5 things to do in and around Harrogate this weekend January 2-4Harrogate district’s economic growth slow after £438 million hit from covid

Economic growth in the Harrogate district has been slower than regional and national averages since the district took a £438 million hit during covid.

Gross Value Added (GVA) data published by Harrogate Borough Council shows the local economy contracted by 10% – or £438 million – during 2020 and that growth has lagged behind Yorkshire and the Humber and the UK.

GVA measures the value of goods and services produced in an area, and Harrogate’s figure was set to reach £4.3 billion before the pandemic struck.

It now stands at £3.87 billion – down from £4.26 billion in 2017/18.

A council report said economic performance has been “positive” given the impacts of covid and Brexit, but added there are “continuing challenges that need to be addressed” as experts forecast a gloomy outlook with a UK recession on the horizon.

The report said:

“Overall the performance has been positive but key factors that must be taken into account are that of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid-19 in particular has had a significant impact on GVA with the district seeing a 10% reduction in the economy.

“Looking forward post pandemic, forecasts show that job numbers will not return to pre-covid levels and therefore increasing productivity becomes more of a priority than ever.”

Other figures show the total number of businesses registered in Harrogate increased by 4% between 2016 and 2021 – below both the regional and national averages of 8% and 13%.

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In more positive figures, unemployment is low at 3.1% and the council has been keen to highlight its support for businesses during covid when it handed out more than £96 million to firms which were severely impacted by lockdown restrictions.

The report to a cabinet meeting on Wednesday has recommended “closing down” the council’s covid recovery plan, whilst also providing a review of its economic growth strategy which was adopted in 2017.

At the time it was adopted, the strategy identified a low wage economy and high house prices leading to a “brain drain” of people moving out of Harrogate as key problems facing the district.

These issues are still very much prevalent with average salaries of £25,000 below the UK figure of £30,000 and Harrogate house prices averaging £338,786 this year.

The report added:

“Whilst positive progress has been made since the adoption of the economic growth strategy in 2017, there are continuing challenges that need to be addressed.

“In line with national and local strategies, the council will therefore continue to prioritise and support ‘good growth’ in the district, with an aim of embedding a more sustainable and resilient economy.”

Harrogate IT firm makes £10m acquisition

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

Redcentric makes another acquisition

IT service provider Redcentric has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of 4D Data Centres for £10m.

4D Data Centres is a data centre operator and cloud services provider. It operates centres in Surrey, Gatwick, London and Kent.

Redcentric’s headquarters are at Central House on Otley Road and has made a number of acquisitions over the past 12 months.

In June, the company acquired three data centres as well as network services from Sungard Availability Services (UK) Ltd, which went into administration.

In March it acquired security testing firm 7 Elements for around £4.5m. Last October, it bought York IT company Piksel IS for £9.5m.

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Free business advice at Harrogate drop-in

A business support drop-in session will be held at Harrogate Co-Lab next Wednesday, July 13.

Hosted by Harrogate Borough Council’s business services department, the free event will have experts from the growth manager service, Ad-Venture and York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

Each will be available to answer questions about starting and growing a business, as well as free support and grants available for businesses in the Harrogate district.

The event runs from 9am to 5pm at the Co-Lab base on Kings Road, Harrogate.

For more information, email business@harrogate.gov.uk.

Ripon soldiers in Cyprus to undergo mammoth charity challenge

A team of Ripon-based soldiers are rowing and cycling the equivalent distance from Cyprus to the UK to raise money for a men’s mental health charity.

21 Engineer Regiment has been in Cyprus since April as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force. They’ve been carrying out patrols on the buffer zone that runs between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Whilst there, they have decided to raise funds for men’s mental health charity CALM.

They will use a combination of static bikes and rowing machines and plan to cover the 4,338 kilometres from their base in Nicosia all the way back to the regiment’s headquarters in Ripon.

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Spr Parker from the regiment said:

“Fitness is very much part of our daily lifestyle and so combining such challenges to highlight an important cause works really well for me.

“Mental health is hard to face, but for some reason it’s even harder with young men. In society I feel mental well-being among men is often not taken seriously enough or just overlooked”.

The link to donate is: https://www.justgiving.com/team/Road2Ripon

Ex-Navy officer from Harrogate scoops £5,000 on veterans’ lottery

An ex-Navy officer from Harrogate has pledged to donate some of his £5,000 lottery prize money to a charity that supports veterans.

Jerry Anderson, 70, scooped the top prize in the latest Veterans’ Lottery draw. The lottery provides the main source of income for the Veterans’ Foundation, a military charity that supports men and women who served their country.

Mr Anderson served for 32 years in the Royal Navy and said he was shocked to learn he’d been awarded the winner’s cheque.

He said he planned to spend his winnings on two electric bikes, but he also wanted to give some of it back to the charity after seeing the work it does supporting fellow veterans.

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Mr Anderson said:

“Now I’m getting on a bit and I’m 70 with dodgy knees, we’re going to buy two electric bikes.

“But I’m also going to donate some back – I want to help veterans a bit more.”

He added:

“I’ve got some empathy with veterans as I was medically discharged myself.

“You’re not only supporting a very worthy cause (playing the Veterans’ Lottery), you might just win a prize.”

Find out more about the lottery here.

Knaresborough to lose its last remaining bank next year

Knaresborough is set to lose its only bank next year as Halifax announces it is planning to close the branch in spring.

The Halifax bank on Market Square was the town’s last remaining bank.

When the news of the bank’s closure broke earlier this year 1,200 people signed a petition to encourage Halifax keep it open. But the bank has said due to a decline in use it has to close.

This decision means local people and businesses will have to travel into Harrogate and Ripon to bank their money.

A Halifax spokesperson said:

“In January this year we announced that the Knaresborough Halifax branch would be closing due to a decline in use. We paused the closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and, after careful consideration, the planned closures will take place between March and April 2021.”

The cash machine will also be removed leaving the town with only two other cash points in the town centre. The Knaresborough Chamber of Trade has said it is looking into potential locations for another cash machine.

It said the loss of this bank will be a “major blow” for town, the chamber’s president Steve Teggin said:

“This is a sad set of affairs, it will be a major blow for the town. We have so many new businesses that have opened up recently and they have been let down by the banking system.”

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Harrogate Borough Council has said it will be launching a survey asking for residents’ views on the current banking services available in Knaresborough.

Cllr Graham Swift said “we can’t promise anything in the future” but says it is essential residents fill out the survey to show what facilities they think are necessary for the town.

Residents can fill out the survey, here, from today.