Ping pong parlour returns to Harrogate

A ping pong parlour has returned to Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre.

The attraction, which was set up by Harrogate Business Improvement District, will be open for seven days a week during retail hours.

It includes four table tennis tables and bats and balls are provided.

The BID is funding the free initiative as part of its mission to encourage people to visit town centre shops.

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“This is ever popular with workers and students alike and evidentially brings people into town. It is open until mid-July before it will take a short break for the Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebrations’ immersive exhibition. It will then return and run through to the autumn.

“Table tennis is a great sport, and anyone can play it, no matter how young or how old. This parlour is for the public to use, free of charge. All we ask is that if there are a lot of people wanting to play, then please be sensible and don’t hog the tables too long. Give others a chance.”

The BID is encouraging people to come along and take part and there will be a monthly competition for those who ‘check in’ through a QR code to win a £50 Harrogate Gift Card.

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New chair to take the reins at Harrogate BID

Harrogate BID will welcome a new chair and deputy chair at its annual general meeting this afternoon (January 19). 

Dan Siddle, the general manager of the Crown Hotel, and Primark manager Andrea Thornborrow are replacing Sara Ferguson and Richard Wheeldon, who have led the business improvement district for almost three years. 

The pair will remain on the board, which is strengthened by a number of new directors who attended their first BID board meeting last week. 

They are Mike Patterson from Berwins Solicitors, Lyndsay Snodgrass from Verity Frearson estate agent, Ruth Burke-Kennedy from Bettys and Taylors, town centre commercial property owner Russell Davidson, and Mark Robson from the Harrogate town centre Marks & Spencer. 

Hotelier Dan, who joined the BID board in March 2021, said:

“I want to thank both Sara and Richard for the tremendous contributions they have made to Harrogate BID. Richard has been a part of the BID since the idea was first mooted back in 2017, and his knowledge is invaluable. 

“Whilst he’s standing down due to his retirement from Berwins, I’m delighted he’s agreed to remain on the board as a co-opted member. 

“Sara has been a superb Chair, and has done a wonderful job in steering the BID through some extremely challenging times, not least being the Covid pandemic. Under her stewardship, Harrogate BID has gone from strength to strength, and is making a real positive impact within the town centre. 

“I’m really passionate about Harrogate BID and the work it’s doing, and I’m looking forward to taking on the role of Chair, and building on Sara’s successes. I’m also delighted that Andrea, a longstanding BID member, is to be the new Deputy Chair.” 

Andrea, a BID board member since July 2019, said:

“I too want to place on the record our thanks to both Sara and Richard for their leadership over the last few years.

“2023 is an important year for Harrogate BID. We are in the process of creating a new business plan and are asking our members to help shape this.

“We have a great board, which has been further strengthened by the addition of four new members and one returning member, representing different town centre sectors.

“Harrogate BID was created to benefit the town centre, which it does on an almost daily basis, from deep-cleaning the streets and providing weekend entertainers, to funding improvement grants, powering the Christmas lights and boosting Harrogate’s floral offering.

“I’m looking forward to taking up my new role on the BID board, and helping Harrogate continue to be a great place to shop, eat, drink and do business.”

Harrogate BID’s annual general meeting will be held at 5.30pm on Thursday, January 19, at the Crown Hotel. All BID members are invited to attend. 

Further information about Harrogate BID can be found on its website here.

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Business Breakfast: Harrogate BID to host energy saving workshops for businesses

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) is to hold three workshops around saving energy.

The organisation is partnering with energy consultant Ryan Edwards to look at ways of dealing with rising electricity and gas prices.

There will be three events during the day on Monday, September 19.

The first is being held at Hustle & Co on Prince Albert Terrace at 9.30am, the second on Zoom at 11am and the third at 5.30pm at Starling Café on Oxford Street.

The sessions will last between 30 and 45 minutes.

Business who want to attend the Zoom meeting have been asked to email the BID for the link.

