominent positions are empty which smaller units are generally being occupied.
    “Knaresborough’s figures should improve even further when the long-term empty properties on the High Street come into use later this year. They were derelict until Harrogate council bought them and refurbished them.
    “The Boroughbridge story is amazing and a tribute to this positive, community-oriented outlook. The town even featured on the BBC news described as ‘Boom town Boroughbridge’; quite an accolade.”