Harrogate BID Archives - Page 13 of 22

Harrogate businesses ‘still unable to pay energy bills’ despite PM’s pledge

Harrogate business leaders have warned that Liz Truss’s energy plan is “too little too late” to save struggling firms from closure.

The new prime minister today announced that annual energy bills for households will be frozen at £2,500 until 2024 as part of a huge support package which could cost up to £150 billion.

However, the scheme is less generous for businesses than had been expected as their bills will be capped for six months – a shorter period than many had hoped for.

Sara Ferguson, chair of Harrogate BID, said:

“As the owner of a town centre restaurant, one that uses a lot of gas and electricity, I don’t think the support being offered goes far enough, or long enough.

“It pains me to say this, but even with the energy price cap some business will simply not be able to pay higher bills.

“It is going to be another tough time for the high street.”

Energy prices have soared this year, largely due to the conflict in Ukraine which has reduced supplies of gas.

This has driven up the UK energy price cap which sets the highest amount suppliers are allowed to charge households and had been due to rise from £1,971 to £3,549 in October.

Unlike households, small businesses are not covered by the cap and Harrogate district MPs were last month warned that many firms would soon reach a “tipping point”.

Speaking in the commons today, Ms Truss said she was “acting immediately” in her premiership and that the support for businesses may be extended for vulnerable sectors after the six-month period.

“Extraordinary challenges call for extraordinary measures, ensuring that the United Kingdom is never in this situation again.”

Reacting to her announcement, David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said it would be “too little, too late” for some businesses.

“Businesses have had it incredibly tough for more than two years, and it isn’t going to get any easier. Surging energy costs are just one of the pressures facing businesses.

“When Ms Truss recently came to Harrogate, members of Independent Harrogate challenged her about business rates.

“Her response was that she would review them. This she needs to do urgently, along with looking at VAT, fuel duty, National Insurance and corporation tax.”

TV presenters join Harrogate mayor at jurassic golf

The Mayor of Harrogate borough and former presenters from ITV Calendar took part in jurassic golf in Harrogate town centre last weekend.

Duncan Wood and Christine Talbot joined Cllr Victoria Oldham to take on the nine-hole course.

The course has been set up outside the Victoria Shopping Centre until Saturday, August 28.

Alongside the course, a Dino Trail has been set up in the town centre.

As people complete the trail, they will also be collecting letters that form a simple, themed anagram. Users can then submit the anagram/answer via the LoyalFree app for an additional chance to win a prize draw.

Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate Business Improvement District, which has led on the initiative, said:

“In addition to coming into town to shop, eat and drink, visitors can now add mini-crazy golf to the list. The crazy golf in the Valley Gardens is incredibly popular, and we are confident our jurassic golf will be a roaring success.

“And once you have completed the challenging nine-hole course, there’s a dinosaur-themed themed trail to follow around town. A great way to spend an hour or two before or after visiting Harrogate’s great shops, bars and restaurants.”

Those wishing to play a round of golf can turn up on the day or book on the jurassic golf website here.

The cost is adults £3, children £2.50, family of four (two adults and two children) £10 and one adult and one child £5.

Jurassic crazy golf coming to Harrogate this weekend

A nine-hole jurassic crazy golf course is set to come to Harrogate town centre this weekend.

The course, which combines crazy golf with dinosaurs, will be held outside the Victoria Shopping Centre piazza on Saturday and Sunday.

An educational Dino Trail around the town centre will accompany the game.

Matthew Chapman, manager at Harrogate BID which has commissioned the course and trail, said:

““With the school summer holidays nearing an end, parents maybe scratching their heads thinking what to do to entertain their children.

“Well, we have the answer – jurassic golf! And what could be me more fun than a combination of dinosaurs and crazy golf?

“In addition to coming into town to shop, eat and drink, visitors can now add mini-crazy golf to the list. The crazy golf in the Valley Gardens is incredibly popular, and we are confident our Jurassic Golf will be a roaring success.”

The Dino Trail is a fun, educational trail where people can find answers to jurassic-themed questions by scanning a QR code on a poster, displayed in shop windows.

The answer will then appear on their phones.

Those wishing to play a round of golf can turn up on the day or book at the jurassic golf website here.

The cost is adults £3, children £2.50, family of four (two adults and two children) £10 and one adult and one child £5.