Matthew Chapman, Manager of Harrogate BID, said:

“We are acutely aware of the struggles our members are continually having when it comes to understanding, managing and securing new energy contracts for their businesses.”

He said Mr Edwards has expertise that will be helpful:

“He will be able to help us have a better understanding of what is happening within the energy market, and offer practical advice on securing energy contracts.

“Ryan works with more than 26 UK Suppliers, so can assure you that he can find the very best contracts on the market at this time.

“He can also bulk buy energy by buying all Members energy, at the same time driving the unit prices down significantly. It goes without saying, the more businesses we can get involved, the cheaper the unit.”

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Richard Levin of Loop Cashmere, Anne Blanden of Finance Yorkshire, Claire Heathcote of Loop Cashmere and Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire

Harrogate cashmere company secures Finance Yorkshire investment

Harrogate luxury cashmere brand Loop Cashmere has secured funding from the business loan organisation Finance Yorkshire.

The company makes its products using sustainable yarn from Inner Mongolia.

The £250,000 it has secured has gone towards opening a warehouse in Leeds and appoint a head of marketing.

Claire Heathcote opened the business with Richard Levin two years ago. She said:

“We saw a gap in the market for a sustainable cashmere brand offering contemporary styles made in the softest high-quality cashmere. Sustainability is the heart of brand from the way we source our sustainably accredited yarn, who we select as expert makers to craft our styles, our small production runs and the use of recyclable and compostable packaging.”

Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire, said:

“In just two years Loop Cashmere has developed a strong brand with sustainable credentials which will appeal to fashion-conscious customers. We look forward to supporting them in the next chapter of their growth journey.”

Wanted: entertainment with ‘wow factor’ for Harrogate town centre

Harrogate Business Improvement District is offering grants to entertainers that can liven up Harrogate town centre’s streets.

The BID issued a plea today for events and installations that will drive footfall into the town centre.

It is offering the grants in order to cover any costs incurred as long as the idea satisfies funding criteria.

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“We are really keen to bring something new and exciting to Harrogate town centre each weekend, and we are calling on individuals and groups to help us achieve this.

“We are particularly looking for something that is unique, exciting and has the wow factor. Harrogate is a standout town, and we want anything that we help deliver to also stand out.”

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Mr Chapman added that grants weren’t just available for performers, but for individuals, groups and organisations who want to play a part in benefitting the BID levy area.

art on the Stray

Last year’s art on the Stray.

He said:

“Last year, we commissioned the incredible mural that adorns the side of Monsoon, on Cross James Street. We also commissioned Artizan UK to create nine mosaic letters spelling Harrogate to cover the bricked up windows on the side of Boots building, along Cambridge Place.

“I’m really pleased to say these will be in situ next month, adding a much-needed splash of colour to this drab street linking Oxford Street and Cambridge Street. We also provided a colourful banner for Commercial Street to help promote the independent businesses it’s home to.

“We have five key project areas; marketing, promotions and events, access and car parking, safe, clean and welcoming, business plus, and evening and night time economy, and if an idea fits in with one of these, then we are interested and a grant may well be available.”

More information on the grant can be found on the Harrogate BID website.

Harrogate BID ‘waste of money’, says pub landlord

A Harrogate pub landlord has described the town’s Business Improvement District as a “waste of money” — and is refusing to pay the £370-a-year levy.

Marik Scatchard has been the landlord of Christies Bar on King’s Road for 14 years. He told the Stray Ferret that his pub has seen little benefit from the BID, which was set up in 2019 to improve Harrogate town centre

Businesses within Harrogate’s town centre pay the BID 1.5% of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates. Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from local firms.

Because a majority of companies voted to set up the BID, Christies is legally obliged to pay the levy. However, Mr Scatchard said he would not pay because the BID does not offer good value for money to levy payers and is run by a “private mates’ club”.

He said:

“We’re having to pay these levies but all they seem to do is put stickers in shop windows. I’m not paying. They can lock me up.”

