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01
Mar
New business group chair talks about plans to improve Harrogate
One of Harrogate town centre’s more conspicuous success stories of the last few years has been Starling, the café bar on Oxford Street.
It first opened its doors in 2016 and expanded into the neighbouring property to create a double frontage in 2022.
The place is often buzzing, so you might have through that owner Simon Midgley would be too busy to do anything else.
But he clearly likes to be occupied, because last month he volunteered to be chair of Harrogate BID (business improvement district), the organisation responsible for enhancing the town centre and increasing footfall for the benefit of its businesses.
So why did he put himself forward?
He told the Stray Ferret:
I got involved with the BID board as I’m passionate about the town and felt I had something to offer. I took on the role of vice chair with Lyndsay Snodgrass last year and when Sara Ferguson stepped down as chair at the end of last year, someone had to step up!
We’re all busy people, but if no-one takes stuff like this on then positive things don’t get done for the town.
Getting things done is the BID’s raison d’être, and so far it’s earned a mostly positive response from the businesses that pay for it. In 2023, 76% of businesses voted in favour of granting it a second five-year term.
Part of what it does is tackling issues that are close to the heart of many traders, and it has employed a street ranger team and town centre support officer to conduct regular deep cleans of the town-centre streets and tackle anti-social behaviour.
The BID deep-cleaned James Street this week
But there’s also a lighter side to its work. It has introduced a Harrogate gift card and held eye-catching events to attract people into the centre, such as Harrogate Self Care Week, the Harrogate Dog Show, the Music Weekender, the Celebration of Fashion and the Lego Trail.
It also goes big on flowers, sponsoring planters and hanging baskets, organising an annual Floral Summer of Celebration and a Floral Shop Window competition, and even winning Gold in the RHS Britain in Bloom awards.
A Lego wolf on display in the Stray Ferret's office window last summer.
So what does Mr Midgley want to see it do during his term as chair?
I think it’s just more of the same, bigger and better! Teams on the street, events and promotion of the town to a wider audience all drive footfall into town for our high-street businesses.
'Sales growth has been hard since covid'
The creation of the BID in 2018 was driven by a widely shared opinion that the town centre was suffering under a two-pronged attack from falling levels of disposable income and rising levels of online shopping – a trend that was supercharged by the covid lockdowns.
For many on the high street, the pain has only got worse, and even successful businesses like Mr Midgley’s are not immune.
He said:
I think it’s increasingly hard. Sales growth has been hard to achieve since covid, with the cost-of-living crisis as well.
But most impactful for businesses like mine is spiralling costs. In April, the minimum wage increases by around 7%, NI [national insurance] jumps up 1.2% and our business rates more than double in real terms. That drops £35,000 straight off our bottom line!
Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration
While he accepts there is no panacea for the economic malaise, he does think more could be done to address it.
He said:
From the BID, we need events and collaborative working towards increased footfall for the town centre. Additionality, cleanliness and aesthetics make a difference for visitors and residents.
From national government I’d say a stronger economy to drive more disposable income to spend on our high streets. Business rates reform would be a big one for me too – the current system is archaic and out of touch.
This is a crystal-clear echo of what his predecessor, John Fox, said before the BID had even officially launched. Mr Fox, a previous mayor of Harrogate, was the BID’s first chair, and back in 2018 said:
I think everyone is aware that business rates are an archaic system of taxation. It is a tax on the property.
'There is a clear plan'
Seven years later, nothing has changed on that score – it lies well beyond the BID’s sphere of influence – but Mr Midgley is appreciative of what has been achieved in the town, and of the people who have made it happen.
He said:
I think the executive team are a fantastic bunch. They bring energy and enthusiasm in all that they do.
The guys on the street really care about the state of the town centre and add loads of additionality to the statutory services of the council, particularly since the devolution to North Yorkshire Council.
Matthew [Chapman, the BID’s chief executive] does a great job leading the team. There’s a clear plan and set of objectives defined for this second term and activity is built around achieving that.
The BID, led by chief executive Matthew Chapman (centre), doubled its team last year.
As for the future, he’s cautiously optimitistic, saying that he usually sees “a glass half-full rather than half-empty".
He said:
I think disposable income for people will steadily improve over the year, which should lead to growth in the economy generally.
But I fear this may be too late for some businesses on our high street, with the cost pressures where they are.
For those facing uncertain times, he believes he’s the right person for the job of BID chair, not least because he knows what they’re going through.
He said:
Representing the independent hospitality sector, I understand the pressures and challenges these kinds of businesses are facing. I have over 20 years’ experience of working in the trade at board level and most of that time in Harrogate area.
I’m told I’m pretty pragmatic and patient, so hopefully I can offer a balanced approach.
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