Business group calls for more Harrogate town centre police

Officials at Harrogate Business Improvement District hope more officers will be put into the town centre after latest figures show 187 cases of anti-social behaviour were reported in the area.

Matthew Chapman, manager at the BID, said more police in the area would help to deter such crime.

It comes as the organisation last week launched its Report a Crime campaign, which encourages people to report instances of crime in the town centre.

Latest police figures show that within the force’s Harrogate Town area, which includes the town centre and outer areas, 187 reports of anti-social behaviour were made during May.

The number makes up 31% of all crime reported.

A total of 602 crimes were reported during the month, which also includes 57 instances of criminal damage and 26 reports of shoplifting.

Mr Chapman told the Stray Ferret:

“Harrogate isn’t immune from criminal activity and antisocial behaviour, however, it is a lot safer, cleaner, and more welcoming than many other towns and cities in the UK – and this is something Harrogate BID is doing its upmost to maintain.

“Last week, we launched our Report a Crime campaign, where we are urging businesses, residents and visitors to contact the police via the online reporting system if they witness a crime, or a victim of it.

“Senior Harrogate police officers tell us there are no issues and resources are needed elsewhere, but these figures contradict that view. I hope they will now look again and increase uniformed patrols in and around the town centre, which will have a double effect – that of reassurance and other deterrence.”

The campaign to report more crime comes as the BID said police statistics did not match what businesses were telling them on the ground.

The kind of crimes being seen by retailers included anti-social behaviour, often linked to drinking, and what’s termed ‘professional begging’.

The new campaign is being backed by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, whose chief executive David Simister said:

“Harrogate is a fantastic town to live and work, but when it comes to crime it’s not immune.

“It’s important we get a proper understanding of what is happening – or not happening – in our town centre, hence us giving our backing to this campaign.

“In the past I’ve called 101 and after waiting many minutes I’ve simply put the phone down. And by doing this, an incident has gone unreported. In future, report it online and that way it is logged and recorded.”

To report a crime in Harrogate Town centre, visit the North Yorkshire Police website.

Lego Wonderland aims to draw visitors to Harrogate this summer

Children are being invited to hunt around the centre of Harrogate this summer for classic children’s characters with a difference.

An Alice in Wonderland Lego trail is being launched tomorrow, with 15 large characters in locations around the town.

The event has been organised by Harrogate BID and the characters made by Yorkshire charity Fairybricks.

The six builders took six months and more than 514,000 Lego bricks to create the masterpieces, which will be in place until Saturday, August 20.

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“Last year’s Lego trail, featuring a number of well-known Harrogate landmarks, was a huge success, hence its return this summer.

“This time we have gone for an Alice in Wonderland theme, and the models created by the Fairybricks team are simply stunning, and I can’t wait to see them in situ.

“These 15 models haven’t been displayed anywhere before, and after their Harrogate debut they will then be heading off to different events and venues all over the world.”

The three-week event is designed to bring people into town during the summer, supporting the BID’s levy payers and other businesses in the area.

Sculptures include Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Dormouse, and will be at locations including the Victoria Shopping Centre, the Everyman cinema, the Turkish Baths, and the Harrogate Town FC shop on Commercial Street.

The trail can be downloaded via the LoyalFree app, which is free to download from the App Store or Play Store.

Last year’s Lego trail attracted more than 5,500 people to take part using the app, with others enjoying seeing the sculptures while they were in the town centre.

Mr Chapman added:

“We are really excited to be bringing back the Harrogate Lego Trail. It was certainly one of our highlights of last year, and one that help take visitors into different parts the town.

“And with our ongoing Floral Summer of Celebration – featuring a stunning trail, colourful shop window displays and fascinating exhibition – coupled with brilliant shops, bars, restaurants and beautiful gardens and open parkland, Harrogate town centre really is this summer’s must-visit destination.

“I’d also like to thank all the businesses that are participating in the Alice in Brickland Harrogate Lego Trail, who have made room within their premises to display one of the sculptures.”

Report a Crime and make Harrogate a better place

This story is sponsored by Harrogate BID.

It may seem strange that an organisation dedicated to promoting Harrogate town centre is campaigning to increase its crime levels.

However, Harrogate BID knows what it is doing and there is method behind its madness.

BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“The statistics showed that the number of crimes is very low in the town centre.

“While on the face of it this seems like good news, the stats just didn’t match up with what we were hearing from BID members.