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Whilst the landlord said the BID provided the pub with some furniture after lockdown and sponsored the Pubwatch scheme, he dismissed recent BID initiatives such as a ping pong table in the Victoria Shopping Centre.

He said the BID should focus its efforts on cleaning up King’s Road and Parliament Street, which he said were regularly strewn with litter.

BIDs have been criticised for doing jobs that have traditionally been under the remit of local councils, effectively taxing businesses twice.

Mr Scatchard said:

“Hardly anyone is in the ping pong room when I’ve been past. It’s a joke. It won’t bring anything to town.

“You don’t see them doing anything around the King’s Road area. It just winds me up, it doesn’t benefit me at all.”

BID’s response

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID Manager, said:

“We are well aware of Mr Scatchard’s views on the BID and the levy. Whilst he hasn’t paid his levy for the last two years, he has been happy to accept support from us, in particular outdoor furniture to help him out of the first lockdown in July 2020. He also had BID-funded flower boxes surrounding his venue.

“Christies also benefits from our sponsorship of Harrogate Pubwatch, and if he so chose to, he could take advantage of the LoyalFree app to help promote his business, and also become a member of the Harrogate Gift Card Scheme.

“He could also apply for a £750 match-funded grant, which would more than pay for one year’s levy! And whilst happy to criticise us on social media, he isn’t keen to speak with us in person, which we have tried to do on several occasions.

“Even though he personally doesn’t like the ping pong parlour, which I’m delighted to say is reopening at the end of the month, there are many who do, and these people make special trips into town to make use of this BID-funded activity.

“Finally, perhaps he’d like to pass comment on our recent festive partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and Destination Harrogate? Without BID and the levy, much of this would simply have not been possible.”

Deep clean of Ripon alleyways to be first BID project

A deep clean of Ripon’s alleyways will get underway next week in one of the first projects to be launched by the city’s new Business Improvement District.

The BID, which levies firms to fund city centre improvements, is starting its first initiatives after receiving the backing of businesses in a vote held in summer when 80% supported setting up the body.

Elizabeth Faulkner has been appointed as interim manager and said a deep cleaning of city centre alleyways will begin on Monday before other plans, including networking events, are held in the New Year. She said:

“We know these alleyways are key to the way visitors and residents use the city so we want to make them as attractive as possible.

“There has been lots of talk about what they could be used for, but first we will clean them up and then look at lighting.

“These are of course just a small part of Ripon and we have got a big destination to make an impact on so we will then start to move around the city for more deep cleaning.”

Of the 87 businesses who voted during the summer, a total of 70 – or 80% – were in favour of creating a BID.

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It means more than 280 firms within a defined area are now contributing to an annual budget of £160,000 for projects to create a safer, cleaner and better promoted city centre.

A Harrogate BID was created in 2019 but plans for a body to promote Knaresborough were rejected in October after the proposals proved to be unpopular.

Ms Faulkner, who previously managed Altrincham BID, said:

“We are aware of what has happened with other BIDs in the area. But this is Ripon’s BID and an exciting opportunity for businesses to be part of how they would like their city to move forward.

“We want as many of them as possible to get involved and the success of the BID will come from us all getting behind it.

“The pandemic has been an extremely tough time for businesses in Ripon, but the way they have worked to come out of this period has been remarkable.

“We have got incredible restaurants, independent shops and great visitor attractions. It is our job to put this package together and let people know how well worth a visit Ripon is.”

The BID has also appointed Lilla Bathurst, who previously worked for Hull BID, as assistant manager, while 13 directors drawn from the business community have been made board members.

The first networking events for businesses will be held on January 17 and 24.

Council backs Knaresborough BID plan with 28 votes

Harrogate Borough Council will vote in favour of plans to turn Knaresborough town centre into a Business Improvement District (BID) despite a plea to let firms “decide for themselves”.

Members of the council’s cabinet last night agreed to cast 28 votes in favour of the plans which if approved would see businesses pay an annual levy to the proposed BID body for projects to create a better promoted town centre.

