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28
Feb
Knaresborough BID debate rekindled as meeting is called by anonymous emailer
The thorny issue of the proposed Knaresborough BID (business improvement district) is back on the agenda after a four-year break, with news that an “open and transparent” meeting about the future of Knaresborough is to be held in April.
According to an email shared on Facebook by Knaresborough Chamber, the meeting will “explore all options” and hear from other groups, including local BIDs – presumably those in Harrogate and Ripon.
When a BID is created, town-centre traders pay an annual levy to support schemes that boost footfall.
If there is support for a BID, the email says, a “transparent and accountable” steering group would be created that would look at the potential BID area, threshold, levy percentage, and what the BID could deliver.
But that’s a big ‘if’. In November 2021, a proposal to create a Knaresborough BID was voted down following an acrimonious battle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ campaigners.
Of 300 businesses eligible to vote, 153 cast a ballot; 73 voted for the Knaresborough BID, and 80 voted against. The 'for' vote was boosted by the support of Harrogate Borough Council's block vote of 28.
The debate caused – or highlighted – a deep rift in Knaresborough’s business community, and there were calls after the vote to “build back” and “come together”.
One tangible outcome of the affair was the creation of the Knaresborough Business Collective, which was set up by local business owners Annie Wilkinson-Gill and Natalie Horner, who voted against the BID.
The issue has continued to smoulder and last year a pro-BID leaflet was sent to local businesses suggesting independent shops with a rateable value of less than £12,000 be exempt from paying a levy, and including the business park in the BID area.
Had a Knaresborough BID been created, it would have had a mandate for five years before requiring a vote on its renewal. Now, it appears the ‘for’ camp are hoping to rekindle the issue in good time for the fifth anniversary of the ‘no’ vote next year.
But a new ballot could conceivably come sooner. In 2023, Knaresborough councillors rejected a motion to prevent traders having another vote on creating a business improvement district until 2026.
Who sent the email or called the meeting in April is unclear – they have not yet made their identities public.
Peter Lacey, who is a member of Knaresborough Chamber’s executive team and also sits on North Yorkshire Council, said it was understandable, given the bitterness of the last debate. He said:
I’m not surprised people are being coy, because of what happened four years ago.
Asked whether he thought opinion had shifted during that time in favour of a BID, he said:
I don’t know. I hear both sides and I know there are still feelings both for and against, and there’s no way of knowing which way a new vote would go at the moment.
But that’s what the group behind the email are aiming to determine at the meeting.
The email states:
...if at the first hurdle it’s not feasible or supported that’s where things will stop from a BID side of things...
Mr Lacey added:
The risk is that debate is premature without information being presented. What I suspect is that information is being gathered so that the people who sent the email can present it at the meeting and see if there is the will to have another vote.
Although it seems clear that the meeting has been called by the pro-BID side, the Knaresborough Business Collective have called on people to attend. In a Facebook post, the group said:
Please, please, no matter which side of the fence you are on, attend this meeting on April 6 to gain information and, if necessary, have your voice heard so that the proposed BID can either move forward or not.
The meeting is intended primarily for Knaresborough business-owners, but will be open to the public “to allow transparency".
It will take place from 5pm on Sunday, April 6, at bar 1858, 42 High Street, Knaresborough.
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