“Shop owners and staff were telling us they were regularly seeing relatively minor crime, but the police figures just didn’t reflect this.”

Mr Chapman and the team at the BID decided to investigate further.

The kind of crimes being seen by retailers included anti-social behaviour, often linked to drinking, and what’s termed ‘professional begging’ – people who are not truly homeless and who often don’t live in Harrogate coming into town to take advantage of what they see as a lucrative opportunity to collect money from the public.

Often, said Mr Chapman, those people went on to use the money to buy drinks and, later in the day, they would commit crimes such as shoplifting.

Yet the BID investigation found town centre workers often didn’t report the problems they witnessed.

“People told us they were calling 101 to tell the police and were waiting on hold for half an hour or longer, before they eventually gave up.

“After a few occasions like that, many said they no longer bothered to report the low-level cases because they just didn’t have the time.

“Some of the bigger chain shops also let shoplifting go – they have instructions from head office that they don’t need to report every instance.

“The police statistics aren’t reflecting the reality of the town centre because the control room just isn’t getting to hear about it.”

As a result, the BID has launched a campaign to encourage people to report every instance of crime they see across the town centre.

Recognising employees’ time is valuable, the BID has highlighted the fact that crime can be reported via the 101 page on the North Yorkshire Police website.

It takes just five minutes, said Mr Chapman, and will generate a crime number and add the incident to the official police log.

He said:

“We’ve been told the best way to get the police to respond to things is to increase the numbers of crimes.

“Officers say they can’t do anything if nobody has reported a problem. Every avenue we went down, it always came back to needing more reports.

“They are an evidence-based organisation that works with data. The more crimes they see are being committed, the more resource they will put into an area.

“So we’re asking everyone to report every crime they see, no matter how minor it may be. In six months’ time, we’ll go back to the police and see how the numbers are looking.”

Mr Chapman said the BID hopes the result will be a significant increase in the crime statistics for the town centre – which in turn will encourage more police resources to be directed towards it.

He added:

“We recognise Harrogate is far from one of the worst places in the world, but it’s not immune from the problems every other town and city centre has.

“We want to make sure we stay on top of these relatively minor issues so they don’t become worse and they don’t detract from all the things that make Harrogate a great place to live, work and visit.”

To report a crime to North Yorkshire Police, visit the dedicated reporting section of its website.

BID launches campaign to increase reporting of crime in Harrogate town centre

A campaign has been launched to help a business organisation get a better picture of how crime affects Harrogate town centre.

Harrogate BID‘s Report a Crime campaign is calling on businesses, residents and visitors to report all crimes and anti-social behaviour via North Yorkshire Police’s website.

The organisation’s manager, Matthew Chapman, said:

“First and foremost I want to say Harrogate is a safe, welcoming and clean town. However, we hear regular stories from town centre traders of anti-social activity, including shoplifting, vandalism and drug abuse.

“In order to get a true picture, we are asking those who are either victims of a crime, or witness incidents, to report it online.

“Unlike calling 101 and then hanging up after several minutes, this means every incident is logged. This way, we can get a true picture of what is happening in the town.”

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe with Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman

The new campaign is being backed by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, whose chief executive David Simister said:

“Harrogate is a fantastic town to live and work, but when it comes to crime it’s not immune.

“However, the fear of crime is often worse than perception, but it’s important we get a proper understanding of what is happening – or not happening – in our town centre, hence us giving our backing to this campaign.

“In the past I’ve called 101 and after waiting many minutes I’ve simply put the phone down. And by doing this, an incident has gone unreported. In future, report it online and that way it is logged and recorded.”

It follows a meeting between Mr Chapman and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe, when he raised BID members’ concerns about a lack of visible policing.

Mr Chapman said the commissioner told him police chiefs rely on statistics in order to prioritise resources and, if crimes go unreported, police are unable to give the right resources to the affected areas.

She urged him to encourage all BID levy payers and others to use online reporting to ensure all incidents were being passed to police.

Among the levy payers backing the campaign is Justin Sutter, business manager at John Atherton’s, which trades at McDonalds on Cambridge Street, who said:

“We are backing the report a crime campaign because the safety and security of our people and customers is of the utmost importance to us. We hope that we can continue to support North Yorkshire Police with this campaign and be a part of creating safer communities.”