The council can cast that many votes because it owns 28 rate-paying properties in the town – and the decision was made despite a plea for it to not take part in the voting process.

Speaking at a meeting last night, Julie Gillett, revenues, welfare and customer services officer at the council, said:

“A letter has been received by 17 Knaresborough businesses asking that the council abstain from voting in order to let businesses decide for themselves.

“However, officer recommendation remains the same that we should support the ballot stage as our support in this will help businesses to help themselves.”

More than 300 firms are eligible to take part in the vote which started last week and will run until 8 October. The results will be announced the following day.

A group of business leaders have been working on the plans since 2019 and will generate £700,000 in funding over the next five years if the vote is a success.

Before voting got underway, Harrogate Borough Council previously agreed to lend £27,000 for start-up costs and will contribute around the same amount in levy charges if the BID goes ahead.

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There are mixed feelings amongst the business community, with some firms raising questions over how the BID is being created and how much of a difference it could actually make.

Annie Wilkinson-Gill, owner of The Crystal Buddha gift shop, previously said there has been a “real lack of transparency” in the planning process, while Tracey Bell, owner of Ruebury Flowers, also said she fears the BID could be a “wasted opportunity”.

For the BID to succeed, a simple majority of those who vote, representing more than half the total rateable value of all properties, must be in favour.

The council’s 28 votes represents around 9% of the total number of businesses and 6% of the overall rateable value.

Knaresborough firms raise concerns about proposed new BID

Three independent businesses in Knaresborough have expressed concerns about the process to create a new Business Improvement District for the town.

Companies in Knaresborough will be balloted on Friday on whether to set up a BID.

BIDs, which already exist in many towns and cities, including Harrogate and Ripon, aim to create safer, cleaner and better promoted city and town centres to improve footfall.

Plans to create a Knaresborough BID began in September 2019 and the outcome of this week’s ballot is due to be revealed on October 9.

But three business owners jointly contacted the Stray Ferret saying they felt their voices hadn’t been heard during the BID set-up process and highlighting concerns about transparency, communication and accuracy.

They are Tracey Bell from Ruebury Flowers, Annie Wilkinson-Gill at The Crystal Buddha and Natalie Horner from Sid Horner and Son.

Transparency

If the BID is voted in, all businesses in the Knaresborough area will have to pay an annual levy for five years. The amount depends on each company’s rateable value and can vary from 68p to £21 each day.

The three women said it was important for them to know before they voted what schemes would be introduced from the £700,000 the BID is expected to receive over five years.

The Knaresborough BID’s business plan sets aside £575,000 for ‘communicating, connecting, celebrating and collaborating’ but the women say they are not clear what this means even though they have sought clarification.

Ms Bell said:

“It’s just not been done in the right way and it’s not transparent. I really do think it could have worked well but it’s just a shame that our opinions haven’t been listened to.

“I have no confidence in how the process has been handled so far that these people [the BID task group] are going to be able to deliver what they said they will deliver.”

When asked what the £575,000 will go towards, Bill Taylor, chair of the BID task group, said:

“If the vote is successful a not-for-profit company will carry out the detailed implementation of the themes identified in the plan. This company will be run and managed by businesses themselves and the details of this are also set out in the business plan.”

Communication

The three business owners said they found out about the BID through word of mouth and social media rather than from BID consultants.

They added numerous businesses, included in the BID map area, are yet to be contacted despite ballot papers going out at the end of the week.

The business owners also said they had raised numerous questions and suggested ideas for the business plan but none had been included. They said they felt they weren’t being listened to.

Ms Thorner said:

“We kept trying to get involved and ask questions but now it’s going to ballot and we’re still no more aware of where the £700,000 is going.”

Ms Bell added:

“For me, it sounds like they’ve thought ‘let’s do this thing’ and not tell anyone.”

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Accuracy

They also claimed the ballot list is full of inaccuracies, saying some businesses included don’t exist anymore or have changed hands.

Ms Wilkinson-Gill said:

“Some of the owners on the list have passed away. There should be an accurate list.”

In response, Mr Taylor said the ballot process was handled by an officer at Harrogate Borough Council and incorrect information should be reported to it.

The three women are delivering flyers this week to businesses to ensure they are aware of the upcoming vote. Insisting the flyers are non-biased, Ms Wilkinson-Gill said:

“We don’t care how people vote, we just want everyone to know about it. I’m still optimistic that the BID could be good for the town, we just need to make sure everyone has the chance to be involved.”

Ripon votes to create Business Improvement District

Ripon traders have voted in favour of turning the city centre into a Business Improvement District.

BIDs have been set up across the country, including in Harrogate, as a way of creating safer, cleaner and better promoted city and town centres.

In Ripon, more than 280 businesses within a defined area will contribute to an annual budget of £160,000 for improvement projects.

Of the firms who voted during a ballot held over the last month, 80% were in favour.

The plans for a BID have been in the works since 2019 and will generate £800,000 over five years. This will come through an extra levy on top of business rates.

The BID has already won the support of Harrogate Borough Council which has agreed to lend £20,000 for start-up costs and will contribute around £30,000 over the five year period as a levy payer.

Councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development of the council, said the BID will allow businesses to “take control of their own destiny”.

“I am very supportive of BIDs – they allow small and medium sized businesses in tightly defined geographical areas to raise funds for specific things that impact them the most.

“Ripon is an area which relies on tourism and hospitality, so getting footfall in the city centre and surrounding areas will be crucial.

“BIDs are only successful when they have a clear plan… and Ripon BID have created a fantastic prospectus which clearly demonstrates what they are trying to achieve.”

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Now firms have voted in favour of the BID, a limited company will be set up with 10 directors drawn from the business community to manage the funds.

A number of local businesses have already expressed strong support for the plans include Abacus Smarter Accountants, G Craggs Ltd and Sterne Properties, as well as other organisations including Ripon Community House, Ripon Museums Trust and Ripon City Council.

A business plan, launched earlier this year, identified the BID’s priorities as street cleaning and maintenance, festivals and events, car parking, toilets, landscaping and tourism.

In a statement included in the plan, Richard Compton, BID chairman and owner of Newby Hall, said the city had the potential to become “one of Yorkshire’s great success stories”.

“I believe Ripon can emerge strongly from the huge challenges presented by the covid pandemic.

“We have so much to offer and as we perhaps see the light at the end of the tunnel, all of the city’s businesses need a plan to boost the place, for the benefit of all those who shop, live, work and visit our stunning city.”

Harrogate Business Improvement District appoints new manager

Harrogate Business Improvement District has appointed Matthew Chapman as its new manager.

Harrogate is one of more than 300 places in the UK to have a BID, which aim to attract inward investment in town and city centres and boost footfall.

Mr Chapman, who will begin the £45,000 role on May 1, was appointed Leeds BID operations manager in 2016 before becoming Huddersfield’s BID manager in November 2019.

The job advert for his new role said the successful candidate would be responsible for a budget of £3m over five years, managing staff and partners, leading projects and delivering key performance indicators.

Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson said:

“Matthew was the standout candidate in our recent recruitment drive for a new manager. He brings with him experience of working with two major Yorkshire BIDS.

“We are very much looking forward to working with Matthew as Harrogate comes back to life from covid lockdown number three. He has some fantastic ideas for promoting Harrogate as a must-visit destination.”

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Mr Chapman said:

“Harrogate is a fantastic town with so much to offer, and coming here as a regular visitor since my childhood, I know it well.

“Thanks to my roles with both Leeds BID and Huddersfield BID, I’ve gained a great deal of experience working with businesses, councils, tourism bodies and the police. Building teams and working with wider teams is a core strength of mine.

“I’m really looking forward to starting my new job helping to promote Harrogate as a wonderful destination to shop, eat and drink, and to ensure the town centre is clean, safe and welcoming to all.”