The campaign not only runs during daytime hours, but extends to evening and night-time trading. Alan Huddart, secretary of Harrogate Pubwatch, said:

“Thanks to the BID’s support of Pubwatch and the introduction of the app, we are able to alert those in the scheme immediately to any issues.

“At the same time, I would also ask not just our members, but all licensed premises, to register any incident online, ensuring the police have a proper record of it.

“Harrogate is a great night out, and we want to make sure it stays that way by having adequate policing.”

Popular pub landlords say farewell to Christies

It’s the end of an era for pub landlords Marik Scatchard and Jo Jarvis who have left Christies Bar in Harrogate after over 14 years.

The couple had a leaving party this week to toast the end of their time at the pub, which is opposite Harrogate Convention Centre on Kings Road.

The watering hole has now closed for a refurbishment that is expected to take around six weeks.

The couple said:

“Thanks to all the customers over the years.”

Harrogate street ranger saves man hanging from tree near library

The swift action of Harrogate Business Improvement District street ranger Chris Ashby may have saved a man’s life this morning.

Mr Ashby (pictured) found a young man hanging from a tree in Library Gardens, shortly after 6.15am.

He was working on the town’s floral displays at the time.

Mr Ashby told the Stray Ferret:

“At first I thought that the man, who I estimate to be in his 20s, was asleep up against the tree, but then I noticed the rope around his neck and I used a large pair of scissors to cut him down.

“He was blue, but still breathing, so I put him in the recovery position and called the emergency services.”

Emergency services in Harrogate’s Library Gardens this morning.

An ambulance and police were quickly on the scene and after attention by paramedics, the young man was taken to hospital.

Mr Ashby said he was on duty an hour earlier than usual, tending to town centre floral displays ahead of Britain in Bloom judging that takes place later today.

Anyone struggling with mental health can receive help from Samaritans by calling the freephone number 116123.

Displays aim to help Harrogate regain floral fame

A trail of colourful floral displays has been created in Harrogate in the hope the town will do well in the regional heat of this year’s ‘In Bloom’ competition.

The trail is part of the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID)’s ‘Floral Summer Celebration’ and tells the story of the town centre.

Each of the seven displays has a link to Harrogate’s history, including its retail offering, spa heritage and fabled tea rooms.

They are:

Get Your Heels On, Victoria Shopping Centre Piazza, sponsored by LK Bennet
Rabbit Patch, corner of Princes Square and Albert Street, sponsored by Nurture
Afternoon Tea, Library Gardens
In the Garden, West Park United Reformed Church, sponsored by The Autumn Flower Show
…And Relax, The Cenotaph, sponsored by Cold Bath Brewing
Cocktail Time, Montpellier Hill
The Show Goes On, Harrogate Bus Station, Station Parade

To boost the floral theme the BID has also created an indoor exhibition which features the first Harrogate Flower Shower, held in the Sun Pavilion.

In addition, town centre businesses are involved in a shop window competition – designed to catch the eye of the In Bloom judges as they tour the town over the coming weeks.

Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman said:

“Harrogate is renowned as a horticultural haven, and for the next month we are helping the town centre flex its floral muscles.

“Our Floral Summer of Celebration is all about shouting about our fame for hosting nationally-acclaimed flower shows, the fantastic Valley Gardens, and wonderful flower displays.

“In previous years, Harrogate has achieved national and international floral fame in the In Bloom competitions, and we are determined to reclaim our rightful place as the floral capital of not only the north, but the whole country.

“For the last three years, we have funded just short of 200 brightly-coloured barrier baskets and large planters outside town centre shops and businesses, whilst over the last two years, we have worked with Harrogate in Bloom and Harrogate Borough Council in facilitating hanging baskets outside town centre shops and businesses.”

Jo Caswell, Harrogate BID Project Lead, said:

“We are really excited to officially unveil our Floral Summer of Celebration. The trail will take followers to different parts of the town, helping visitors get a real flavour of what Harrogate has to offer.

“And once they have completed the trail, they can then visit the exhibition and watch the fantastic film loaned from the Yorkshire Film Archive, which will also really appeal to residents.”

Meanwhile, Harrogate in Bloom wants the public to nominate their favourite floral exteriors in the town. These can be restaurants, cafes, bars, shops or offices and should be sent to harrogateinbloom@mann.so.

The closing date for nominations is Friday 5 August 2022

Winners will be awarded with a trophy and certificate at the Harrogate in Bloom Awards in September.

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